Aggressive Tank FTS'

[InLimbo87]

I know some of you on here have aggressive FOWLR tanks, so lets see em. I'm personally planning on doing an aggressive tank for my new 65g, and currently pondering the inhabitants.

So far I'm Thinking:
Snowflake Eel
Zebra Dwarf Lion
Pinkface Wrasse
And maybe a dwarf angel of some sort.

What do you guys think of the stocking load?

And lets see some of those pics!! :snshne:

 

[reefjitsu]

Snowflake eels and dwarf lions are not aggresive, just predatory. There is a difference. These fish will just get beat up by aggressive tankmates. Remeber, most "aggressive" fish are actually either territorial or predatory (or both).

Territorial fish will attack anything in their territory, which if attention isn't paid to the needs of this fish may include your whole tank, meaning it will kill or severly beat up any potential tankmates. The answer to this is providing a suitable sized tank.

Many of the predator fish are not that aggressive or territorial. This means when you put them with fish that are, they will just get beat up.

Don't expect that you can just put what are traditionally called aggressive fish together and each will hold it's own against the other. Though I don't see any real problems with the fish you have chosen, I just wanted to make you aware of the types of pitfalls people get into when setting up these aggressive tanks.

 

[InLimbo87]

Yeah I was actually thinking about this today. I guess the better term would be predator semi-aggressive tank then, eh? This is the reason why I ruled out any puffers/triggers in my line-up as I know that they can all be quite aggresive. The only issue that I could see arising from my possible line up of fish is the dwarf angel/wrasse going at it. Anyone have any knowledge on the issue to chime in? I've got plenty of time to really get this tank planned out, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[DrHank]

I hate to be the one to tell you but a 65 gallon tank really isn't the best choice for an aggressive, semi-aggressive, or predatory tank. My suggestion would be to look at the tank size requirements for the fish that you are thinking about then add at least 25% to the minimum size. Most fish with an aggressive nature are carnivores and attain large sizes. It stands to reason that they would need bigger tanks.

 

[InLimbo87]

Did you really take a look at my stocking load? They are all smaller, semi-aggresive species. The Snowflake Eel and dwarf lion being the only true predators. I agree with you when you say that most fish with an aggresive nature need larger tanks, but I specifically went for the smaller end of the spectrum, and picked what I thought was a relatively light load. I just looked up the minimum tank sizes per liveaquaria (fairly accurate with these fish imo), and added 25%.

Dwarf lions: 30 min + 25% = 37.5
Snowflake Eels: 50 min + 25% = 62.5
Pinkface Wrasse: 50 min + 25% = 62.5
Dwarf Angel : 30 min + 25% = 37.5

 

[Dentoid]

That's a great line up. Can I suggest the Blue Headed wrasse if you are not able to get the Pinkface wrasse. They are great fish, fun to watch, and agressive. Here is a picture compliments of Wikipedia. Best of luck to you!

 

[InLimbo87]

Wow that is a pretty fish. The only fish in my lineup that I am actually worried about is the wrasse, as it will most likely be my most aggresive inhabitant. How aggresive can I expect a wrasse such as the pinkface or that blue headed to be? Would it be too aggresive for the other inhabitants if I made sure to get a small one and add it last?

Thanks,
Ian

 

[Dentoid]

I think it would be ok if you added it last. The juvenile Blue Headed wrasse has a different coloration, mostly yellow. The Blue Headed wrasse is also inexpensive. I used to collect them off the coast of Florida when I was diving for my tank. They are agressive, much like the Pink Face (Rainbow wrasse).

 

[InLimbo87]

Thanks for all of your input dentoid. I'm really hoping to find one of the rainbow wrasses, and I believe I have a lfs in the area that could order one for me. (After all there are like 10 lfs in a 20 mile radius around orlando) But if I can't find one, that blue-headed will be second on my list.