Have you ever had to make that tough decision: Do I keep that _______Fish in my reef? Should I take a chance with it, or will it devour my Chalice collection?
One tough call, huh?
Usually, it’s that crazy-rare Angelfish or ultra-cool Butterflyfish that you have been coveting for ever and just can’t resist! And now, the LFS or online vendor HAS ONE IN STOCK!! (I know your pain- I’ve dealt with this decision many times over my hobby “career”). How do you decide what to do? It’s all a matter of working the fine art of balancing what you want to keep with what you must keep- and it requires planning, risk-taking, and sometimes, a gut-check as a reefer-or even a flip of a coin!
C'mon Marc, you'll choose this fish over a coral any day! Right?
Whatever.
Let’s face it, to keep a fish that is a known coral-sampler in a reef tank takes a special breed of hobbyist- one who loves his favorite fish more than his favorite corals.
There is a way to proceed.
It’s a matter of balance, really. I mean, if you just have to keep a Chaetodontoplus conspicillatus in your aquarium, you are certainly going to have to accept the fact that some collateral damage to your corals may occur. On the other hand, if you love your Dan Rigle ATL Shades of Fall Nasuata colony more than some $2,500 Angelfish- just forget about it (But what geek would choose a coral over a fish? Sheesh!!).
Or, you could compromise.
Compromise? What's that? Why?
That’s right- compromise-a word that we don’t often use in reefkeping. It simply means that if you want to keep that potentially coral-nipping fish in your tank stocked with prized corals, no one is going to feel sorry for you if the fish mows down your entire Acropora collection. However, if you accept the fact that some corals will be nipped, and restrain yourself from keeping the uber-rare collectible ones in the tank with your Centropyge boylei, you can make it work.
Just Learn to love the more commonly available varieties of captive-propagated coral, which can more readily and affordably be replenished when they get wacked by your Angelfish. Propogate tons of replacement colonies and “plant them” in your reef when they get mowed down… Oh sure, there are a lot of hobbyists out there that will indignantly scream, “Why expose ANY corals to the potential of being eaten by a fish? I can’ t say I have an answer, other than we need to accept the responsibility for our decisions and be comfortable with the ethics of them.
"Feeder Xenia?" Sure, why not?
Of course, you can also alter your husbandry a bit and simply feed the crap out of your favorite fish to keep them satisfied most of the time, thus reducing snacking incidents as much as possible. Here’s an idea: Spend some time on sites like fishbase.org and see what stomach content analysis of wild-specimens of your dream fish reveals about their diets, and try to provide that item if possible. If it’s small, free-swimming and tasty, chances are good that live-food vendors have something like it available for the hobby. On the other hand, if a significant percentage of the fish’s natural diet is live coral polyps (as opposed to coral mucous), you’ve got to make that most difficult of calls for a reefer.
Chaetodon ornatissimus..Would you if you could?
Let’s be serious about one thing- there is little likelihood that a fish which incorporates coral as the majority of its diet will suddenly switch to an exclusive diet of Sustainable Aquatics Hatchery Diet (Great food, BTW!), but it may certainly learn over time to accept other foods as a substitute. Look at the work being done with Orange Spot Filefish by Matt Pedersen. The guy was breeding them and getting them to accept mysids and other foods as the bulk of their diet.
One of Matt's great fishy achievements..The product of careful feeding- and compromise.
Now I’m not saying that you’ll get your Centropyge nigriocella to thrive on freeze-dried Tubifex worms, but I am saying that you can certainly experiment with a wide variety of available foods while the fish is in quarantine (oh yeah- you’ve heard of that process, right?). Or, you could simply get really good at propagating “feeder” Xenia. There is almost always an argument that can be made for experimentation.
Almost.
To summarize my rambling, it’s really a matter reconciling your personal interest and love of corals versus fish. For many of us, the choice is clear and one will always win out over the other. To others, the choice is not so clear-cut, and we’ll make the call based on our willingness to accept the risk. *
If that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get a Centropyge debelius comes along, you really have to decide if you-and your aquarium-are up for the challenge and risk. Have no regrets. Because if you don’t make the call, John Coppolino will! And he’ll be the first to tell you it was an easy decision, too!
You may not be able to have it all in a reef system, but you can have most of it!
I’m reasonably sure of that….I think…Right?
So, what’s the ONE fish that you would risk your beloved coral collection to have swimming in your tank? There must be one, right? Money is no object for you…so what’s the fish- and what’s the call?
