Butterfly in my tank maybe...?

[Anonymous]

Im so vexed that I cant keep any of the cool, bigger species in my 29!!! :x
But then, I was looking at the butterfly fish on liveaquaria.com, and I saw that most only require a 50 gallon minimum sized tank, and some--the orange butterfly in particular--only gets up to like 4 or 5 inches or so...
Whaddya say people? Could I keep an Orange Butterfly fish? Start out with just a baby, and then maybe if it gets too big, give it up to my pseudo-LFS (mega aquatics specialty store that can DEFINITELY accept adult fish)...?
*sigh*
Seems like this is a hobby designed around those with high incomes and lots of room...

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not quite sure which fish you're inquiring about though I'll take an educated guess and say either Chaetodon xanthurus or Chaetodon mertensii.
When you see minimum size requirements for tank sizes on fish, that is exactly what it is *minimum*. While a fish may be able to live in a tank of minimum size, will it thrive ? Will it be happy ? Will it stress out from confinement, become aggressive to tank mates, eat other items in the tank from boredom ? All that has to be taken into consideration. Also many people
say with good intentions that they'll upgrade in tank size when their fish get big but alas this does not happen and the fish suffers because of confinement
And remember trying to unload a large fish to someone else is not as easy as it sounds.
Now to try to answer your question is it possible.
Yes both of these species will live in an aquarist's tank, they thrive on algae and shredded meaty foods such as shrimp and squid. Both will probably go after SPS corals and tend to be very skittish with tankmates.

HTH
Regards,
David Mohr

 

[Kevin1000]

I would not buy.

 

[Anonymous]

*sigh*
Fine; I know good advice when I hear/read it.
Along similar lines, if I purchased an infant Dwarf Zebra Lionfish, do you think he/she would be alright in my tank without trying to eat my green chromis or my pair of Mandarins? I have heard that they can be converted to frozen foods when theyre young... Any input anyone?
thanks...

 

[Mikef1]

Probably also abad idea

 

[Len]

Ya, unfornuately a 29 gallon places limitations on livestock. In the case of butterflies (and other larger fish like tangs), it's an issue of space. With Mandarins, nutrition is the main concern. Few Mandarins ever learn to feed on offered foods. Too bad, because they are definitely gorgeous!

Long time no see, David! Welcome back

 

[Bobzarry]

A 29 gal tank is rather small for a manderin never mind 2. Manderins hunt for pods all day long and can easily starve to death without enough rock to support a large population of pods. I would return at least one of the manderins to the lfs and feed plenty of flake food to keep your pod population as high as possible.


Bob

 

[Anonymous]

Hey, I just know that my mandarins are as healthy as I have ever seen them; theyve even grown in my tank. These particular mandarins have been nicely transitioned to frozen marine preparations with lots of brine shrimp and mysid shrimp, as well as some other stuff. I know they love it for two reasons: they go after it while its flowing in the current, as though it were live prey. Secondly, I use Garlic Extreme as a food soak, and after living really close to the garlic capital of the world (Gilroy, CA), I know how garlic can affect your appetite! :lol:
Anywho, I was wondering if anyone could give me the low down on a Bubble Anemone... right size for my tank? Fish-eater? Too much of a mover? In essence, what would you guys say; yea or nay? I have 130-watts of PC...
I'll try and post the picture...

 

[bhanson]

If you want to try to keep anemones, Entacmaea quadricolor (Bubbletip, Bubble, Rose, BTA) are among the hardier anemones to keep. Anemones are not known to thrive easily in our tanks. E. quadricolor also does better as a clown fish host. If you decide to keep a bubbletip you might consider a clown to go with it, but that is my opinion. BTA's do not tend to move a lot but it will roam if it does not like where it is. If the BTA is healthy it will eat fish that mistakenly swim into its tentacles. I feed mine fresh shrimp. I have kept mine under 260W PC's it has done well for about six months or so, but I plan to add MH soon.

IMO If you want to try anemones this species would be a good one. Give it room as it will sting other corals. Hope that helps.