Well on triggers with corals , shrimp crabs etc.,,,,,you are kinda limited to ,,,,,,probably one or two,,,,,most all will right away , or soon after munch on those things,,,it IS one of their food groups!
don't quote me,, i think mebbe the Niger trigger might me considered "reef safe",,,,,
all the others that come to mind this early in the AM fall into the "eat that stuff up " group,,,,

 

Hi there!

We've had a Picasso Trigger for about 4 yrs now, since he was a wee one, and he's in a FOWLR 125G tank. He will nail any crab on sight, so we don't have any crabs in there. He will also catch the minnows we put in for our lionfish before anyone else.

We also have a Pink-Tail Trigger (are they the same as "red-tail triggers?") a maroon clown, Fiji Puffer, and a damsel who managed to survive all these guys and now can hang with them.
There's a Naso Tang as well.

They all get on fine together, and none of them fool with the little button polyps I added as an experiment a few months ago.

Most of these fish would go after anything we would put in there now (we don't put new fish in), but the Picasso would be the first to catch it, followed by the pink=tail trigger.

hth,
Shirley

 

finally some GOOD news i think the only trigger i'll be adding is the picasso, mostly because i like the way he looks. and i was hoping on maybe getting a lionfish too, so apparantly that will work. as for tangs, i was thinking of the "lipstick tang, or a powder blue tang. and i was actually hoping for a maroon clown, or a mated pair, since they get bigger than percula's.

so it sounds like i'm in luck with most. i was also going to get everything while they are small so they'll be used to each other before they get large.

do you think an anenome will survive. or would that be considered menu material as well?

i hate to say this, but, when a coral dies, does it turn to "stone" like the dead corals i have as decoration in my tanks? or would they spike ammonia jsut as a dead fish would do.

the only reason i ask is because i MIGHT think about a few corals that would be safe, like the polyps, whatever those are, lol.. but if it dies, am i out my cash, or can it be kept as decoration

 

Hello,

I would recommend that you not get an anemone. They seldom thrive in captivity. They may take weeks to a few months to die, but that is what usually happens. The lighting and feeding they require is difficult to duplicate in the aquarium. They live for decades in the wild. Also, Clowns do not need anemones to be happy.

If you have the fish you are mentioning, you won't be able to keep any kind of cleanup crew - in my experience, and they will eat any small fish you put in.

Your nitrates will probably soar with no cleanup crew, and most corals do not do well in a high nitrates environment.

What is your goal with the tank? Reef? FO? (Fish Only)

Shirley

 

Picasso/Huma trigger is a nice choice. My parents have had a few and each have had great personallities. As far as corals go, most will leave them alone. My father keeps "non-reef" fish with some softies/mushrooms and they do fine. The big problem is shrimp or other inverts as you have heard. You could probably do snails, just put a few in and see what the trigger does, it all depends on the personallity of the fish. Probably a good idea to add the trigger last so everyone else can make their claim to the tank.


I am not exactly sure how lack of cleanup crew=high nitrates, perhaps I am just missing something. You will definitely have to keep up with water changes because of the waste that will be produced by the fish, and all the food that will be used to feed them. Overall though, if you have some good live rock and a sand bed, you should be fine.

This is probably not the ideal tank to do an anemone on. Mainly because everything else in the tank does not require high lighting (Metal Halide). PCs/VHO/NO fluorescents should be fine for what you are looking at so far. Save the anemone for a reef. There are a few out there that can be kept pretty easily, especially the bubble tip anemone. However, as a beginner (you are one if I remember correctly, right?), you should probably start out with just what you are planning and work your way up.

As far as your tang selection, be advised that family of tangs (PB and lipstick) are a pain in the arse when it comes to ich outbreaks. The Zebrasoma sp. of tang which includes yellow, purple, sailfin, etc. seem to be much more resistant when it comes to ich than the ones you are looking at. The advantage of a FO system though is you can treat it for ich if they do come down with it, so it can be done .

