If I go aggressive

[Sandman12]

Does this sound ok for a 75 gal if i go aggressive?

SFE
black trigger
huma huma trigger (iam thinking i can only have one huh :cry: )
leaf fish and or frog fish
dwarf lion

thats it! suggestions-comments-replacements r welcome!!!

[Telco Guy]

Ok, a couple of things we need to know. Is this FO (Fish Only), FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock)? If FOWLR, how much LR?

Also, what size fish are you looking to get? You would want to make sure that they are relatively similar in size. Wouldn't want anyone to look like food to anyone else. :o

Other than that, it seems ok to me, but I can't say that I am a real expert in aggressive fish.

By the way, what is SFE?

[Charles Poole]

I am not sure what you mean when you refer to Leaf Fish, but if this is anything like a Pipe fish, then not so good a choice. Do you know this fishes scientific name. May clear up my confusion.

[Sandman12]

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=238

that is a leaf fish , hope it worked

Snow
Flake
Eel

[Sandman12]

ok i got the 125 gal!!!

This is what i want
-black trigger
-Bamboo eel
-SFE
-can i have a guitar ray?
-can i have a flame hawk?

add stuff and take away stuff or make a whole new list , i need any advise.

thanks

[Aquatic Realms]

ok i got the 125 gal!!!

This is what i want
-black trigger
-Bamboo eel
-SFE
-can i have a guitar ray?
-can i have a flame hawk?

add stuff and take away stuff or make a whole new list , i need any advise.

thanks

Trigger - They will pick on other fish, chewing on their fins, except they won't just "chew" they will EAT the fins on some fish.

Eels - I wouldn't place 2 eels in the tank.

Ray - No. Rays are like sharks and will require a minimum tank size of 265 (perfecto makes the 265) gallons or larger to live healthy. On top of that...it is HIGHLY recommended that you not place a shark or RAY with anything else really...including other sharks/rays.

Hawkfish - you can not have a Hawkfish and a Eel together.

Hope that helps you out.

Later,
Scott

Aquatic Realms, LLC.

[Silkks11]

sandman12 wrote:
ok i got the 125 gal!!!

This is what i want
-black trigger
-Bamboo eel
-SFE
-can i have a guitar ray?
-can i have a flame hawk?

add stuff and take away stuff or make a whole new list , i need any advise.

thanks

Trigger - They will pick on other fish, chewing on their fins, except they won't just "chew" they will EAT the fins on some fish.

Eels - I wouldn't place 2 eels in the tank.

Ray - No. Rays are like sharks and will require a minimum tank size of 265 (perfecto makes the 265) gallons or larger to live healthy. On top of that...it is HIGHLY recommended that you not place a shark or RAY with anything else really...including other sharks/rays.

Hawkfish - you can not have a Hawkfish and a Eel together.

Hope that helps you out.

Later,
Scott

Aquatic Realms, LLC._________________

Heres my opinion....... I've had agressive fish for many years. Placing two eels in the same tank is perfectly fine, and in most cases thats how alot of these creatures live. Especially the kinds you want. I had a 2 foot SFE and a Zebra together for a while. My opinion on the Ray. The one u selected the guitar ray, is actually in the shark family and do get large. Probably stay away from these. If you wanted to do a ray in a 125 you could get a baby yellow but you'd need to upgrade your tank to a 180 or preferablly a 240 when it grows and reaches adult status. The only problem is with mixing triggers and rays the triggers like to eat the cartilage which is the rays body and this will cause infection and death. If you really want to mix triggers and rays, i'd do it witih the docile plantonic triggers that can actually go into a reef tank. These are your niggers, pink tails, black, blue jaw..... Those are the ones I'd stay with. Although I did have a huma huma with one of my yellows for a while I just wouldn't chance it personally. The Flame hawks are great little fish, your triggers won't bother them. Triggers really get a bad rap and thats only because of there more aggressive members that ruin it for all the others, the clowns, queens, titans, undulates are nasty nasty fish that will eventually reak havoic in ur tank. just stay with the melow triggers. The lions with the melow triggers are perfectly fine even the more nasty triggers its ok as long as the lion is much bigger.

[Sandman12]

yeah i was thinking of getting a black trigger and a blue throat, those r the green ones right?

