Orange spotted filefish and other questions?

[DJ_Z]

Hey, everybody, thanks in advance for all help.

I just returned an arc-eye hawkfish to the LFS for a little store credit because I want to build a full reef tank and he...well he eats anything with a tasty, crunchy exoskeleton. So I have looked at a few fish as a replacement.

It is a 40 gallon breeder tank with two aqueon powerheads running about 1000 g/h, with 30 lbs of live rock and about 25 lbs of aragonite sand. No sump yet, but the tank is drilled, so my filtration is the live rock and an odyssea 75 protein skimmer. The fish I am keeping are two ocellaris clowns, captive-bred, and a six line wrasse. The clean up crew is 10 astras, 8 ceriths, a serpent star, and a couple hermit crabs and bumblee snails with the plain to have about 5 of each. The fish I have considered so far include the following:

1. Algae Blenny - I had a massive algae explosion when I first started the tank that has gotten substantially better, but there's still way too much hair algae. I just boosted the CUC to help, but I also really like the algae blenny's color pattern. So I'm not just using the fish for a tool if I get one.

2. Shrimp Goby - Once I get some invertebrates, this seems like an obvious choice. I really like the idea of seeing the Pistol Shrimp/Goby symbiotic relationship in my own tank. The problem is that my sandbed is, on average, only 2 inches deep. I would need to add another 20-30 lbs of sand to have numbers where I think they could burrow and thrive together.

3. Royal Gramma - This thing looks awesome, it's fairly hardy, and I have 30 lbs of live rock with plenty of crevices for it to hide. Not much more to it.

4. Orange spotted filefish - Now here is the big one. I just saw three of these today at the LFS. Now I have seen one would not outgrow the tank, nor would it have an issue with the tankmates.

The filefish main issue I have seen is feeding. But this is an LFS I trust, and I was told all three had been eating prepared foods. Still, I would like to see that happen before I commit the money to one. I do see that they eat some SPS coral, but all I have in the tank are polyps and one LPS in a green trumpet coral.

 

[Aquarian]

1. Algae Blenny - I had a massive algae explosion when I first started the tank that has gotten substantially better, but there's still way too much hair algae. I just boosted the CUC to help, but I also really like the algae blenny's color pattern. So I'm not just using the fish for a tool if I get one..

My algae blenny never touched hair algae but it was a interesting fish to have in the tank. But don't be suppressed if it doesn't help with the gardening.
If you need a hair grazer get a Mexican turbo snail they go crazy over hair algae. You just have to turn them right side up when they fall because they can't turn themselves over very well and they get stuck upside down.

2. Shrimp Goby - Once I get some invertebrates, this seems like an obvious choice. I really like the idea of seeing the Pistol Shrimp/Goby symbiotic relationship in my own tank. The problem is that my sandbed is, on average, only 2 inches deep. I would need to add another 20-30 lbs of sand to have numbers where I think they could burrow and thrive together.

Shrimp gobys are very cool paired or not the yellow watchman is a awesome addition that doesn't cause much of a sand storm. The Orange spot causes a crazy sand storm and is always burrowing, so do your research on each fish before you deside on one. If you pair them with a shrimp your sand bed should be at least 4 inches deep and you will hear the "clicking" of the pistol shrimp at night.

3. Royal Gramma - This thing looks awesome, it's fairly hardy, and I have 30 lbs of live rock with plenty of crevices for it to hide. Not much more to it.

Good fish to have.

4. Orange spotted filefish - Now here is the big one. I just saw three of these today at the LFS. Now I have seen one would not outgrow the tank, nor would it have an issue with the tankmates.

The filefish main issue I have seen is feeding. But this is an LFS I trust, and I was told all three had been eating prepared foods. Still, I would like to see that happen before I commit the money to one. I do see that they eat some SPS coral, but all I have in the tank are polyps and one LPS in a green trumpet coral.

Can't help here I've never kept one

HTH.

 

[Northstar24]

You do know that an orange spotted filefish eats coral right? They are very finicky eaters, and even if weened off of coral, it is possible they may start eating it again. This is a very difficult fish, and probably even more difficult / frustrating in a reef setup

 

[texreefer]

Please steer clear of the Filefish, they are listed as expert only for a reason. They will SOMETIMES accept frozen food, but they still need SPS coral to graze upon. Since that you admit to being a novice , I would stick with the shrimp / goby pair. They are very active ,easy to care for, and they are very fun to watch. The royal gramma is also a good one , but they can be a total pain when trying to introduce a new fish, so if you do want one try to make it your last purchase.


Good Luck !!

 

[DJ_Z]

Okay. It's a shame, because the filefish looks so cool. I have a new goal of getting good enough with this that I can set up a second species tank just for one or two of them.

So I'm buying a gorgonia today and I'll hold off on the shrimp for this question: how do I add additional live sand to an active tank?

 

[Northstar24]

No, if the tank has cycled, the sand will slowly become live over time, there really isn't a need to pay a huge mark up on 'live' sand. Live rock is more than sufficient to establish a tank with 'dead' sand

 

[Aquarian]

+1 North Star

I will on occasion add a pound or two of live sand for biodiversity when I see some with spaghetti worms and such. But you don't need to

 

[ErinCahir]

I'll ask my LFS to throw in a handful when I see some cool stuff. But yes. +1 on the not needing live sand. Especially the bagged stuff.

 

[DJ_Z]

Actually, I was asking how to add more sand in order to provide a deep enough substrate for the goby-shrimp pair to burrow

 

[Sakura2282]

It doesn't have to be "live sand", and you have to add it slowly to your tank. You need to do it by sections, maybe during your water changes would be a good moment for it.

Good luck!

 

[Aquarian]

This is how I have done.
Before a water change Put the dead sand in a 5 gal bucket, siphon a few gallons into the bucket about two thirds. With your hands mix the sand in the bucket to rinse it creating a sandstorm. When you thing you have all the dust in the water column mix it again. Now dump the water down the drain, don't dump the new sand. Now siphon some more and rinse again. Dump it again. Now take your wife's measuring cup and scoop up cups of sand and slowly lower it into the tank dump it out slowly. And repeat. This will cause a small sandstorm but it will clear up in a couple hours. I always did it overnight. And then used a power head in the morning to clean off the rocks.

NOTE I WOULD NOT DO THIS WITH A METURE SAND BED. IF YOU HAVE A METURE SANDBED ONLY ADD 1 TO 5 LB BAGS AT A TIME.

 

[texreefer]

Its also best to do this when your wife isn't around. She may get a little upset to see you using her kitchen utensils in the tank . LOL

 

[GinaReef]

You can pour the dry sand down a piece of pvc pipe with a funnel. This will treduce the sand storm.

 

[DJ_Z]

Okay, thanks for the help! I actually went with an algae blenny, but I'm still probably going to add another ten pounds or so total of aragonite. I can't really afford to get a ton of live rock, so I'm still around 30 lbs. Before anyone says otherwise, don't worry, I know someone who got 100 lbs and is letting it cook a bit longer before giving the leftovers to me.

Side note: uh nobody told me algae blenny's changed color! He's gone from gray to purplish like my live rock!