As a coral vendor, I receive tons of phone calls from fellow reefers about their tanks, their corals, their successes/failures/ideas…Lots and lots of questions. I love it. Sometimes I can’t believe I do this for a living...I mean, at 11:00 AM, I should be talking about more grown up stuff, right? Nah.
Craziness.
Anyways, one of the most common questions I receive from fellow hobbyists is what I think about them taking the risk keeping a certain type of fish in their reef tank. Usually, it’s that beloved Angelfish, ultra-cool Butterflyfish, or cute Blenny that the customer saw on Diver's Den (love you, Kevin!) or the LFS and simply cannot resist! The question is always the same…”Can I keep _______ with my Acan collection?" My first thought is, “How the heck would I know?” I mean, it kind of puts me in a weird position of giving a reefer “permission” to put his insanely expensive coral collection at risk. I just had this discussion with a customer yesterday, so it’s fresh in my mind. And of course, as a fish lover, I have my opinions on the subject. However, as a coral vendor, I have mixed feelings. And I don’t want people thinking that I say “Go for it” every time because “I can sell ‘em more corals when she rips up his collection!”…So, this simple question becomes quite a quandary! I deal with this all the time. It’s the fine art of balancing what you want to keep with what you currently keep- and it requires planning, risk-taking, and sometimes, an outright gut-check as an aquarist.
"...or that 'Superman Millie?' What to do?"
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 values his favorite fish over his love of corals. I think it’s a matter of balance, really. I mean, if you just have to keep a Chaetodontoplus conspicillatus in your reef 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 “LE” Chalice colony more than some $4,500 Angelfish- just let the idea go (But what dork would choose a coral over a fish? Not you, right? Sheesh!!).
Or, you could compromise.
Woahh! “Compromise”-a word that we don’t often use in reefkeping. What does THAT mean? It simply means that if you want to keep that potentially coral-munching fish in your tank stocked with prized corals, no one is going to feel sorry for you if the fish takes out your entire Zoa and Paly collection. On the other hand, if you accept the fact that some corals will be nipped, and restrain yourself from keeping the ultra crazy collectible corals in the tank with your Centropyge debelius, you can make it work.
Is this really a compromise?
Learn to love the more commonly available varieties of easily captive-propagated coral, like Pocillopora, which can more readily and affordably be replenished when they get wacked by your Angelfish. 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?" Well, true…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. The other alternative is to create a classic Fish Only with Live Rock (FOWLR) tank-the ultimate expression of marine hobby compromise, IMO.
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, hopefully limiting snacking incidents as much as possible. Idea for you: 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 like Reef Nutrition 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.
You're Mark Poletti. Your reef tank is epic. Do you buy that Butterly? Mark? Mark?
Oh, and let’s be candid about one thing, ok? - With few individual exceptions, there is little likelihood that a fish for whom coral comprises the majority of its diet will suddenly switch to an exclusive diet of Tetramin (I call it the "Moorish Idol Paradox"), but it may certainly learn over time to accept other foods as a substitute. Look at the wonderful work that was done with Orange Spot Filefish by my man, Matt Pederson. I mean, the guy was breeding them and getting them to accept mysids and other foods as the bulk of their diet! 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” Pocillopora (Whoah- Marketing idea!)! There is almost always an argument that can be made for experimentation. Almost.
"Feeder Pocillopora?"
To summarize this nonesense, it’s really a matter of weighing your personal interest and love of corals versus your love of 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 boylei comes along, you really have to decide if you-and your aquarium-are up for the challenge and risk.
Make the call before Copps does...And be sure to pay the mortgage first!
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 keep everything you want in your reef system, but you can keep most of it! Usually…Okay, sometimes…um, probably..
Till next time,
Stay wet…
Scott Fellman
Craziness.
Anyways, one of the most common questions I receive from fellow hobbyists is what I think about them taking the risk keeping a certain type of fish in their reef tank. Usually, it’s that beloved Angelfish, ultra-cool Butterflyfish, or cute Blenny that the customer saw on Diver's Den (love you, Kevin!) or the LFS and simply cannot resist! The question is always the same…”Can I keep _______ with my Acan collection?" My first thought is, “How the heck would I know?” I mean, it kind of puts me in a weird position of giving a reefer “permission” to put his insanely expensive coral collection at risk. I just had this discussion with a customer yesterday, so it’s fresh in my mind. And of course, as a fish lover, I have my opinions on the subject. However, as a coral vendor, I have mixed feelings. And I don’t want people thinking that I say “Go for it” every time because “I can sell ‘em more corals when she rips up his collection!”…So, this simple question becomes quite a quandary! I deal with this all the time. It’s the fine art of balancing what you want to keep with what you currently keep- and it requires planning, risk-taking, and sometimes, an outright gut-check as an aquarist.
"...or that 'Superman Millie?' What to do?"
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 values his favorite fish over his love of corals. I think it’s a matter of balance, really. I mean, if you just have to keep a Chaetodontoplus conspicillatus in your reef 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 “LE” Chalice colony more than some $4,500 Angelfish- just let the idea go (But what dork would choose a coral over a fish? Not you, right? Sheesh!!).
Or, you could compromise.
Woahh! “Compromise”-a word that we don’t often use in reefkeping. What does THAT mean? It simply means that if you want to keep that potentially coral-munching fish in your tank stocked with prized corals, no one is going to feel sorry for you if the fish takes out your entire Zoa and Paly collection. On the other hand, if you accept the fact that some corals will be nipped, and restrain yourself from keeping the ultra crazy collectible corals in the tank with your Centropyge debelius, you can make it work.
Is this really a compromise?
Learn to love the more commonly available varieties of easily captive-propagated coral, like Pocillopora, which can more readily and affordably be replenished when they get wacked by your Angelfish. 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?" Well, true…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. The other alternative is to create a classic Fish Only with Live Rock (FOWLR) tank-the ultimate expression of marine hobby compromise, IMO.
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, hopefully limiting snacking incidents as much as possible. Idea for you: 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 like Reef Nutrition 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.
You're Mark Poletti. Your reef tank is epic. Do you buy that Butterly? Mark? Mark?
Oh, and let’s be candid about one thing, ok? - With few individual exceptions, there is little likelihood that a fish for whom coral comprises the majority of its diet will suddenly switch to an exclusive diet of Tetramin (I call it the "Moorish Idol Paradox"), but it may certainly learn over time to accept other foods as a substitute. Look at the wonderful work that was done with Orange Spot Filefish by my man, Matt Pederson. I mean, the guy was breeding them and getting them to accept mysids and other foods as the bulk of their diet! 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” Pocillopora (Whoah- Marketing idea!)! There is almost always an argument that can be made for experimentation. Almost.
"Feeder Pocillopora?"
To summarize this nonesense, it’s really a matter of weighing your personal interest and love of corals versus your love of 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 boylei comes along, you really have to decide if you-and your aquarium-are up for the challenge and risk.
Make the call before Copps does...And be sure to pay the mortgage first!
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 keep everything you want in your reef system, but you can keep most of it! Usually…Okay, sometimes…um, probably..
Till next time,
Stay wet…
Scott Fellman
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