Does size matter? Who is right?

JAYWARREN · 01/07/2010, 08:02 AM

Looking at all the different web sites that sell fish on-line almost all tell you a different minimum tank size for the same fish. And its not the fly by night shops but the good shops. I am looking at a wartskin frogfish. And one site tells me I need a 30g and one tells me I need a 70g. It would not be to bad if it was a 10g difference. But 40g is a lot.

I am not saying any are trying to miss lead people. Just all have different opinions on tank size needed. Plus if you ask on forums what size tank you need you get 10 people telling you 10 different sizes. I want to do the right thing and only get a fish that will do well in the tank I have. But how do I know for sure if even the people selling the fish cant decide on that?

Paul B · 01/07/2010, 08:17 AM

Forget about what you read from a fish supplier. Research how the fish lives in the sea, what it eats, how it locates food then decide.
That fish could be kept in a small tank because it does not even swim. It just eats a lot so you may have water quality issues but the fish itself could easily live in a 30 gallon tank. I have kept many similar fish in a smaller tank for years.
So for that fish, it is a water quality issue and not a fish "happiness" problem.
If you keep one of those in a larger tank, they also will have trouble finding food, if you feed it livefood.

Frick-n-Frags · 01/07/2010, 08:48 AM

^maybe the best advice ever given: "Know your players", then act accordingly

JAYWARREN · 01/07/2010, 11:12 AM

Paul in your opinion having had frogfish, what is the smallest tank you would use for a wartskin frog? With the understanding keeping the water clean will take a bit more work with a smaller tank?

jubjub · 01/07/2010, 11:57 AM

yeah dont trust those fish store's advice most of the time i agree with paul, know what your getting into before you buy the fish....

example live aquaria baffles me
clown trigger 125gallon
clown tang 150gallon
unicorn tang 180 gallon

honestly pretty much none of those 3 fish i'd wanna put in anything less then minimum 280gals....there's a difference in where a fish could live, and fish could thrive and be happy....

serpentman · 01/07/2010, 12:00 PM

As you know, opinions widely range on this subject. Rather than getting stuck on volume, physical dimensions are probably more appropriate. Also, common sense will go a long way. Just look at the habits of the fish in question and the answer is pretty easy. Fish that hang in the water column generally do better with more swimming room whereas a perching fish like a blenny or hawkfish can do with less.

ReefTECK · 01/07/2010, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jubjub

.there's a difference in where a fish could live, and fish could thrive

+1

Personally, having kept a number of frogfish I would keep it in a 30, due to their sedentary life style. However the species does get very large, but this takes some time. Probably a larger tank should be considered down the road, somewhere around 40-50 gallons.

The meaty diet they require maintains that water quality needs to be addressed and dillution (the tank size has alot to do with this), you can do this in a number of ways, a good skimmer is always a good idea, also whenever I've kept these fish I keep them in tanks that are full of macro algae, they like the cover, and the macro assimilates nitrogen wastes.

Paul B · 01/07/2010, 01:25 PM

I agree with ReefTECK.
But a frogfish of say an inch in length could easily live in a five gallon tank, when the thing gets to 6" I would have it in at least a 15 or 20 gallon tank. At full grown which is I think about a foot long a 30 gallon may be too small.
Some fish such as frogfish and seahorses do better in smaller tanks due to their feeding behaviour. If you put a small frogfish in a 100 gallon tank, and you want to feed it live food, it would have a very hard time catching food. In the sea there is food all over the place all the time but not in a tank.

JAYWARREN · 01/07/2010, 03:26 PM

Thank you all for your input on this. It helps a noob like me! The Wartskin Angler (Antennarius maculatus) is listed as a max size of 6" from live aquaria. Anyone with a history of this fish know this info to be true. With a max of 6" I would feel fine with a 30 to even 20g tank.

