gobybryant

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Hey all-

Been a lurker here for a while, but decided to create a build thread for my latest tank :D

When I rebooted this tank my goal was to create a beautiful macroalgae display that would require minimal maintenance. Along the way, I started to notice that most of the things I planned on stocking in the tank were native to the Caribbean and western Atlantic. I’ve decided to do my best to keep this tank running as a 10g biotope.

494C5CB3-F897-4333-8D06-8CE15E95EC90.jpeg




Livestock

Longlure Frogfish (Antennarius multiocellatus)

nugg.png


The species is native to the western Atlantic, from Bermuda down to Brasil. Having bought Nugg as an assorted angler, knowing what species he/she would be was a bit of a crapshoot. I used Zubi's super helpful guide and made the ID based on the unique spots on Nugg's dorsal fin. Nugg is about 2.5-3" long, so I'll need to upgrade to a larger tank in the near future. My LFS was having trouble getting anglers in, so I eventually ordered from Aquarium Fish Sale. I was really pleased with their shipping and customer service.

A note on anglers: slow acclimation is extremely important. I rushed acclimation with a previous angler only to watch it experience S.A.D. If you haven’t seen this, be glad because it’s really gut wrenching to watch a fish convulse and dart around the tank because of something you did.


Macroalgae

Halimedia sp.
Caulerpa prolifera

Dragon's Breath (Hayi Gracilaria) RIP
Since frogfish produce a lot of waste, the macroalgae is useful for additional nutrient export. To stay true to the biotope, all the macros are native to the western Atlantic. I initially had Dragon's Breath in the tank, but it melted away overnight and became expensive hermit crab food. Would love some other macroalgae recommendations!


Sponge(s)

Red Tree Sponge (Ptilocaulis sp)
I only recently added this sponge to the tank, but so far so good. I held off on adding sponges because of what I had read online regarding air exposure and transportation. The folks at KP Aquatics did a great job packaging my sponge and it arrived in great condition. In my limited experience, a tiny bit of air exposure in transferring from drip acclimation container to the tank was not an issue.

Getting the sponge in place was difficult though. It's tiny rock base is currently wedged into the rock work, but I'm planning on gluing it to a small piece of rubble that I can then place in the sand without damaging tissue. If I see continued success with the red tree, I'll be adding more sponges in the future.


CUC

I keep my clean up crew pretty minimal. I've got 5 trochus snails, 5 blue-leg hermits, and one hitchhiker astrea snail. These guys keep my sand and rock work super clean of debris and microalgae. Frogfish produce a lot of waste, but I want to be wary of adding too many CUC members. I'd rather scrape my glass than add another trochus only to have it starve.



Feeding & Dosing​


First off, I owe a great deal of what I know about angler husbandry, especially in regards to feeding, to the passionate folks (esp. @lion king) on this site and others. So far I've opted for feeding live foods every 3-4 days, as opposed to weening my angler onto frozen foods. The best part of caring for a frogfish is watching them hunt! I started with chromis, but have switched to mollies to reduce the potential for disease since I don't have a QT set-up.

As I mentioned earlier, I dose a few drops of seachem reef phytoplankton once per day for the sponge. For my macroalgae, I dose a few drops each of iodion from brightwell aquatics, and iron & manganese from Kent marine. I also add a few drops of purple tech to help with coralline algae growth.



Housekeeping


Water Changes

Since this tank is on the smaller side at 10g, I rely on weekly 15-20% water changes for nutrient export. My previous systems have been on the larger side, so keeping water parameters in check was much easier. I find the IM 10g AIO tank is somewhat difficult to keep clean because of the structure of the back compartments. I siphon the back to the best of my abilities during WCs, then suck up the frogfish poo from the DT.


Macroalgae Trimming

I would not take this as advice since I'm new to the macroalgae scene, but I like to trim any Caulerpa that looks really faded. Truthfully, I think I could let nature run its course here without ramifications, but I'll stick to being cautious for now.

