Bfly in reef...look
- Thread starter Jase
- Start date
I don't know if I would be interested in following the example of anyone who keeps a Queen Angel in a 75-gal reef tank.
That is most definitely a serious mistake that will blow up in his face very shortly. According to his description, the tank is 75-gallons with a 50-gallon sump. The lighting is a single 150w HQI plus 2*40w NO fluorescents. He uses a wet/dry filter because he says that he does not have sufficient live rock in the main display tank to handle filtration--probably because of the obvious heavy fish load.
Ninong
Ninong
I have had problems with French angels and Queen angels nipping at corals. And I used to feed corals,polyps and sponges to new butterflies so they would not starve when newly caught(25+ years ago). But if you dont have problems great! Your tank looks great. You seem to be doing it right. Steve
It's interesting that we say this fish or that fish will be destructive in a reef tank.
To a ceratin degree, I agree, in that keeping a large obligate corallivore in a 75 gallon sps tank is asking for trouble.
But how many of you have actually tried some of the other butterflies?
How many of you have actually placed a C. collare, or rainfordi or a semilarvatus in a 120G reef tank, and left it there?
It was not so long ago that Angels were forbidden in a reef tank. They seem to be pretty common these days.
I toy with the idea of adding a B'fly that is one of the more omnivorous sp.
Sure, it will nip at this and that, maybe kill an entire colony of something, but you would end up with a far more natural reef tank, and after all, isn't that what most of us strive for.The corals will adjust, and grow accordingly, heck they may even grow faster to accomodate the picking.
I think it could be very interesting, and the results might be quite surprising.
To a ceratin degree, I agree, in that keeping a large obligate corallivore in a 75 gallon sps tank is asking for trouble.
But how many of you have actually tried some of the other butterflies?
How many of you have actually placed a C. collare, or rainfordi or a semilarvatus in a 120G reef tank, and left it there?
It was not so long ago that Angels were forbidden in a reef tank. They seem to be pretty common these days.
I toy with the idea of adding a B'fly that is one of the more omnivorous sp.
Sure, it will nip at this and that, maybe kill an entire colony of something, but you would end up with a far more natural reef tank, and after all, isn't that what most of us strive for.The corals will adjust, and grow accordingly, heck they may even grow faster to accomodate the picking.
I think it could be very interesting, and the results might be quite surprising.
EmilyB,You are luck to have what I consider one of the best butterflies around.I had one a few years back in a FO tank.A beautiful,personable fish to be sure.My only question is "Are they really reef safe".I fed
mine a variety of foods which he readily accepted.Just wondering if they would bother corals too much
mine a variety of foods which he readily accepted.Just wondering if they would bother corals too much
Jase, actually we were just talking about the reef the other night, and I said to hubby, sheesh it's like 95% of everything is doing well, and 5% looks crappy, and the crappy varies. Yes, he said "like a real reef". Made sense to me.
Coral tank, yes I love Spike. He hangs out at the corner of the tank that faces the bedroom door, and is there waiting every morning for me to come out
Not much in the tank he's in right now, but there is a large feather duster I saw him nip once. Six months later the feather duster still doing fine. He eats a lot and I feed him often, I never really see him on the rock, although no corals there to interest him maybe...
Naesco, you mean the BFly ? He's in a 48g right now. He's about 3" in size. I actually am tentatively planning on moving my reef from the 72g to the 155g in the near future, and I think I would consider including him.
Coral tank, yes I love Spike. He hangs out at the corner of the tank that faces the bedroom door, and is there waiting every morning for me to come out
Naesco, you mean the BFly ? He's in a 48g right now. He's about 3" in size. I actually am tentatively planning on moving my reef from the 72g to the 155g in the near future, and I think I would consider including him.
It is pretty hard to generalise when it comes to blanket assessments re the suitability of certain fish in a reef set-up.
My tank is a case in point. I have a 6 inch Black Velvet Angel and a similar sized Moorish Idol in a 120 gal reef. Both of these species are not considered to be reef safe. In my case, the Angel has never bothered any of my mushrooms, softies or LPS corals. The Idol has attacked a red Cyanaris lacramalis, but ignores all the others. I have a suspicion that the Cyanaris was attacked because of a colour association with some of the foods that it likes. Both fish have proven over the 2 years or so that I've had them to be great additions in my particular set up. Someone else, however, may have had problems with the same fish. In my case the corals were introduced after the fish had been there a year or longer and their feeding habits were already well established. That may have been a factor.
My tank is a case in point. I have a 6 inch Black Velvet Angel and a similar sized Moorish Idol in a 120 gal reef. Both of these species are not considered to be reef safe. In my case, the Angel has never bothered any of my mushrooms, softies or LPS corals. The Idol has attacked a red Cyanaris lacramalis, but ignores all the others. I have a suspicion that the Cyanaris was attacked because of a colour association with some of the foods that it likes. Both fish have proven over the 2 years or so that I've had them to be great additions in my particular set up. Someone else, however, may have had problems with the same fish. In my case the corals were introduced after the fish had been there a year or longer and their feeding habits were already well established. That may have been a factor.
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