Fishless Reef Tank?

[inactive]

Well... I was looking at ol' reefyface today and I realized, I only have 4 fish in my 55g...... wow, makes me want to just remove the rest of them or just keep one. Removed my neon dottyback so the other could survive and it died last night...

Hm... what are your thoughts on a 1 fish or fishless system?

 

[Nicks387]

I don't like it. I think it would be good for keeping down nutrients and I have thought about it at one time or another but its just not right to me. It did all start out as a "fish tank" after all.

 

[Brad Syphus]

I cant even imagine having a reef tank without fish. Boring..

 

[inactive]

I hate my fish, they make me angry.

 

[sleeper]

Then its just a frag tank, but many people enjoy those more than their main DT's

 

[inactive]

Not a frag tank by any means, but I see what you mean...

 

[Brad Syphus]

What fish do you have?

 

[gilmour01]

kill them all and create a kingdom where corals are the ruling class. do keep in mind that your corals may eventually find a way to do away with you as well. you need to find a way to keep them in line so that they know who the boss is...i suggest a stun gun.

 

[inactive]

What fish do you have?

Spotted Hawk
Large Lawnmower
Pink Skunk Clown Pair

BOOORRRIIINNNGGGGGGG....

 

[inactive]

kill them all and create a kingdom where corals are the ruling class. do keep in mind that your corals may eventually find a way to do away with you as well. you need to find a way to keep them in line so that they know who the boss is...i suggest a stun gun.

I keep them in line with a razor blade, and a hammer. Not to mention intimidating good looks.

 

[ficklefins]

I'm not against the idea, but at the very least I think I would have to have a clownfish in there.

 

[Brad Syphus]

Spotted Hawk
Large Lawnmower
Pink Skunk Clown Pair

BOOORRRIIINNNGGGGGGG....

Yea. I agree:squigglemouth:

 

[inactive]

Yea. I agree:squigglemouth:

Used to be full of wrasse and all kinds of cool stuff.... Natural selection I guess.

 

[gilmour01]

pick one out of the crowd every once and a while and make an example out of him. trim off a few limbs and make sure the others bear witness. that'll keep'em straight!

 

[inactive]

I'm not against the idea, but at the very least I think I would have to have a clownfish in there.

Or 1 candy basslet!

 

[Alpha Aquaculture]

I have no fish and I will tell you why I believe its better in many ways.

1. You can actually feed your corals. Most people broadcast feed their tank. Very little of this food makes it to the corals. For those that will say its unnecessary to feed corals, all I can say is that they do eat the food when you feed them. Do they not want to eat? Of course they would rather eat more! Its just impossible to feed them efficiently in a tank with fish ime.

2. Pollution. Broadcast feeding your fish and having their poop in a captive ecosystem pollutes this ecosystem. This means you must have better filtration which leads to higher expenses and more work!

3. Don't destroy the reefs. Its essentially impossible to have your fish breed and raise their young in the average aquarium. Fish have a finite live span and will eventually die. If your fish are coming out of the ocean you are contributing to the destruction of the reefs. Continuing to purchase fish is necessary to keep your system 'as is'. If you purchase only tank bred fish this is a non issue for me.

4. $$$$. Fish are expensive and will die or kill each other or be killed by something. I only had fish for 5 years before I got into coral and when I look back on those days I feel bad for the fish, most of them died but a few I sold back to a local store. They also jump out of tanks with open tops and I like open tops!


Fish are aestetic unless you breed them which cannot happen in a reef. Some do accomplish tasks like eating algea and worms/pests but these tasks can be accomplished other ways. So if you have fish in a reef go with a few of the cheapy tank bred ones and start feeding your corals!

I love fish btw :)

 

[inactive]

I love fish too, but am sick of buying them.

 

[Alpha Aquaculture]

5. Unethical. I forgot to say that I think its a little bit unethical to house certain types of fish in captive ecosystems. Imo all captive ecosystems are tiny compared to the ocean and when I see fish in a tank they look to me like they want to get out. From a clown in a 5 gallon to a killer whale in sea world. Only thing is the clown can't kill you to express his discontent!

 

[inactive]

Neither can a killer whale..

Oh wait.. lolerskates!

 

[Alpha Aquaculture]

Corals are sessile invertebrates. Most of them don't move. If your buying aquacultured corals, the only ethical dilemma is making sure your water quality is close to natural conditions. Just my opinions here guys but I think I make a few good points.