Hopefully I was somewhat helpful, good luck with the setup and ask all the questions you want .

 

I am not exactly sure how lack of cleanup crew=high nitrates,

The cleanup crew takes care of the uneated food, which in turn helps reduce nitrates.

Our trigger will eat large snails as well as a large strawberry crab. Little reef crabs and snails don't stand a chance. He is not that large - much smaller than the pink-tail, the Naso Tang, and the Lionfish. He'll eat shrimp out of our hands.

Shirley

 

The cleanup crew takes care of the uneated food, which in turn helps reduce nitrates.

Our trigger will eat large snails as well as a large strawberry crab. Little reef crabs and snails don't stand a chance. He is not that large - much smaller than the pink-tail, the Naso Tang, and the Lionfish. He'll eat shrimp out of our hands.

Shirley

Ah I understand where you are coming from now . I really think it is hit and miss with snails and crabs to a certain extent. Sounds like you have your's trained well though!

 

Well, they certainly make a dent in the wasted food. If I had 4x more we'd be much better off than we are

 

I've just never had that many in general. My wrasse likes snacking on my hermits unfortunately and my snails crawl down my overflow into my pump and get stuck (morons!). I need to get a strainer for that overflow!

 

To work off of thefatman's original question, (and I hope not to hijack his thread)...

I'm just starting to make the transition into the salty side... I've been involved with freshwater and cichlid breeding for a while now and have decided to take the jump to the salty side.

Currently I have 5 tanks running, all freshwater with the exception of a 29 gallon nano that I am establishing to act as a seed tank for when I move into my house (Nov-Dec)...

The two tanks in particular that I am going to convert to salt are a 125 and 55 gallon and am considering purchasing a 75 gallon as well for salt.

My wife fell in love with the Picasso Trigger and I am a big fan of Lionfish, so it is great to hear that they are compatible tankmates. After doing a bit of searching around, it's ecomming apparent that these fish will need a tank dedicated to them (FOWLR) but I'm not sure what tank I should use for them.

The ultimate goal is to have a large coral reef / community tank, and a "OMG those fish are cool" tank...

What size tank would be needed to house 2 lionfish, 1 trigger and 1 other compatible large fish comfortably? Also, since the cleanup crew would be eaten off, would a planted refugium or DSB compensate in handling the increased nitrates?

I know I've got tons of research to do, but am just looking for an off the cuff answer.

 

I hope someone else jumps in here to ad variety to the responses...

6 ft fowlr is nice for the fish to swim - as you described. That's what our 125 is.

No, a DSB isn't going to handle the nitrates imo.

Neither is loads of LR.

Or a bigger, better protien skimmer.

Our water always looks great, we don't have algae problems at all, but our nitrates hang around 75 - 100, sometimes over 100.

My personal belief is that a well planted and large refugium would make a huge improvement. Throwing plants in the sump with lights hasn't brought them down much at all. If we had the space, we'd set up a large refugium - plants, etc.

However, you still have the problem with waste and nutrient removal with these fish.

Of course, fewer fish would make a big improvement. We have seven.

Shirley

 

Apparently this is the ShirleyM and PaintGuru thread .

I think a DSB with Live Rock and a refugium along with a good skimmmer should keep everything in check. The thing is NitrATES are not necessarily bad. They may feed hair algae or other green algae, but the stuff you want to avoid are NitrITES and Ammonia, which the LR/DSB should help with. Again a good regiment of water changes will be in order. I agree the 6' tank would be idea for your set of fish, hopefully your 125 is that and not of the 4' variety.

If you can, get some xenia in your refugium. That stuff has been in my reef forever and I really think it just sucks up the excess nutrients like there is no tomorrow. Maybe someone other than me and ShirleyM will answer you to give you more ideas .

 

Yep, my 125 is the 6 foot version so they will have plenty of swimming room...

 

sorry, been out for the weekend entertaining family. jsut wanted to pop in and say thanks for the info as always.

wow, i think this is my shortest post ever!