Quasi FOWLR

NeonRabbit221B · Oct 14, 2021

I am in the very early stages of planning for future tanks and was hoping to have a discussion of FOWLR tanks that heavily focus on "with caution" with disposable, fast growing or just unappetizing coral. In my head I know I will want a puffer, butterflyfish, dwarf angel, maybe a niger trigger and a few others that tend to either go after inverts or nip corals. My first valentini puffer would only go after SPS and some LPS like chalices but never touched softies, euphyllia and gonis and I figured that some coral is just unappetizing.... Does anyone have a largely FOWLR tank that has selective decorative coral that either grows quickly or has coral deemed "disposable" like GSP? Is there any sort of guide on corals that most "with caution" fish just don't touch? Any "with caution" or non-reef safe fish that generally don't mess with a certain species of coral/nems/ect?

Chrisv. · Oct 14, 2021

I think that some experimentation will be required. Some of the fish you are interested in will be reef safe except for xyz coral. And there is no way to know what xyz is without trying, since it can vary between individuals.

Most fish seem to leave sarcophyton alone. I don't think I've ever had a fish eat a mushroom. Maybe try some cheapo frags from your local reef club and see what happens. I'm sure if you posted a version of this in you local club forum and asked for tester frags people would hook you up with cheap or free corals to try. People always have corals growing out of the water.

JumboShrimp · Oct 14, 2021

I think @Chrisv. hit my thought on the head with the word “experimentation.” It’s like starting with a mindset that, ‘this tank is a FOWLR and these are the fish on my must-have list.’ When you’re fully stocked on your fish, then the fun (expensive fun?) begins as you add, for example a cheap mushroom, and say, ‘well I’m good there— no one ate it.’ Lather, rinse, and repeat the process, and in time you will have just as your post-title says— a Quasi FOWLR.

Chrisv. · Oct 14, 2021

I will add the caveat that sometimes a fish all of a sudden gets a hankering for a certain coral that he never tried before. I've had this happen even with reef safe fish.

I think you will have a lot of fun as long as you put the fish first and don't buy crazy expensive corals. Any coral you buy, you should buy with the expectation of losing. Maybe not today, maybe not next week...but who knows when. Come to think of it, that's how I view all corals anyway. Don't buy what you can't afford to accidentally kill.