What do people think about species specific tanks

[Kenny Kirby]

Since ill be moving into an apartment within the year I won't be able to take my 75 gallon tank with me so its time for me to start thinking about the next tank. Due to size limits Im leaning to try something new and do a species specific tank I'm leaning towards a frogfish tank but open to others.

So far the only ones I can think of would be frogfish tank, sea horse tank, or lion fish tank. Feel free to leave suggestions or information on specific fish or other animals that could be used for species specific. Also if anyone has any species tanks share their experience with them or their thoughts on them in general. Add as much information as you can on any fish you have or wish you could set up a tank for.

If you don't have species specific tanks feel free to share your nano tanks and experience as my next one will have to be on the small side.

 

[Kenny Kirby]

Ill start it off by putting some info on Wartskin frogfish and similar species as this is what Im leaning towards

Frogfish are reef dwellers who change their colors to blend into their surrounding waiting until prey pass by to pounce. This is why they make for an interesting fish to keep due to their angling and hunting. It also makes them more difficult than many other fish as they must be fed live fish or shrimp unless transitioned to frozen. Due to their lifestyle they have a slow metabolism so should only be fed 2-3 times a week and only a couple shrimp at a time otherwise the food will rot in their stomachs. If they can be converted to frozen then they should be fed a variety of frozen foods like silversides or krill. Their food should be small as to make sure they can digest the food in time.

They are also known to eat things that are much larger than them which is why they pretty much must be kept in an aquarium by themselves as they will eat any other fish put into the tank.

They require at least around a 30 gallon tank and due to their messy eating habits it should have a very good filtration system to keep up with them. They grow to be around 5" large. They will not damage any corals so as long as there are no inverts or fish it can be a standard reef tank set up with coral.

Live food- make sure to gut load

• saltwater shrimp
• saltwater guppies
• ghost shrimp

Frozen food

• silversides
• krill
• mysis shrimp

These fish make a great species specific tank mate due to their interesting nature but must be kept alone.

 

[Greybeard]

I've kept seahorses. Very interesting critters, display amazing behaviors. IMHO, keeping seahorses without having a plan on what to do with the inevitable offspring is a morally questionable thing to do, and raising seahorse fry is challenging. I got out of seahorses nearly 20 years ago now, when GBD took out my herd. Didn't start it back up again because of the work involved in raising the fry.

One species specific tank I've always been interested in, cuttlefish. Very interesting critters. These days, they're not as difficult to obtain in the US as they used to be, thanks to a handful of captive breeding programs. I think their short lifespan is probably the only reason why I never made the attempt. Octopus fall into the same general category, though they're far less interesting to me personally.

A species specific tank or niche biotope tank can be very interesting. I've seen some killer mangrove setups. A friend used to have a shallow square tank with nothing but clams and pipefish that was cool. A LFS I once visited had a large tank, built around a single, HUGE green branching hammer colony. At least 3 feet long, and nearly 2 feet wide. Nothing in the tank but sand, that huge branching hammer, and a few small peaceful fishes. Once saw a freshwater setup half terrarium, half water, filled with archer fish. He'd dump crickets into the tank, they'd crawl around in the plants, and get picked off by the archer fish. Kept a few anoles as well, to make things more interesting.

 

[gcarroll]

Variety is the spice of life!

 

[Kenny Kirby]

@Greybeard Thats true I didn't even think about the seahorse babies Ive always wanted to setup a seahorse tank but taking care of the babies is a huge undertaking people probably don't expect. A cuttle fish tank does sound pretty interesting too didn't even know those were capable of being kept in a tank wonder what kind of care is required for them to thrive. Octopus are pretty interesting too at least to me but theres always the chance of escape that scared me away. The other ones you mentioned are pretty cool as well. I just love the idea of taking care of a specific species and all of their needs especially since these types of critters are usually more interesting than standard fish that are kept in tanks. Thanks for adding your thoughts to the thread.

 

[cracker]

Maybe as a 2nd tank. That would be cool

 

[Greybeard]

 

[andrewkw]

I love species specific tanks but as a secondary tank. I don't think I'd have the restraint to just keep one as my only tank. If you do a dwarf lion or a frogfish you could of course have whatever kind of reef you want just no other fish. Another option would be garden eels if tank size allows for a group. I kept them for years and loved them. Currently I have a 10 gallon nano with just sexy shrimp in it. In the past I've done the eels as I mentioned, dwarf cuttlefish, octopus and had a fowlr which is now an owlr until I decide what to do with my spare 90.

 

[Greybeard]

@GreybeardI didn't even think about the seahorse babies

They're easy to sex... I suppose a tank of all males or all females might work, I've honestly never tried it.

Established seahorse pairs will entwine their tails and swim around the tank in unison every morning. Watching the female pass her new eggs to the male... I don't know that I'd want to keep a single sex herd of seahorses, but it's a possible option.

 

[Kenny Kirby]

@cracker @andrewkw yea thats how I always thought of it more of a supplement tank to a main display tank as there are just too many different things I would want to keep and one tank isn't enough. Garden eels would be pretty neat I love how when there is a lot they look like grass just sticking out of the sand. sounds like you've had experience with many different species over the years.

 

[Kenny Kirby]

@Greybeard Yea thats a good point the mating and pairing off is something very interesting that would be missed if only keeping males or females. wow there is a whole video on cuttle fish ill have to save that and watch little by little.

 

[andrewkw]

Yes I've kept a lot of "weird" stuff. To be honest it's prevented me from burning out in the hobby. I have always had a reef and I always will but there are times where it's not gone well for various reasons and I needed a bit of a break (it was still running but not my main focus).

Do you for sure want to keep keeping corals? If so do you have a specific type you want to keep. That will help eliminate certain species specific things. Also depending on what you keep they aren't going to live forever so you can always change it up. I kept 2 rounds of cuttlefish then 2 different Octopus since they only live about a year.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I've been working a lot with our Giant Pacific Octopus at the National Aquarium, so I've caught the bug and really want to get a cephalopod. When I get one it'll definitely be in its own tank.

 

[Kenny Kirby]

@andrewkw Thats the thing in my apartment I can't see myself having more than one tank and it won't be very big which is why something like a frogfish or angel would be good as it would also allow me to keep corals which i like as well. But overall once I have my own house i would be okay with having one tank that doesn't have corals if I have another tank that does. As for specific types of corals I'm fine with any, I know frogfish and lion fish are messy so it would be harder to keep sps but id be fine with lps and softies. That is true about them not be around for ever and being able to change it up after there gone as well.