Till next time,
Stay wet…
Scott Fellman
One tough call, huh?
Usually, it’s that crazy-rare Angelfish or ultra-cool Butterflyfish that you have been coveting for ever and just can’t resist! And now, the LFS or online vendor HAS ONE IN STOCK!! (I know your pain- I’ve dealt with this decision many times over my hobby “career”). How do you decide what to do? It’s all a matter of working the fine art of balancing what you want to keep with what you must keep- and it requires planning, risk-taking, and sometimes, a gut-check as a reefer-or even a flip of a coin!
C'mon Marc, you'll choose this fish over a coral any day! Right?
Whatever.
Let’s face it, to keep a fish that is a known coral-sampler in a reef tank takes a special breed of hobbyist- one who loves his favorite fish more than his favorite corals.
There is a way to proceed.
It’s a matter of balance, really. I mean, if you just have to keep a Chaetodontoplus conspicillatus in your aquarium, you are certainly going to have to accept the fact that some collateral damage to your corals may occur. On the other hand, if you love your Dan Rigle ATL Shades of Fall Nasuata colony more than some $2,500 Angelfish- just forget about it (But what geek would choose a coral over a fish? Sheesh!!).
Or, you could compromise.
Compromise? What's that? Why?
That’s right- compromise-a word that we don’t often use in reefkeping. It simply means that if you want to keep that potentially coral-nipping fish in your tank stocked with prized corals, no one is going to feel sorry for you if the fish mows down your entire Acropora collection. However, if you accept the fact that some corals will be nipped, and restrain yourself from keeping the uber-rare collectible ones in the tank with your Centropyge boylei, you can make it work.
Just Learn to love the more commonly available varieties of captive-propagated coral, which can more readily and affordably be replenished when they get wacked by your Angelfish. Propogate tons of replacement colonies and “plant them” in your reef when they get mowed down… Oh sure, there are a lot of hobbyists out there that will indignantly scream, “Why expose ANY corals to the potential of being eaten by a fish? I can’ t say I have an answer, other than we need to accept the responsibility for our decisions and be comfortable with the ethics of them.
"Feeder Xenia?" Sure, why not?
Of course, you can also alter your husbandry a bit and simply feed the crap out of your favorite fish to keep them satisfied most of the time, thus reducing snacking incidents as much as possible. Here’s an idea: Spend some time on sites like fishbase.org and see what stomach content analysis of wild-specimens of your dream fish reveals about their diets, and try to provide that item if possible. If it’s small, free-swimming and tasty, chances are good that live-food vendors have something like it available for the hobby. On the other hand, if a significant percentage of the fish’s natural diet is live coral polyps (as opposed to coral mucous), you’ve got to make that most difficult of calls for a reefer.
Chaetodon ornatissimus..Would you if you could?
Let’s be serious about one thing- there is little likelihood that a fish which incorporates coral as the majority of its diet will suddenly switch to an exclusive diet of Sustainable Aquatics Hatchery Diet (Great food, BTW!), but it may certainly learn over time to accept other foods as a substitute. Look at the work being done with Orange Spot Filefish by Matt Pedersen. The guy was breeding them and getting them to accept mysids and other foods as the bulk of their diet.
One of Matt's great fishy achievements..The product of careful feeding- and compromise.
Now I’m not saying that you’ll get your Centropyge nigriocella to thrive on freeze-dried Tubifex worms, but I am saying that you can certainly experiment with a wide variety of available foods while the fish is in quarantine (oh yeah- you’ve heard of that process, right?). Or, you could simply get really good at propagating “feeder” Xenia. There is almost always an argument that can be made for experimentation.
Almost.
To summarize my rambling, it’s really a matter reconciling your personal interest and love of corals versus fish. For many of us, the choice is clear and one will always win out over the other. To others, the choice is not so clear-cut, and we’ll make the call based on our willingness to accept the risk. *
If that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get a Centropyge debelius comes along, you really have to decide if you-and your aquarium-are up for the challenge and risk. Have no regrets. Because if you don’t make the call, John Coppolino will! And he’ll be the first to tell you it was an easy decision, too!
You may not be able to have it all in a reef system, but you can have most of it!
I’m reasonably sure of that….I think…Right?
So, what’s the ONE fish that you would risk your beloved coral collection to have swimming in your tank? There must be one, right? Money is no object for you…so what’s the fish- and what’s the call?
Till next time,
Stay wet…
Scott Fellman
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