H. histrio Sagassum Fish tank

[Micco28]

I am looking to start up a species specific tank with a Sargassum Fish (Histrio histrio) and I was wondering what would be required to care for it?

I was thinking a 35 gal tank (most sites say 30+ but others say 50+) with a cover (they can flip/jump out of the water) and a protein skimmer and some live rock. I was thinking of snails for a clean up crew. I was also thinking of having a type of Gracillaria or caluerpa macro algae for it to hide in as well. If I can find somewhere to get sargassum weed of some type then I'll add that in too.

I am willing to feed live foods

Please say if i missed anything that I would need to care for it. Thanks

 

[Micco28]

Would I need a filter, protein skimmer, and a power head?

 

[Micco28]

O.K. I'm going to bump this post instead of making a new one.

So I'm still getting the 35 gal tank and the H. histrio, but I think that I want to make a marine "planted" tank as well. The macro algae will let the H. histrio hide, but I want to make sure that the one I've picked out will work. So I was thinking about:

Animals-
Sargassum Frogfish
Harlequin Serpent Star

Macros-
Either Hypnea pannosa or blue ochtodes
Either Cladophora prolifera or maiden's hair
Blue Scroll
Red grape caulerpa
Baggy seaweed

I'll have live rock, but I don't know what substrate to use in between the rocks. Fine? Coarse?

I know I'll need a skimmer and probably a power head too.

Please let me know if I missed anything or if you have any suggestions

 

[tyler1503]

I would go with a fine substrate. A lot of bottom feeders can develop issues with coarser substrates scratching their belly and it becoming infected. I'm not sure if frogfish do, but it's worth considering as they do lay on their belly in the sand.
I would just set it up like a normal reef tank and go from there. People keep them in reefs so theres no real issues with a reef environment. They produce a lot of waste so you should have what seems like excessive filtration.
Sound like a fun tank, I look forward to watching this one!

 

[Micco28]

I would go with a fine substrate. A lot of bottom feeders can develop issues with coarser substrates scratching their belly and it becoming infected. I'm not sure if frogfish do, but it's worth considering as they do lay on their belly in the sand.
I would just set it up like a normal reef tank and go from there. People keep them in reefs so theres no real issues with a reef environment. They produce a lot of waste so you should have what seems like excessive filtration.
Sound like a fun tank, I look forward to watching this one!

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Micco28]

I just bought a 40 gal breeder! It was the second to last day of the $1 a gal sale at Petco so I went a head and bought the tank, a stand, and a cover for way less then my original plan

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Please keep this thread updated! I am interested in seeing how it turns out!

 

[rayn]

I kept one for a while just like you are taking about. I had a bunch of macro in the tank he hid in all the time. A lot of the time he would almost sit in it in the middle or upper parts of the tank. I always had a lid on it too. I used a hob filter and water changes and it did great. I will see if I can find some pics of it.

 

[Micco28]

Okay here's a related but different question: when should I add the macros? Should I add them towards the beginning of my cycle with the LR? Or should I wait until after the cycle like you normally would? Since they absorb the the nitrates in the tank that will be coming from the cycle would it speed up my cycle? I've heard that when the lights come on at first there is usually an algae bloom, but wouldn't the macros more or less out compete the bloom and actually grow better themselves?

I hope I don't sound like a total newbie in asking, but now that I have my tank sitting in my room it just came to me about my timeline from here on out.

 

[rayn]

I actually started a 6 macro grow out tank. I added them right after I saw a ammonia reading and they went through the rest of the cycle. They were slow to grow at first, but they have all made it and are growing now.

 

[Micco28]

I actually started a 6 macro grow out tank. I added them right after I saw a ammonia reading and they went through the rest of the cycle. They were slow to grow at first, but they have all made it and are growing now.

Good to know! I bought my lights today and talked to my LFS about LR and sand prices.

 

[jedimasterben]

Macroalgae use ammonia preferably to nitrate, so add them as soon as you set up the tank (or whenever you receive them).

 

[Micco28]

Macroalgae use ammonia preferably to nitrate, so add them as soon as you set up the tank (or whenever you receive them).

I'm trying to figure everything out and collect everything non-living and then add the LR, sand, macros and water all at the same relative time.

Next question running through my head: Power head vs circulation pump and which do I need?

 

[jedimasterben]

Both mean the same thing.

 

[Micco28]

Oh, good to know.

After going to your profile and looking at your reboot jedimasterben I may see about adding star grass too. I know they need a DSB and I was already planning to do aquascaping in this tank, so I was thinking about doing a sand gradient. Do you have any advice with it?

 

[jedimasterben]

Not only is star grass (Halophila engelmani) difficult to acquire, it can also be picky. It likes intense light, but it doesn't really need a deep sand bed, mine was only 1.5" deep and it did fine til I got a rabbitfish and it ate it all lol.

 

[Micco28]

Not only is star grass (Halophila engelmani) difficult to acquire, it can also be picky. It likes intense light, but it doesn't really need a deep sand bed, mine was only 1.5" deep and it did fine til I got a rabbitfish and it ate it all lol.

Do you think a Marineland LED Bright Lighting system that is 7800K would be intense enough?

Also would an Aqueon Circulation Pump 700 (or two) work well for my tank?

 

[jedimasterben]

Do you think a Marineland LED Bright Lighting system that is 7800K would be intense enough?

Also would an Aqueon Circulation Pump 700 (or two) work well for my tank?

No, the Marineland light is a viewing light ONLY that can support SOME very low light corals in tanks 12" tall or less. Strip lights like that have extremely limited light output, though they are visually bright. You gotta spend some money to get proper lighting.

For the powerhead, it depends on the dimensions of your tank, what you plan to keep in it, how your rockwork is laid out, etc. The Aqueon pumps are not all that great, but they're not garbage, either. I would personally spring the little bit extra for better pumps, like Tunze, etc.

 

[Micco28]

No, the Marineland light is a viewing light ONLY that can support SOME very low light corals in tanks 12" tall or less. Strip lights like that have extremely limited light output, though they are visually bright. You gotta spend some money to get proper lighting.

For the powerhead, it depends on the dimensions of your tank, what you plan to keep in it, how your rockwork is laid out, etc. The Aqueon pumps are not all that great, but they're not garbage, either. I would personally spring the little bit extra for better pumps, like Tunze, etc.

So this lighting would not be good for my macro tank, most of which need moderate lighting?

Would a tunze turbelle nanostream 6025 be a better match?

 

[jedimasterben]

So this lighting would not be good for my macro tank, most of which need moderate lighting?

Would a tunze turbelle nanostream 6025 be a better match?

Nearly all macroalgae comes from shallow water and receive immense amounts of light rarely achieved in an aquarium. You'll want to give them as much light as you can, especially if you want seagrass. If your tank is a standard 35g, 36"x12"x18", then lighting it with LEDs is going to be around $330 at the minimum (Reefbreeders Photon 24). A single, typical Chinese LED panel is around 12" long and will not properly light a 36" tank, or else you could get that down to around $130-150.

A pair of Tunze 6020 (one of their newest) would be easily hid behind rockwork and provide excellent flow, cost is around $43 each.