Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank

[Michael Hoaster]

"I am Blenny. Hear me roar!"



The fake wall is getting a nice patina! I see caulerpa, turf algae, tiny grasilaria hayi, tiny blue hypnea, thousands of filter feeders, and three barnacle blennies.

[sam.basye]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

"I am Blenny. Hear me roar!"

King of the snails! Lol
Great picture.

How are the grasses filling in and still plan on thinning the crop?

[Michael Hoaster]

King of the snails indeed! Unless the snails unite. Then he's screwed.

The grasses continue to multiply. It's really getting to the point that I need to get those turtle grasses out. The thought of actually doing it fills me with dread…

[Chibils]

If the trigger is anything like the other Xanthichthys triggers commonly available (bluethroat, gold margin) then they have tiny mouths and tend to be fairly quiet zipping around looking for food and being goofy. I've never had one though so I can't speak definitively.

If you get a new fish and he's not Caribbean though I won't tell. 😜 Diggin the patina on the wall and the sponge growth!

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[Michael Hoaster]

That trigger is gorgeous! And tempting! But maybe a bit big and predatory, for my setup.

Probably the biggest temptation of fish outside the Caribbean, would be shrimp fish. These guys school and orient themselves vertically to hide amongst sea grass. The only ones I've seen available were pacific residents. I'd break the biotope rule for them in a second, but they're more of a seahorse/slow fish kind of fish, so they'd likely starve in my tank. But they would look so cool!

I'm crossing my fingers that the sponge redistribution I did the other day, will bear fruit. Watching the macros come back has been fascinating. They're popping up all over and I look forward to their maturation. If I succeed with sea grass, macros and sponges, I'll be a happy pappy! One realization I've come to, with this tank at least, is that fish are secondary to the ecosystem as a whole. So it's made me ridiculously picky about my fish choices! Thanks to all who have made the effort to suggest fish candidates! I know I'm a PITA and I appreciate your patience!

[jraker]

Shrimp fish are super cool. The Shedd Aquarium actually has a tank with them, and I saw them when I went there. It kinda sucks that you do have all those shrimp and anemones, because the Caribbean is mostly made up of amazing, yet non reef-safe fish. A Caribbean FOWLR would be a cool tank.

Speaking of your shrimp and anemones, how are they doing?

[McPuff]

Originally Posted by Michael Hoaster

Probably the biggest temptation of fish outside the Caribbean, would be shrimp fish. These guys school and orient themselves vertically to hide amongst sea grass. The only ones I've seen available were pacific residents. I'd break the biotope rule for them in a second, but they're more of a seahorse/slow fish kind of fish, so they'd likely starve in my tank. But they would look so cool!

What about a needle "gar" or other type of half beak? Those would actually look super cool in your tank and some of them stay quite small. I'm almost certain there is some type of "shrimp fish" in the Caribbean. I could be losing my mind, but I remember seeing them in the water.

[Chibils]

The Caribbean is so frustrating as a biotope because it's completely loaded with sponges and tunicates and gorgonians and other fascinating filter feeders and unique corals and all the interesting fish over there eat them!

It would be very difficult to maintain the diverse life in a Caribbean biotope while keeping the beautiful fish of the Caribbean like butterflies and angels from decimating it.

I think it's wise of you to prioritize the ecosystem over the fish - the fish are just one part of the system while the rest of the life (like the macros, sponges, gorgs and shrimp) are what really make it interesting.

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[jraker]

By the way, Divers Den sometimes has trios of blue chromis, so that might be worth checking out. It seems like a better chance of getting a group than throwing three random ones in the tank and hoping the form a group.

[MorganAtlanta]

A lot of interesting fish will outgrow your tank, but isn't that what happens in the wild? I see juveniles of various fish all the time snorkeling the grass flats and shallows in the Caribbean. Maybe the answer is to focus on juveniles and re-home them when they get to the size where they would naturally move out to a different environment anyway. Juvenile angels, damsels, wrasses, tangs, puffers, trunkfish, cowfish are all common in your environment. Otherwise, I think you'll be limited to blennies and gobies, which are cool, but it would be nice to have a few larger fish that hung out mid water.

[sam.basye]

Originally Posted by MorganAtlanta

A lot of interesting fish will outgrow your tank, but isn't that what happens in the wild? I see juveniles of various fish all the time snorkeling the grass flats and shallows in the Caribbean. Maybe the answer is to focus on juveniles and re-home them when they get to the size where they would naturally move out to a different environment anyway. Juvenile angels, damsels, wrasses, tangs, puffers, trunkfish, cowfish are all common in your environment. Otherwise, I think you'll be limited to blennies and gobies, which are cool, but it would be nice to have a few larger fish that hung out mid water.

+1

I like this idea. That way you can have what you want.

I'm a sucker for juvenile fish anyways.

Great idea.

[Michael Hoaster]

Hey! I've been out of town for eight days.

jraker, I was talking to McPuff about doing a larger Caribbean FOWLR tank. That would be sweet! The condylactis anemone is doing well! The spotted anemone shrimp is gone. The anemone shrank down for three consecutive days, leaving the shrimp exposed and vulnerable. I bet Big Daddy gramma got it. The other shrimp, Mr Pederson still wanders the sand bed like Don Quixote. The anemone seems happier, unburdened with the shrimp. I think it may still be a bit small for hosting a shrimp.

