Mix and Match

[Ed Menard]

I run a 400 gallon apartment pred tank...bare bottom. Currently I have a miniatus grouper, Panther grouper, Stars and stripes Puffer, Huma trigger, Blue ring angelfish, Maroon clownfish, Green Bird Wrasse, Vlamengui tang, orange spot rabbitfish, and a tessalatta eel. I Have had a Spanish and Cuban hogfish(both eaten by miniatus, and a Harlequin tusk(bullied to death by miniatus). I have learned that ANY fish combo can go south very fast. The miniatus in particular can swallow a fish 2 inches longer than himself...I saw it happen!....

My message in this is to take any advice about fish getting along well as an IN MOST CASES...every fish can act out contrary to the average)

 

[revhtree]

@Lionfish Lair @FeliciaLynn

 

[Duke4Life]

I run a 400 gallon apartment pred tank...bare bottom. Currently I have a miniatus grouper, Panther grouper, Stars and stripes Puffer, Huma trigger, Blue ring angelfish, Maroon clownfish, Green Bird Wrasse, Vlamengui tang, orange spot rabbitfish, and a tessalatta eel. I Have had a Spanish and Cuban hogfish(both eaten by miniatus, and a Harlequin tusk(bullied to death by miniatus). I have learned that ANY fish combo can go south very fast. The miniatus in particular can swallow a fish 2 inches longer than himself...I saw it happen!....

My message in this is to take any advice about fish getting along well as an IN MOST CASES...every fish can act out contrary to the average)

Have any pics?

 

[FilterFreak]

IMO if you choose to have a predator tank, its a great idea to have safe haven "grow out" tank set up as well as a QT...

I can tell you rite now your eventually going to have to pull the Maroon Clown out ... Your Panther in time can hit 27'' and will eat any fish that can fit in his huge mouth... The Miniatus can hit a tad over a foot long, they are aggressive and will become a ambush hunter.. you do not want to waste money on any shrimps, snails, crabs, or basically the clean up crew as they will be eaten by the Grouper and Crabs can be eaten by the Trigger.. Only buy fish that can not fit in the Groupers mouth, if there are offensive aggressive strikes towards smaller fish then, you need to make a decision to either pull the new fish or pull the Miniatus from the tank... its trial and error with Predator tanks... some get along better, some do not... you can use the grow out tank to get some size on smaller fish before adding them to the main tank as well, the safe haven really comes in handy in saving fish and money spent on them..

~Jim

 

[Ed Menard]

IMO if you choose to have a predator tank, its a great idea to have safe haven "grow out" tank set up as well as a QT...

I can tell you rite now your eventually going to have to pull the Maroon Clown out ... Your Panther in time can hit 27'' and will eat any fish that can fit in his huge mouth... The Miniatus can hit a tad over a foot long, they are aggressive and will become a ambush hunter.. you do not want to waste money on any shrimps, snails, crabs, or basically the clean up crew as they will be eaten by the Grouper and Crabs can be eaten by the Trigger.. Only buy fish that can not fit in the Groupers mouth, if there are offensive aggressive strikes towards smaller fish then, you need to make a decision to either pull the new fish or pull the Miniatus from the tank... its trial and error with Predator tanks... some get along better, some do not... you can use the grow out tank to get some size on smaller fish before adding them to the main tank as well, the safe haven really comes in handy in saving fish and money spent on them..

~Jim

I agree totally Jim...currently looking at adding a 220 gallon tank for that very purpose...surprisingly the maroon clown is more aggressive than either grouper...they wont mess with him at all!...of course I do expect that to change)

 

[Ed Menard]

Have any pics?

I have a video of them all feeding...i'll get it posted tomorrow after work)

 

[FilterFreak]

I agree totally Jim...currently looking at adding a 220 gallon tank for that very purpose...surprisingly the maroon clown is more aggressive than either grouper...they wont mess with him at all!...of course I do expect that to change)

I'm sorry to hear about the Harlequin Tusk, I'm a fan of them... Predator tanks have their pros and cons, what I look for is balance... I don't want 1 dominant fish ruling the entire tank to the point of killing a fish.. don't get me wrong, a dominant fish is going to rise to the top , you really cant stop that dominance role...

 

[Lionfish Lair]

This can happen in any tank, not only predator tanks.

 

[stevieduk]

i had a fish in with my grouper that i thought was safe as it was bigger than it. he ate the fish bit by bit over a few days , when i found it its tail and half of its side had been bitten away. still love my grouper though, like haveing a dog

 

[stevieduk]

i had a fish in with my grouper that i thought was safe as it was bigger than it. he ate the fish bit by bit over a few days , when i found it its tail and half of its side had been bitten away. still love my grouper though, like haveing a dog