Garden Eels or a Frogfish?

[livinlifeinBKK]

Due to having a spare 20 gallon tank I don't plan on stocking with coral, I was thinking of dedicating it to either a species tank for a frogfish or making a deep sand bed for garden eels which I think we all agree are really cool. I know frogfish usually don't live more than a year or so in captivity (or so I've heard) and the really ornate ones are pricey (around the equivalent of $100 here) so I worry about the risk something happening to him. The garden eels on the other hand, I'm unsure of what they eat and how difficult they are to maintain (I would have a deep sand bed if I went this route). Also can most other fish be kept with garden eels? Which do you guys think is the better choice?

 

[lion king]

I think a 20g is going to be too small for any kind of garden eel setup. They need room and their feeding requirements are alot to handle in regard of filtration. Do some more research on the garden eels and you'll find a very limited capacity for a 20g. You would have to add a refugium or some type of macro algae filtration as well as very frequent water changes to maintain water quality.

If you are interested in a frogfish, a wartskin is your best bet for a 20g, and it's going to run you alot more than a $100.
Some suppliers will list a non-specific species and you may get one for $100 or a bit less. But these can be pretty bland and you never know how big they are goin to get. Check out this this thread if you think it's something you are interested in. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/so-you-want-a-frog-fish-i-call-them-anglers.913556/

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I think a 20g is going to be too small for any kind of garden eel setup. They need room and their feeding requirements are alot to handle in regard of filtration. Do some more research on the garden eels and you'll find a very limited capacity for a 20g. You would have to add a refugium or some type of macro algae filtration as well as very frequent water changes to maintain water quality.

If you are interested in a frogfish, a wartskin is your best bet for a 20g, and it's going to run you alot more than a $100.
Some suppliers will list a non-specific species and you may get one for $100 or a bit less. But these can be pretty bland and you never know how big they are goin to get. Check out this this thread if you think it's something you are interested in. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/so-you-want-a-frog-fish-i-call-them-anglers.913556/

Thanks!...this is why I'm asking on R2R before just going out and buying one! These are a couple at my LFS for sale the red one is a little less than $100 and the other two are about $110...all 3 are pretty small. Do they grow quickly?

 

[lion king]

Thanks!...this is why I'm asking on R2R before just going out and buying one! These are a couple at my LFS for sale the red one is a little less than $100 and the other two are about $110...all 3 are pretty small. Do they grow quickly?

Those are definitely wartskins on the left, and that's a good price. One would fit nicely in a 20g, they don't grow really fast and their max size would be fine for a 20g. Read through my frogfish thread to see if that;s something for you. What species do they list for the red one.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Those are definitely wartskins on the left, and that's a good price. One would fit nicely in a 20g, they don't grow really fast and their max size would be fine for a 20g. Read through my frogfish to see if that;s something for you. What species do they list for the red one.

I'd have to ask them about species but first I'll give your article a read!

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

The other idea I had for the vacant tank was to run a sort of experiment involving starfish nutrition. Housing multiple small stars of the same species and feeding them different diets while periodically weighing them and measuring any growth to get insight into their nutritional requirements currently unknown and maybe shed light upon how to keep them successfully without them starving.