McPuff, some type of needle fish would be cool, possibly, if I could find the right ones. I think there must be a caribbean shrimp fish as well. I should talk to some of the caribbean collectors.

So true, Chibils! It's tricky.

Thanks, jraker, I saw those blue chromis trios. Makes sense. Maybe do two or three trios, or if I can find a school of juveniles, that may work, especially if I can find a better deal!

Welcome MorganAtlanta! You make an excellent point. The seagrasses are the nursery! Rotating in and out juveniles of a variety of fish makes sense-that's what happens in the wild. It would be so fun to try out all kinds of fish! The practical issues of doing that are a bit daunting for me though. Catching fish is rough on all concerned. Buying new fish more often might get a little pricey too. It's a great idea, but I may not be the man for the job! Let me give this some thought. It could work…

I'm with you, sam.basye. Morgan's post has me thinking! I always buy juveniles-they live longer. Plus, they're usually better tank citizens.

[MorganAtlanta]

Check out the prices direct from Diver Tom or one of the other Keys collectors. Common juveniles are just a few bucks a piece.

[Chibils]

Also check with Jordan at Among the Reef if you want something and can't find it. He can get just about anything.

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[Michael Hoaster]

I've been giving Morgan's idea some thought. Looking through the fish possibilities, I still see that most of them would or could be destructive to my ecosystem. For instance, a school of juvenile butterfly fish would be amazing. But at some point, they'd likely go after my anemone and gorgonia, and spaghetti worms. If I knew they could be trusted for a year or so, that could work, but it seems unlikely. It's the same with other fish - and I'm not crazy about adding fish with an expiration date. I really don't like catching fish - especially if I know going in that it's probably going to harm something I'm trying to keep happy.

As much as I like to declare my tank is not a reef tank, it has much more in common with them than fish-only tanks. This ecosystem-in-a-box, is maybe even more restrictive than reef tanks, regarding fish options. Having done this for 30+ years, I am no longer willing to knowingly add fish that are likely to need removing. Obviously, I made exceptions with the tang and filefish, but they were added for utility. The tang was a huge help, controlling caulerpa, and as it turned out, his appetite was bigger than my 180 gallon tank could support. The file did a good job eating aiptasias, and was easy to catch. Unfortunately, once she was removed, they started coming back, so I'm looking at other solutions.

It is a great idea though. I think it's a little better suited to a larger, FOWLR tank.

Next up, I want to discuss and post pics of my tank after eight days of neglect!

[MorganAtlanta]

Just flipping through the Paul Humann "Reef Fish Identification" book, I see several options that are "environment appropriate" outside of blennies and gobies. You'd have to call one of the collectors to see if they could get them since they aren't normally in the trade, but here are some:

Lantern Bass (max 2.5")
Twinspot Bass (max 3")
Pygmy Sea Bass (max 3")
Dwarf Wrasse (max 3")
Green Razorfish (max 5.5")
Belted Cardinal (or various other small cardinals)
Jawfish (yellowhead, dusky)
Glassy Sweeper (a school would be super cool around the mangrove roots)

[Michael Hoaster]

Thanks MorganAtlanta! I'll take a look.

[Michael Hoaster]

My tank was unattended for eight days, while I was out of town. I enjoy doing that, and then seeing what's changed. It's funny, how well our tanks do without us! It looks a bit messy and wild. I hope to get more pics this weekend.


Here you can see little red macros sprouting from the rocks. Caulerpa has come back vigorously. It is so cool watching these plants reemerge!



The royal grammas continue to thrive. The big caulerpa overhang is back. Time for a simulated grazing event…

[Michael Hoaster]

Before pruning.



After pruning.



I removed the overhanging caulerpa and tidied up the DSB/seagrass area.

[jraker]

It sure is looking much better with more macros.

[Chibils]

Michael, I'm having the issue with pics not loading again.

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[jraker]

On mobile, there might be some issues loading the pictures. My laptop is loading them fine. Pictures always take a bit longer to load on my phone.

[Michael Hoaster]

That last post had some larger pics. I wonder if that makes a difference.

[saltwater sam]

Everything is looking great as usual, Michael! Keeps getting better and better.

[Michael Hoaster]

Thank you jraker and saltwater sam!

I did a little prune/export yesterday. Most of it was just removing the overhang of caulerpa and a bit on the DSB. I'm finding some patches of tiny red macros popping up all over-some of them, very close together. I wonder how they will grow out. I have a feeling it's going to be a tangled mess! That weird, dark brown macro is coming back as well.

I got a bit of a shock today. Mr Pederson was on the anemone! He didn't stay, but maybe he'll move in. At this point I don't really care, as the anemone looks a little happier, not hosting at the moment.

I've been studying up on the fish suggestions that MorganAtlanta posted. I'm most interested in the sweepers, but they reach six inches, which is a little bigger than I'd like to go. Also, he listed some basslets I hadn't considered, which is cool. The wrasses I'm still skeptical of, as I think they are too good at hunting down every living thing. I've done jawfish before. I think they are too timid for a fast-feeding community like mine, plus I have the six barnacle blennies already.

Jeez, I'm a pain!

One thing I've come to realize in all this fish research, is that I don't want ANY big fish. So that narrows it down…yay!