Possible Marine Starter!

[raptorrex]

I've resisted the salty side, so far, because i have concerns about the lack of captive bred stock.

now i have no problems with others doing it. my objections are, purely, personal.

so, what captive bred fish, inverts, corals, anemones and live rock are there available today? the stock, avaliable, will dictate the size and type of tank i go for, if any.

I'm far from sure i will ever do it. but a well kept marine tank is a thing of great beauty, and must be incredibly satisfying to keep.

 

[1234-fishy-freind]

Hi raptorrex.
Myself and my other dedicated marine aquarists also have similar views about the benifits of keeping captive bred stock, and there is a market to suite such people needs.
Many clownfish species are now captive bred, from perculas, to marroons and tomatoes.
Other captive bred species include neon gobies, emperor cardinals (which i have successfully bred and raised myself) and even mandarin species. Such fish are usually advertised as being captive bred when they are, though it would make sence to give retailers a call first to check if they have captive bred fish in stock.
As for corals, many people frag their own corals which are readily available on the net and in shops. Anemone species can also be aquacultured. Though mother anemones are sometimes brought from the wild, the daughter anemones, or clones, they produce are produced in captivity, making these a more environmentally safe way of buying nems. Again, such specimins are ususally tagged as such.
Some sps coral species are prudced in the wild on coral farms. Frags are taken from wild colonies then placed on suspended reef racks in open spaces of shallow seas. These are then grown then shipped to desired countries for sale. This method ensures mother colonies are left on the reef but that they also supply the aquarium trade with corals.

Hope this helps

Josh

 

[raptorrex]

Hi raptorrex.
Myself and my other dedicated marine aquarists also have similar views about the benifits of keeping captive bred stock, and there is a market to suite such people needs.
Many clownfish species are now captive bred, from perculas, to marroons and tomatoes.
Other captive bred species include neon gobies, emperor cardinals (which i have successfully bred and raised myself) and even mandarin species. Such fish are usually advertised as being captive bred when they are, though it would make sence to give retailers a call first to check if they have captive bred fish in stock.
As for corals, many people frag their own corals which are readily available on the net and in shops. Anemone species can also be aquacultured. Though mother anemones are sometimes brought from the wild, the daughter anemones, or clones, they produce are produced in captivity, making these a more environmentally safe way of buying nems. Again, such specimins are ususally tagged as such.
Some sps coral species are prudced in the wild on coral farms. Frags are taken from wild colonies then placed on suspended reef racks in open spaces of shallow seas. These are then grown then shipped to desired countries for sale. This method ensures mother colonies are left on the reef but that they also supply the aquarium trade with corals.

Hope this helps

Josh

thank you, you input is very much appreciated.

more questions.
1, as yet, do we have any inverts. accepting Anemones, coral?
2, is it advisable to filter a Marine tank with a cannister filter system, as opposed to live rock?

 

[ozzie2011]

Sexy shrimps will host anemones

I dont use a canister filter as they have the tendancy to become nitrate factories.

 

[Donya]

so, what captive bred fish, inverts, corals, anemones and live rock are there available today?

Seems like fish, corals, nems, and shrimp have already been covered. I want to add though that in the invert area, outside of shrimp, clams, a couple abalones, and a few types of conch, you'll be hard pressed to find aquacultured/farm-rasied or tank-bred animals. Hermits, most true crabs, and the commonly sold Turbinid snails are among those that are not captive bred or farmed on a commercial scale currently. That's not to say there isn't an ongoing effort to change that, but the effort hasn't met the goal yet. For snails, there are occasional success stories from individual reefers, but for most marine hermits I have only heard a couple of sketchy anacdotes with no proof to back up the claims.

The reason I bring this up is that a lot of store employees who don't live and breath the hobby themselves simply don't know where the animals are coming from and may not know how much is wild-caught. Similarly, people who are out to make a buck may give you misinformation if they get the impresion that it will make or break a sale.

EDIT: forgot to add on live rock, which I don't think was covered - you can create your own, colonize non-reef rocks, and/or get man-made stuff that's been colonized. None of those will have the same biodiversity of rock that has at least been farmed in a small patch of ocean, but it will do the job as far as waste management.

2, is it advisable to filter a Marine tank with a cannister filter system, as opposed to live rock?

I would never recommend a canister instead of live rock, just because it'd be pretty hard to put enough media in a canister filter to match the filtering capacity of standard amounts of live rock. However, there's nothing wrong with a canister AND live rock. In fact, that's exactly what I've done for my sump-less 55gal (one canister for chemical media and one for extra rocks) and it's been working great so far.

