Location-specific "Community" Reef Aquarium

[musicfish]

Hi,

It has been my dream since I was a wee lad to have a marine aquarium. Now I think I'll be ready in the near-distant future and have begun doing research. As part of my research I have come across the notion that one should establish geographic-specific "community reef tanks as opposed to the motley selections found in most home aquariums. This seems to me to be a good idea on a number of fronts-- although I wonder if it is unethical to have this sort of motley arrangement. I have only SCUBA dived in the Red Sea and remember really being impressed with it. I think I would like to set up a Red Sea community tank. Could anyone over any info as to if this is a good idea? Are there other areas in the world where there is a greater diveristy of life or the species in that area are easier to keep for a beginer? Do you know of any resources on the web or in print about setting up location-specific home aquariums? I'd really appreciate some help on this, and maybe some feedback as to if I'm being to ambitious or concerned about nothing.

 

[hdtran]

Bob Fenner's "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" calls your "location specific 'community'" a biotope, as opposed to a "garden reef" or "planted garden" reef. The specific analogy is my backyard garden, where we have roses, butterfly bushes, & texas sage--which you never find together in the wild. They're in our garden because they look good. My neighbor's garden is landscaped to replicate the natural environment, and might have pampas grass, cottonwoods, and yuccas. A desert biotope, as opposed to a planted garden.

I really like Bob Fenner's book & would recommend it. He expresses a mild bias in favor of biotopes, as opposed to "garden" reefs. For the red sea biotope, he recommends a slightly higher salinity (which replicates the actual red sea environment, which is a bit more saline than, say, the indo-pacific or caribbean reefs).

I would also highly recommend John Tullock's books, both the "Natural Reef Aquarium" and the "Your First Marine Aquarium."

 

[Anonymous]

Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman has good biotope examples as well. I think a must have for your aquarium is Pseudochromis fridmani, either singly or in a pair. They are only found in the Red Sea in the wild, and are now being captively raised. Just a thought.