Thanks for reading!
-Nugg's Dad
 

MNFish

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I love building a tank for a frogfish, and the detail you put into making a perfect environment! This tank look awesome and so does the frogfish!
 

Lemon

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love the macro algae/sponge.
I would love to have a angler but really need to finish my current tank
 
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gobybryant

gobybryant

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love the macro algae/sponge.
I would love to have a angler but really need to finish my current tank
Thanks!

You can put one in your 40b if the macro fuge part is ~15g. I find my frog doesn’t move a whole lot, even when hunting. I’m still looking to upgrade when Nugg gets bigger.
 

Lemon

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Thanks!

You can put one in your 40b if the macro fuge part is ~15g. I find my frog doesn’t move a whole lot, even when hunting. I’m still looking to upgrade when Nugg gets bigger.
so for the 40b I want to have a pair of clowns since for the display I want small/peaceful and shy fish
also I don't actually have the 40b right now still planning its just what I want to and I'm planning a new stand around it
 

dennis romano

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Nice tank BUT the sponge is very hard to care for. They must be fed several times a day and a variety of very fine food. In nature, they are constantly filtering food out of the water. They also cannot get algae on them, it will smother them. I have nine sponges in one tank, including three red tree.
 
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gobybryant

gobybryant

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Nice tank BUT the sponge is very hard to care for. They must be fed several times a day and a variety of very fine food. In nature, they are constantly filtering food out of the water. They also cannot get algae on them, it will smother them. I have nine sponges in one tank, including three red tree.
What do you feed?

I only feed once per day, but wouldn’t mind multiple feedings. The tank is right on my desk in the office.
 

dennis romano

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I feed a combo of Reef Nutrition's Phytofeast, Oyster feast and Rotifeast. I mix a little of each in a squeeze bottle and squirt several times a day.
 

Mr_Knightley

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This is a wonderful build! Frogfish will always have a special place in my heart, I've currently got one right now in a similar tank (IM 24g AIO). I tried sponges but I wasn't able to get small enough food in time and my aquarium water level got low enough to inject them with bubbles, so I hope to try some more at some point. The species of fish I keep is Antennatus dorehensis (I determined this by using the same guide you did). I was kind of hoping to get a longlure or similar species when I ordered, but he ended up being so unique that I don't even care.
Keep us updated on this guy! He's quite adorable.
 

duberii

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Cool tank! I wanted to add sponges too, but I was scared to lose them and poison my tank. A local hobbyist has a photosynthetic plating sponge, which I might snag a piece of, just because I love sponges, and I think this would be a good first step. I have a barebottom tank because it's easier to maintain, but I don't love the look so I may end up changing it eventually. I think macros are a super cool choice for the tank- I only have chaeto, but I don't love the look of that in the tank, so I'm thinking of getting some pom pom gracilaria from algae barn, but they're sold out. I want something that my angler could perch on, but it's tough to find rigid fast-growing algae in my experience.
 
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gobybryant

gobybryant

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This is a wonderful build! Frogfish will always have a special place in my heart, I've currently got one right now in a similar tank (IM 24g AIO). I tried sponges but I wasn't able to get small enough food in time and my aquarium water level got low enough to inject them with bubbles, so I hope to try some more at some point. The species of fish I keep is Antennatus dorehensis (I determined this by using the same guide you did). I was kind of hoping to get a longlure or similar species when I ordered, but he ended up being so unique that I don't even care.
Keep us updated on this guy! He's quite adorable.
Thanks- he kinda looks like a chicken nugget- hence the name

It’s a total crapshoot when you order an assorted angler, but I was cool with whatever I got, so long as it wasn’t a Commersons!

I also spoke too soon re: the sponge. Turned on the lights this morning and it was covered in white slim and looked like it was decaying so I removed it from the tank ☹️
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 66 37.3%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.3%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.1%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 27 15.3%
  • Other.

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