MAbe 2 eels not sure yet and should i get a regular lion or a dwarf?

SO i can get the flame hawk?

Thanks alot

[Silkks11]

The green ones are called Pink tailed triggers. The Blue throats have a whitish gray body wiht a blue jaw both are very attractive fish. Personally I'd get 1 eel, just b/c they are a pain in the butt b/c if you have an overflow (which you should) Then if they are to small the eels like to sit in them. Buy the eel large, and thick it'll save u the hassel of fishin them out every week. You Can get the flamehawk. It depends on your preferance of the lion. Personally I like the Volitans much better than the dwarfs. I'd go with a volitan.

[Charles Poole]

The hardest thing to work around with an aggressive tank is the fact why is the animal considered aggressive. This may be due to its dietary or feeding habits (live fish or inverts), or it may be due to territorial aggression. I am not a big fan of aggressive tanks, but they can be interesting in their own rights.

As far as the guitar ray goes, keep in mind that a lot of open space on the bottom of the tank will be needed for this animal. As well as a very soft substrate, not wanting to scratch or injure the rays underside.

When it comes to setting up an agressive tank, it is more of a gamble than anything else. These animals can and sometimes do turn on one another for no apparent reason. A watchfull eye by the aquarist is the biggest factor in being successful with these tanks.

The other factor is diet. You need to provide a healthy diet for each animal kept. This means varying the type of foods you feed, and using a lot of different types as well.

I do not recommend using fresh water feeder straight from the LFS. These fish are starved long before they are shipped to the LFS, and then often they are never fed at the LFS. Goldfish are a horrible choice to feed a marine animal, and will cause malnutrition and death if used too often. Guppies can be acclimated to sea water levels of Specific Gravity, and can be reared in a seperate tank, while being fed marine foods that will help to get them healthy, and provide a better diet to the fish or invert that you plan to feed them to.

***** A note on aquarist safety when keeping an aggressive tank. Always use caution anytime you put your hand in these tanks. Some fish like the Leaf Fish are venomous. Others may and sometimes do bite the aquarist, causing extreme pain and possible disease or infection. *****

[Zack]

Good words of caution there crlkeep. Sandman pleas keep us updated!!! :)

[Sandman12]

i will, thanks for the info. I plan to feed my fish shrimp that i will catch and now converted gupies. i will also try brine and krill.

niger triggers r greenish
the pink tails r black with a pink tail.

ok how does this sound?

-black trigger
-niger trigger
-lion(not decided what kind)
-Bamboo eel
-mabe a SFE


What else?

[Silkks111]

The nigers are blueish blackish, the pink tails are green with a pink tail lol. Thats how they are. That sounds like a good tank. Check out a Harlequin Tusk. They are awesome and will do great in an aggressive tank. Try kludzinger wrasse, sohal tang, things like that work well. even a grouper, panther groupers are great.

[Aquatic Realms]

Placing two eels in the same tank is perfectly fine, and in most cases thats how alot of these creatures live. Especially the kinds you want.

Yes and no.

Yes...some species of eel do live in the "same area" of the ocean. However...never forget that it is the OCEAN and not a 75 or 120 or 180 or 256 gallon tank.

Remember, these animals are being kept in very close quarters where under normal circumstances may almost never come in contact with eachother.

Everyone needs to understand that. Even non agressive tanks contain things like fish, inverts, and corals that under normal circumstances would never be together but are in our tanks.

[Charles Poole]

Words well said Aquatic Realms. The difference in natural behavior in the wild, and the behaviors exhibited in captivity are often very different.

[Sandman12]

ok i have my story straight now, the green one i was looking at is a blue throat. I have been told alot that the triggers will pick at the lion and not to get one. So this is my new list for now(iam sure it will change,LOL)

-Niger trigger(not the black hawian)
-Blue throat trigger
-SFE and or bamboo eel
-Harlequin Tusk
-Dragon wrasses
- Box spiny puffer or porcupine

I couldnt find a kludzinger wrasse so i dont know what it looks like. Mabe later on I will try a tang, I was thinking of getting a panther but the get huge i saw one what i think was full size , it was huge. Please keep giving me suggestions

[Sandman12]

bump :?

[cj10488]

-Niger trigger(not the black hawian)
-Blue throat trigger

As far as triggers go I would caution having different breeds in the same aquarium.. Its kind of an Iffy one Some will be ok others will not.. Depends on the actual fish..

