Senior project ideas?

[averi spears]

Hi, I'm Averi Spears. I've never had a saltwater fish tank so I would like to put one together for my senior project. I have a mentor that is very experienced but we're still looking for ideas and help. My topic is about the symbiotic relationships within the saltwater ecosystem so of course I wanna have like an anemone and coral but we're on a price budget so if anyone knows where to get either of those for a good price or would be willing to donate that would be extremely helpful. I know for sure we want to do a clown fish with an anemone and then have a goby and pistol shrimp. We want to have other relationships of course but those are the only two we have come up with so far, if anyone has any other ideas or suggestions on that it would be a big help too.

 

[tautog83]

Just having some cleaner shrimp in there to show that in wild , they help rid fish of parasites and what not . Mutualism right, been a while since hs lol.

 

[tautog83]

Acropora crab in an acro colony is another example

 

[averi spears]

Acropora crab in an acro colony is another example

Oh yeah! The crab would be nice, adds more diversity. And I definitely want some shrimp in there somewhere too so that would work out perfectly. Thank you!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Definitely do some research on the anemone before getting one. They're fairly demanding animals to keep healthy if you're new to the hobby. They need pretty good water quality. Plus, as strange as this sounds to someone new to the hobby, clownfish are by no means guaranteed to host an anemone. There are lots and lots of tank owners who can't seem to get their clownfish to pay any attention to the anemone in the tank. An acropora colony with a crab would be a good example also, but acropora are some of the hardest photosynthetic corals to keep in the hobby. Again, definitely do the research on those before attempting this pairing. Some other colonies, like Pocillopora (which are a bit easier to keep) can also host crabs.

The cleaner shrimp is a very good option. They're relatively hardy and provide a lot of personality in a tank. Mine would actually hop on my hand and start cleaning it whenever I put my hand in the tank.

Almost any photosynthetic coral is a good example of symbiosis, although it's not as flashy or obvious as an anemone and clownfish. Every photosynthetic coral contains an algae (technically, they're dinoflagellates) called zooxanthellae. These algae live inside the coral's flesh, use light to make food, and in return for the protection, they give the coral some of the food. As a result, the coral, which is a living animal, usually needs no supplemental feeding. Most corals are supported almost entirely by the food produced by the algae in their flesh. The zooxanthellae are actually what give corals their color as well.

As for cheap equipment, Craigslist is definitely your friend. It's possible to set up a smaller tank for a few hundred bucks, but it's definitely not a cheap hobby, especially if you want to support animals like anemones and small polyped corals.

Please feel free to ask if you have any other questions. This is a great community with a lot of very knowledgeable members.

 

[averi spears]

Definitely do some research on the anemone before getting one. They're fairly demanding animals to keep healthy if you're new to the hobby. They need pretty good water quality. Plus, as strange as this sounds to someone new to the hobby, clownfish are by no means guaranteed to host an anemone. There are lots and lots of tank owners who can't seem to get their clownfish to pay any attention to the anemone in the tank. An acropora colony with a crab would be a good example also, but acropora are some of the hardest photosynthetic corals to keep in the hobby. Again, definitely do the research on those before attempting this pairing. Some other colonies, like Pocillopora (which are a bit easier to keep) can also host crabs.

The cleaner shrimp is a very good option. They're relatively hardy and provide a lot of personality in a tank. Mine would actually hop on my hand and start cleaning it whenever I put my hand in the tank.

Almost any photosynthetic coral is a good example of symbiosis, although it's not as flashy or obvious as an anemone and clownfish. Every photosynthetic coral contains an algae (technically, they're dinoflagellates) called zooxanthellae. These algae live inside the coral's flesh, use light to make food, and in return for the protection, they give the coral some of the food. As a result, the coral, which is a living animal, usually needs no supplemental feeding. Most corals are supported almost entirely by the food produced by the algae in their flesh. The zooxanthellae are actually what give corals their color as well.

As for cheap equipment, Craigslist is definitely your friend. It's possible to set up a smaller tank for a few hundred bucks, but it's definitely not a cheap hobby, especially if you want to support animals like anemones and small polyped corals.

Please feel free to ask if you have any other questions. This is a great community with a lot of very knowledgeable members.

Thanks for the advice! Do you have any suggestions as to what I could do that would be a little bit more on my level to start with? I'll definitely be looking into the cleaner shrimp.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

Thanks for the advice! Do you have any suggestions as to what I could do that would be a little bit more on my level to start with? I'll definitely be looking into the cleaner shrimp.

Green Star Polyps are a visually appealing coral that is also likely to survive the apocalypse. If you've got a tank up and running then this is a great, cheap starter coral. Just be warned that it's also one of, if not the, quickest growing corals so it should probably be places on a rock in the middle of your sand bed.

 

[keddre]

The goby with the pistol shrimp should work. Another is baby banggai cardinals with a long spine urchin (emphasis in baby).

Some clams or scallops (I forget which) pair with sponges