Reef Builders - The Source for Reef Keeping Information

Welcome to Reef Ramblings. I started writing this column back in the early 1990’s and now over a decade later here we are. Old versions of Reef Ramblings can be found at www.ReefRamblings.com. It is my pleasure to inform you that the new issues of Reef Ramblings will be first published here on Reef Builders. What can you expect? The same as always. These articles will provide insight into some random aspect of the marine hobby. I hope that these articles will educate and share knowledge, but more importantly foster discussion and dialogue within the marine community. So with that, happy reefing…

Big or Small?
Tank Size as it relates to the captive care of challenging animals. For many, many years now I’ve heard experts advise people to avoid certain animals. Popular species such as the Mandarin Dragonets (Synchrinopius splendens) have often appeared on the “No-No” list of recommendations. I too must say that I can not in good conscious advise these fishes for the home hobbyist.

Well, that is until now, maybe.

For years now the best chance at keeping a dragonet was to have a large, well established aquarium. Also, a refugium or pod reactor or some sort of live micro food addition has been more than helpful. If a hobbyist wanted to keep a dragonet the advice they may receive would sound something like this “you need a 125 gallon tank that has been set up for 2 years with a lot of amphipods and hiding places.” Some recent conversations have me questioning this philosophy. A friend of mine had been trying to convince me that not all Mandarin Dragonets are headed for impending doom and death once they are purchased.

The new wave of tank setups far surpasses what we had in the past. In fact the recent developments for biotope aquaria and for replicating natural systems are providing hobbyists with a unique opportunity to keep animals previously avoided. Here are some examples of challenging animals, and discussion items regarding their captive care.

The Dragonets

As was mentioned earlier these fishes have been frowned upon for years. Should that continue to be the case? A number of hobbyists are now willing to set up dedicated aquaria for specific animals. An example of this is a Mandarin Dragonet set-up. These aquariums are usually free of other fishes or competing invertebrates for foods. The rubble bottoms are ideal for pod development and hunting activity. In other words, these set ups may just be the best option for Mandarin fish.
But is that really the case? Can an author actually advise a hobbyist to purchase a Mandarin fish and to keep it in a 10 gal tank? I’m still not convinced of this, but I do admit that I’m beginning to change my mind.

While historically kept in large well established aquaria, the dragonets are finding
their way into the world of nano aquaria. Shown here a Mandarin Dragonet lives
in the rubble rock of a small dedicated aquarium.

Frogfishes

I don’t have much to say other than that Scott Michael likes the idea of frogfishes in nano aquariums. As most readers know, Scott is a frogfish guru. He loves everything about them. Scott has advocated (personal communication 2006) there usage in the hobby. Following Scott’s advice three people from my home aquarium club set up dedicated frogfish aquariums. Each of these tanks was quite successful in keeping frogfish and providing them with rock structures, live prey, and clean water. The small tank size may increase the need for filtration and maintenance, but it seems to make up for that in the ease of food delivery and the safety of tankmates (or lack thereof).

Can you see me now? The cryptic lifestyle of a frogfish is well suited for this rocky nano tank.

Some frogfish will change their color to match their surroundings. By having colorful

corals in a nano tank the hobbyist may encourage their frogfish to develop these

striking colors.

Sea Apples

These exceptionally beautiful moluscs are a definite no-no for the home aquarist. “They’ll die and poison everything in your tank”… ever heard that before? I admit these animals do have a very large biomass that can cause problems in tank if that mass is to come apart (usually from death). So there is reason to worry about them destroying your tank, but what if your tank is only 6 gallons? What if you have 10 gallons worth of premixed water ready to go? What if you could do a 100% water change in your tank in less than 10 minutes? What if there are no (or should I say very few) tankmates living in this contained system? I was recently stunned when a hobbyist defied typical recommendations and purchased a sea apple for a nano aquarium. Historically the advise on them has been 1) don’t buy one, 2) don’t buy one, 3) okay fine, but put it in a large well established tank with lots of food. I’ve never heard the advice 1) sure buy one and stick it in your nano tank. However, with ease of feeding, ease of water change, and reduced risk of killing other animals, one may now wonder if this philosophy is changing.

Often viewed as a dangerous animal because of it’s biomass, these animals are now being

kept by some hobbyists in dedicated nano aquariums. The potential for wide tank

pollution is removed, while increasing food density.

Seahorses

Oh, yes the quintessential nano fishes. Seahorses have forever plagued the hobby. In fact I am so tired of hearing all about sea horses that I’m just going to stop here. Simply put, huge strides of tank raised horses, more natural seagrass settings, and better foods, have allowed hobbyists to keep and breed seahorses in dedicated small aquariums.

Seagrasses

Well along the lines of seahorses we mustn’t forget the seagrass biotopes. Often well suited for the dedicated nano aquarium these systems focus on growing true vascular plants, and not animals. However, several animals play an integral role in the keeping of seagrass aquaria. Keeping epiphytic algae under control is a well played balance.

Dedicating a marine aquarium to plants is not at all common, but aesthetically quite pleasing.

Ornamental Mobile Invertebrates

This is quickly becoming my favorite sect of the hobby. The recent interest and availability of ornamental invertebrates has forever changed the hobby. Some of these small creatures are well suited for reef aquaria, while others may poses some “coral eating” tendencies. Regardless of their reef compatibility most of these substrate dwelling cryptic animals are well suited for the species specific nano aquarium.

Mobile invertebrates are not only beautiful often fascinating.

What Next?

So what is next on the horizon? What other animals may be well or at least better suited for small captive care? I’d like to hear from the readers. Please contact me and let me know what you think would make a surprisingly good specimen for a dedicated small aquarium.

And finally- please don’t think that this article in anyway means that I’m advocating the practice of keeping delicate animals in small aquaria. I wouldn’t feel good giving that advice…. yet, but that is changing.

Author Information

Adam Blundell M.S. is a hobbyist, lecturer, author, teacher, and research biologist. Adam works for the University of Utah’s School of Medicine in Pathology and in Marine Biology. He currently helps run the Wasatch Marine Aquarium Society, of which he is a former president. Adam is also the director of the Aquatic & Terrestrial Research Team, a group which bridges the gap between hobbyists and scientists. Adam can be reached on his Author forum.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 9:25 am and is filed under Reef Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.