What if I went FO aggressive?

[Dmitry]

So, I've been getting this itch (I'm talking figuratively) to switch to an aggressive fish tank. Don't know why - I love my Clowns and the Bicolor Blenny, etc., but feel like an aggressive tank would be more exciting. I assume no corals can be kept (?) I have all LPSs and Softies, plus 3 Clams. What I'm not sure of is what kind of fish I could keep in a 72bow if I were to switch. I'm sure I could keep my Marine Betta, Yellow Tang, and the Hippo (she's a temporary resident anyway, until she grows too big for the tank). How about a Coral Beauty? Mandarin? My 2 Percs, Purple Pseudo, Bicolor Blenny, Purple Firefish, and Sixline would have to find more peaceful homes... Oh, and my Linckie Star would probably not be a good candidate in there either, right?

I assume Dwarf Lions are ok. Ditto a Foxface. How about Humu Humu or Picasso Triggers? Niger Trigger? Any of the Puffers? I hate snakes, so an Eel is out of the question.

And what about a cleaner crew? How does one keep the substrate clean without cleaner shrimp, snails and hermits? Or does one just dump them in anyway as the occasional snack for the fish?

This is all just me contemplating a possible future switch.... A lot would depend on what kind of livestock I could keep in my tank.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

I would say Bursa and Piscasso triggers-they are smaller than the others only upto 9-10" in the wild. Cheap and good looking too. ****** trigger will be too big upto 1 foot long.


Also I think you need to give them something like snails and whole baby clams for grinding down their continuously growing teeth.


BTW fox face is not aggressive:scratchch

 

[marrone]

First thing you need to determine is how the tank is going to be setup, a lot of rock or no rock. This will determine the amount of space your going have and what fish will work.


A Marine Betta would be good in a fish only tank but it needs rocks for it to hide in and they can't be keep with very aggressive fish as their fins will be picked at plus they're are shy and being keep with very aggressive wouldn't work. I wouldn't keep a Foxface with any very aggressive fish as they're very skiddish and there isn't enough room in a 72gal tank. A Kole or Purple tang could also work.

Dwarf Lions are fine, you just can't keep them with anything that is going to fit into their mouths. Also Lions shouldn't be mixed with Triggers in a small tank as Triggers will attack their fins and chase them around the tank. Regular Lion fish do get very big so even a small one would easily out grow a 72gal tank.

As for Trigger they do get very large and if feed correct will grow pretty fast not to mention become aggressive in a small tank. Getting a small one would work for 1 - 2 years. The Humu Humu, Bursa, Niger, Rectangle, Blue Throat and Pink Tail would be fine. If you want a Undulate would work out very well for quite as some time as they don't get very large but it does cause a lot of problems, as they're very aggressive, and will cut down on you being able to keep most other fish with it.

Puffers work very well and can be keep with other fish without any problems through some triggers may attack them, specially the Porcupine puffer. Just stay away from the larger ones.

As for Angels, the pygmy angels do well if you have some rock in the tank but not usually a good mix with the more aggressive Triggers. Also a small Passer angel would do very well with Triggers and since they don't grow to large you can keep one in the tank for quite some time. A Passer angel is very aggressive so you need to take that into account.

Don't forget some of the wrasse or hogfish. They do very well in FO tanks and for the most part grow some what slow. Some will eat small inverts like hermits and snails.

Some of the large Dottybacks will also work, even with triggers. A Tomato Clown would also be a good fish to keep.

As for cleaner crew it's hit or miss if one of the fish will eat them. Some fish don't both them while other will eat them right away. As for cleaning the sand, usually the fish will pick at what's in the sand or move it around looking for food. If your going with triggers it's not a good idea to have a DSB as they will move it around. Go with a couple of iches of sand and you'll be fine. Any excess garbage on the sand will either by picked up by the filter or you can siphon it out when doing water changes.

The problem with keeping corals with aggressive fish is that you need to feed the fish a lot which will cause the nitrates to go up also some aggressive fish may eat or bite the corals.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

2 words: Wartskin Angler

 

[drunktank]

fishtown had a great angler, pretty big for only 50 dollars

 

[herman]

 

[barebucta]

what a picture...hope it wasn't in your tank

 

[pmui]

Dmitry,

what are the dimesions on a 72gal bow? Michaels comments are pretty right on. You main limitation is space for the fish.

I almost went the same route as you. I have a 120gal with LR and the following (Yellow tang, Naso tang, Foxface, Koran angel (Juv.), 6line wrasse, Large maroon clown w/ BTA (that you gave me ) I wanted a trigger but never got around putting one in.