As for the keeping all these fish in one tank its kinda Iffy as well.. It can be done but I would Caution doing so.. Make sure you keep an eye on them for a while and It one starts being a bully pull him out..

Hope I helped a Bit,
James

[Silkks11]

Niger trigger(not the black hawian)
-Blue throat trigger
-SFE and or bamboo eel
-Harlequin Tusk
-Dragon wrasses
- Box spiny puffer or porcupine


This to me looks to be a very very good mix of fish for a 125. With the triggers make sure u buy them at the same time and add them last to your tank. Those two types of triggers should not bother any of ur other fish including a lion. As for the puffers, I would stick with a porcupine it would be smarter and the care for them are much easier. If you do get a lion I would add him first with the eels and let the lion take over the tank, then add the tusk and dragon wrasse at the same time and then the puffer and then the two triggers and i don't see you have a problem at all with your tank.

[Zack]

Good luck sandman please keep us updated!!

[Sandman12]

ok , i have changed my mind once again and have decided to just stop putting up list and ask as i go but i have a good idea of what i want. I will update as i go. The only thing new is my stand frame is done and there is freahwater in the tank, there r pics in the tank pics forum.

[Zack]

Awsome sandman! Hope it goes well for you!

You Also Might Want To Look Into The Pacoso Trigger. Sorry Bout The Spelling. IMO The Pacoso Trigger Is One Of The Nicest Triggers.

[Sandman12]

I agree but also one of the "meanist" and i plan on having a lion so i want to go with some of the "nicer" triggers

Thansk for ur input

Oh, You Can Look Into A Puffer Or A Niger Trigger

[mjc]

I've set up a few aggressive and predator FO tanks and here's my .02

Eels
You can have more than one eel, make sure they're in the same family (eg., morays or dragons) and provide enough rockwork so they not only can stick their little heads out, but so they can hide. Some may require crabs or ghost shrimp to induce feeding (eg., Zebra Moray), but you can wean them onto frozen.

Triggers
You can keep more than one provided be ready to pull one out if one becomes aggressive. I've had Nigers and Humus in together w/o problems. I've had multiple clowns and multiple humus (seperate instances) and blue throats. I have not mixed clowns with others.

Lions and Porcupine puffers
Porcupine Puffers are fin nippers. If you notice your lion with shortened spines, you can thank puffy for that. Otherwise, IMO, the red volitans is a magnificant looking fish when they spread their fins to trap a prey.

In addition, the puffer will eat almost any live food or fish it can fit into its mouth. I've seen a small 3-4" specimen gulp down a 2" damsel. Funny thing, the puffer will almost seem to huff and puff when trying to chase down food. :eek2:

Harlequin Tusks
These guys are fast and have a huge appetite. I have a 5" HT with a 6" volitan in one of my tanks and I almost have to stuff the HT with pellets or flakes before introducing any live or frozen silversides for my lion.

HT tend to be OK with larger fish, but I had once instance where a panther grouper beat the daylights out of the HT. The panther (5") was already in the tank and a larger 6" HT was introduced. Within 20 minutes the HT had X's on his eyes. The rockwork in the tank (caves and crevices beneath rocks for the zebra eel, panther and other predator fish) prevented me from getting to the HT quickly enough.

Rays
They're bottom dwellers and can get picked on by tangs, angels or others. IMO, if you must raise them, raise them in a large tank with minimal rockwork, a DSB and have as it's tank mates sharks, eels and pilot fish.

[tnguy86]

i've seen a queen trigger tear at a niger and huma, so stay away from adding too many triggers together. Do remember that triggers get large, so have ample space. i've also heard of a huma trigger plucking the rays of a lionfish off, before killing it, so as i've said, be careful. Also, remember that agressive fish are sloppy eaters, meaning high nitrates. So be wary in what type of filtration you use and how often you change your water

[H3R0]

get a blue throat trigger, some books even suggest that they may be reef safe... :hmm2:

[mjc]

get a blue throat trigger, some books even suggest that they may be reef safe... :hmm2:

It's a calculated risk. Everything that lives in the ocean / reef must eat something. It's more of will they eat food you provide or something it considers as food. Eventually it may even topple rocks and corals looking for food.