01/07/2010, 08:02 AM	#1
JAYWARREN Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 90	Does size matter? Who is right? Looking at all the different web sites that sell fish on-line almost all tell you a different minimum tank size for the same fish. And its not the fly by night shops but the good shops. I am looking at a wartskin frogfish. And one site tells me I need a 30g and one tells me I need a 70g. It would not be to bad if it was a 10g difference. But 40g is a lot. I am not saying any are trying to miss lead people. Just all have different opinions on tank size needed. Plus if you ask on forums what size tank you need you get 10 people telling you 10 different sizes. I want to do the right thing and only get a fish that will do well in the tank I have. But how do I know for sure if even the people selling the fish cant decide on that?

01/07/2010, 08:17 AM	#2
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	Forget about what you read from a fish supplier. Research how the fish lives in the sea, what it eats, how it locates food then decide. That fish could be kept in a small tank because it does not even swim. It just eats a lot so you may have water quality issues but the fish itself could easily live in a 30 gallon tank. I have kept many similar fish in a smaller tank for years. So for that fish, it is a water quality issue and not a fish "happiness" problem. If you keep one of those in a larger tank, they also will have trouble finding food, if you feed it livefood. __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/07/2010, 08:48 AM	#3
Frick-n-Frags Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: north central OH Posts: 10,740	^maybe the best advice ever given: "Know your players", then act accordingly __________________ Only Dead fish swim with the current. Current Tank Info: 2 50 gal tanks, sump, still BB

01/07/2010, 11:57 AM	#5
jubjub Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: vacaville, cali Posts: 2,698	yeah dont trust those fish store's advice most of the time i agree with paul, know what your getting into before you buy the fish.... example live aquaria baffles me clown trigger 125gallon clown tang 150gallon unicorn tang 180 gallon honestly pretty much none of those 3 fish i'd wanna put in anything less then minimum 280gals....there's a difference in where a fish could live, and fish could thrive and be happy.... __________________ "The world holds two classes of men - intelligent men without religion, and religious men without intelligence." - Abu Ala Al-Maari

01/07/2010, 12:00 PM	#6
serpentman part time superhero Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Deep in the Heart of the Snowbelt (NE OHIO) Posts: 5,698	As you know, opinions widely range on this subject. Rather than getting stuck on volume, physical dimensions are probably more appropriate. Also, common sense will go a long way. Just look at the habits of the fish in question and the answer is pretty easy. Fish that hang in the water column generally do better with more swimming room whereas a perching fish like a blenny or hawkfish can do with less. __________________ BS in Marine Bio ('96), First SW tank in 1992. Current Tank(s) 300g SPS with 90g frag tank and 40 anemone tank - decommissioned 46g LPS/Softy Cube 300g FOWLR under construction - decommissioned

01/07/2010, 11:12 AM	#4
JAYWARREN Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 90	Paul in your opinion having had frogfish, what is the smallest tank you would use for a wartskin frog? With the understanding keeping the water clean will take a bit more work with a smaller tank?

01/07/2010, 01:25 PM	#8
Paul B Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 15,549	I agree with ReefTECK. But a frogfish of say an inch in length could easily live in a five gallon tank, when the thing gets to 6" I would have it in at least a 15 or 20 gallon tank. At full grown which is I think about a foot long a 30 gallon may be too small. Some fish such as frogfish and seahorses do better in smaller tanks due to their feeding behaviour. If you put a small frogfish in a 100 gallon tank, and you want to feed it live food, it would have a very hard time catching food. In the sea there is food all over the place all the time but not in a tank. __________________ I used to get shocked when I put my hand in my tank. Then the electric eel went dead. Current Tank Info: 100 gal reef set up in 1971

01/07/2010, 03:26 PM	#9
JAYWARREN Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 90	Thank you all for your input on this. It helps a noob like me! The Wartskin Angler (Antennarius maculatus) is listed as a max size of 6" from live aquaria. Anyone with a history of this fish know this info to be true. With a max of 6" I would feel fine with a 30 to even 20g tank.