Good luck.

Peter

 

[Dmitry]

The tank is 72bow 48x18(at the center)x22.

I do have quite a bit of rock in there, but would need to rearrange it to make more secure since I know some of the triggers like to rearrange rocks. Or replace the smaller pieces with larger, harder to move, pieces. Or move the smaller pieces into my sump and leave more room in the tank. (That seems like the best solution.) My Marine Betta is usually out and about right now; most likely because it's a community tank and everyone tends to get along. I guess she might go into hiding more often with more agressive fish.

Would a Maroon Clown work as well as a Tomato?

And I basically need to choose between a Lion and a Trigger??

I have a shallow sand-bed.

 

[pmui]

I would pass on the trigger, as it is an active fish and 48" is not alot of space to swim. I would go with the lion fish. I feel the tomato and marron can hold their own, as long as the other fish don't have a very large mouth.

 

[marrone]

Remember all the LR is going to cut down of space in the tank reducing what the amount and size of fish you can have. If you plan on getting a Lion fish get a Dwarf one as the regular ones do grow pretty large.

I wouldn't put a Marine Betta in with a trigger. If you going to do a trigger fish get a very small one and you should be ok for 1 - 2 years but then it will out grow the tank. Trigger will pick up small rocks so it's probably not a good idea to have any small rocks in the tank. If you do want a trigger the Undulate would be a good fit for the tank but it's a one fish tank type fish.

I wouldn't mix a Lion with a Trigger in a small tank.

 

[jawwad2004]

Herman, that was the first pic that came into mind when I started to read this thread.

 

[Reefer420]

hey could you get a huge hermit w/ anenomes on its back for an aggressive tank? there was one at New World the last time I went and it was crazy looking...

 

[Dmitry]

Hmm.... I guess Triggers really cut down on the other fish one can keep! Bummer. Trigger and Dwarf Lion are the two I want most... :anger2: There's much to think about. So, none of the Triggers can really be kept in a 72 with most other fish, right? Not even if a, say, Humu or Bursa is the last to be introduced and is the smallest of the fish?

With the amount of space rocks take up I would definitely move all the smaller pieces (I don't have any really small ones) to the sump; but I should probably do that anyway to make more room in there.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

If you go for a lion, then you can have inverts in the tank while trigger you need to feed food with shells.

 

[marrone]

You can keep a Humu or Bursa in the tank just get a small ones but in the long run they will out grow the tank. As for tank mates is does cut down on what you can keep with them but there are a # of fish that will do well with them, you just need to be careful with what you put in with them.

Fish that would do well with a trigger would be:

A small grouper, there are a # that don't get to large.
Passer Angel
Purple, Kole, Hippo, Yellow tang
One of the larger Dottybacks
Eel
Wrasse or Hog fish
Smaller Squirrel fish
Tomato Clown
Damsel
Puffer

 

[Dmitry]

Don't Passer Angels get big??

I think I might have to rethink getting a Trigger. :banghead:

How would this list look:

Marine Betta (already have)
Yellow Tang (already have)
Hippo Tang (already have, until she gets too big)
?? Dwarf Lion
?? Angel
Maroon (perhaps goldstripe) Clown or pair
?? Puffer

 

[marrone]

Passer don't get that large as some of the other larger angels. If you get a small Juv in the 2" range, which usually is what's available, you can have it in the 72gal tank for quite a few years before it out growths the tank. Also a Flame angel would probably work as they're very hardy.

All the other fish you have will work but your very close to have an over stocked tanked. A lot would depend on how much live rock you have in the tank as that will determine the space you have to work with.

I would probably skip the clowns and go with the other fish.

 

[Dmitry]

With a Flame Angel being a dwarf of the species, and the Hippo moving on up when she's of age, is it still at the stocking limit??

I have over 100lbs of live rock. Almost all of it in the main tank. One side is primarily branchy tonga, so while it takes up perhaps a quarter of the tank there's space on the inside of the structure (the Betta, Hippo, and Yellow Tang hide in there regularly.) I would move as much rock as I can fit into my sump to open some space from the rest of the tank.

 

[marrone]

Stock wise you should be fine with the Flame and the Hippo, and the other fish, but Hippo do get pretty large. More important your selection of fish should get along pretty well without any fighting.

As for the amount of rock in the tank, you want enough to create hiding space but not to much where the fish have no swimming room. What you can do is get the fish, and you have some already, and remove some of the live rock if you see or feel that there isn't enough room in the tank for the fish.