Hi all,
I did several searches and I have not found this topic, at least in the manner I intend, discussed but I do apologize if there was one I missed.
A little background on my tank:
300 gallon actual water volume, tank and sump including rock.
Predominately SPS
3 years +
Moderate fish load (Healthy Population)
Stable parameters
Coral colonies have started getting to the size that they have to be cut back
I have been in the hobby on and off for a very long time, longer than I care to think about. Years ago, (over 20) I owned a Larvatus Butterfly fish. My LFS would bring in freshly frozen rose coral (I have no idea what actual species it was) and I would put it in the tank for it to thaw and as it did, he would eat. I was not successful long term however recently, I came across the videos below (he has several) and it has really piqued my interest to do try this again. See the links below. (these are posted on YouTube, I am assuming it is OK to post these links?)
So in his tank, he has C. Tinkeri (deep water, probably minimal coral risk), C. SemiLarvatus (probable coral risk), C. Larvatus (definite coral risk) and Pygoplites diacanthus (while this is a regal angel, it's a possible coral risk)..... so you get the direction that I'm going. But in his comments on his videos that span a couple of years, the fish look healthy and so do his coral colonies. Naturally his inclusion of these fish in a reef tank brought many questions and I was intrigued by the answers. We all know that there are huge schools of butterfly fish on very healthy coral reefs. The reefs show no damage from the presence of these large schools. His response to the question was, healthy coral colonies can easily support the butterfly fish without any damage and actually support healthy coral growth. And actually if you think about it, that's kind of obvious, so, of course you couldn't put 30 Corallivores in a 300 gallon tank and expect your tank to thrive... but what about one? One little, 3 inch, C. Larvatus in a tank where the coral is starting to overgrow? Maybe a C. Tinkeri that may nip a little? Or the P. diacanthus that may eat zoas (spoiler alert, I received my tiny 2" regal last week and OMG i wish he'd eat a Zoa as i have thousands of them, so far healthy and grazing on the rocks). Of course, you have to size the number of fish, the max size, the type, on your tank size and the quality of your coral colonies. But why not? Why not have the best of both worlds, have your beautiful reef and those spectacular fish that everyone told you, nope, you can't have it. I mean, they serve a purpose on the reef, maybe they can actually increase the health of your reef.... if done correctly. Discuss?
I did several searches and I have not found this topic, at least in the manner I intend, discussed but I do apologize if there was one I missed.
A little background on my tank:
300 gallon actual water volume, tank and sump including rock.
Predominately SPS
3 years +
Moderate fish load (Healthy Population)
Stable parameters
Coral colonies have started getting to the size that they have to be cut back
I have been in the hobby on and off for a very long time, longer than I care to think about. Years ago, (over 20) I owned a Larvatus Butterfly fish. My LFS would bring in freshly frozen rose coral (I have no idea what actual species it was) and I would put it in the tank for it to thaw and as it did, he would eat. I was not successful long term however recently, I came across the videos below (he has several) and it has really piqued my interest to do try this again. See the links below. (these are posted on YouTube, I am assuming it is OK to post these links?)
So in his tank, he has C. Tinkeri (deep water, probably minimal coral risk), C. SemiLarvatus (probable coral risk), C. Larvatus (definite coral risk) and Pygoplites diacanthus (while this is a regal angel, it's a possible coral risk)..... so you get the direction that I'm going. But in his comments on his videos that span a couple of years, the fish look healthy and so do his coral colonies. Naturally his inclusion of these fish in a reef tank brought many questions and I was intrigued by the answers. We all know that there are huge schools of butterfly fish on very healthy coral reefs. The reefs show no damage from the presence of these large schools. His response to the question was, healthy coral colonies can easily support the butterfly fish without any damage and actually support healthy coral growth. And actually if you think about it, that's kind of obvious, so, of course you couldn't put 30 Corallivores in a 300 gallon tank and expect your tank to thrive... but what about one? One little, 3 inch, C. Larvatus in a tank where the coral is starting to overgrow? Maybe a C. Tinkeri that may nip a little? Or the P. diacanthus that may eat zoas (spoiler alert, I received my tiny 2" regal last week and OMG i wish he'd eat a Zoa as i have thousands of them, so far healthy and grazing on the rocks). Of course, you have to size the number of fish, the max size, the type, on your tank size and the quality of your coral colonies. But why not? Why not have the best of both worlds, have your beautiful reef and those spectacular fish that everyone told you, nope, you can't have it. I mean, they serve a purpose on the reef, maybe they can actually increase the health of your reef.... if done correctly. Discuss?