I dont use a canister filter as they have the tendancy to become nitrate factories.

I find the term "nitrate factory" to be a bit misleading, since it's often interpreted by those new to the hobby to mean something that suddenly makes more nitrate than would exist if the piece of equipment was removed. Since you'll only get as much nitrate as you have ammonia/nitrite to start with, it's really down to how much source waste you have in the tank. The main issue with canisters is that they present a good place to trap debris and that people often let canisters sit unattended until the flow visibly shuts down (whereas the same waste might get siphoned out or consumed faster if it's in the main tank). So, it's possible to get more uneaten, decaying goop accumulating in the system than you might have otherwise if the canister isn't given enough attention. It could give an ammonia or nitrite spike as well depending on what other filtration is around.

At any rate, there is an easy solution: add a prefilter and trap the goop before it gets inside the canister, then give the prefilter a quick clean at water changes. The inside of the canister will stay essentially gunk-free and provide nothing more than an extra body of water to house chemical media and/or rock. The prefilter will also become a scavenging area for small animals interested in those little tidbits that would otherwise be sucked away. Another added bonus is that the intakes become protected for fragile animals (nems, sea hares, cucumbers etc.). The only downsides I've seen are that it does add one more thing to do at WCs and I've had to use cut-to-fit filter pads rather than sponges. Sponges may work in some tanks, but large gastropods and sea urchins seem to have a taste for them.

 

[raptorrex]

so, what captive bred fish, inverts, corals, anemones and live rock are there available today?

Seems like fish, corals, nems, and shrimp have already been covered. I want to add though that in the invert area, outside of shrimp, clams, a couple abalones, and a few types of conch, you'll be hard pressed to find aquacultured/farm-rasied or tank-bred animals. Hermits, most true crabs, and the commonly sold Turbinid snails are among those that are not captive bred or farmed on a commercial scale currently. That's not to say there isn't an ongoing effort to change that, but the effort hasn't met the goal yet. For snails, there are occasional success stories from individual reefers, but for most marine hermits I have only heard a couple of sketchy anacdotes with no proof to back up the claims.

The reason I bring this up is that a lot of store employees who don't live and breath the hobby themselves simply don't know where the animals are coming from and may not know how much is wild-caught. Similarly, people who are out to make a buck may give you misinformation if they get the impresion that it will make or break a sale.

EDIT: forgot to add on live rock, which I don't think was covered - you can create your own, colonize non-reef rocks, and/or get man-made stuff that's been colonized. None of those will have the same biodiversity of rock that has at least been farmed in a small patch of ocean, but it will do the job as far as waste management.

2, is it advisable to filter a Marine tank with a cannister filter system, as opposed to live rock?

I would never recommend a canister instead of live rock, just because it'd be pretty hard to put enough media in a canister filter to match the filtering capacity of standard amounts of live rock. However, there's nothing wrong with a canister AND live rock. In fact, that's exactly what I've done for my sump-less 55gal (one canister for chemical media and one for extra rocks) and it's been working great so far.

I dont use a canister filter as they have the tendancy to become nitrate factories.

I find the term "nitrate factory" to be a bit misleading, since it's often interpreted by those new to the hobby to mean something that suddenly makes more nitrate than would exist if the piece of equipment was removed. Since you'll only get as much nitrate as you have ammonia/nitrite to start with, it's really down to how much source waste you have in the tank. The main issue with canisters is that they present a good place to trap debris and that people often let canisters sit unattended until the flow visibly shuts down (whereas the same waste might get siphoned out or consumed faster if it's in the main tank). So, it's possible to get more uneaten, decaying goop accumulating in the system than you might have otherwise if the canister isn't given enough attention. It could give an ammonia or nitrite spike as well depending on what other filtration is around.

At any rate, there is an easy solution: add a prefilter and trap the goop before it gets inside the canister, then give the prefilter a quick clean at water changes. The inside of the canister will stay essentially gunk-free and provide nothing more than an extra body of water to house chemical media and/or rock. The prefilter will also become a scavenging area for small animals interested in those little tidbits that would otherwise be sucked away. Another added bonus is that the intakes become protected for fragile animals (nems, sea hares, cucumbers etc.). The only downsides I've seen are that it does add one more thing to do at WCs and I've had to use cut-to-fit filter pads rather than sponges. Sponges may work in some tanks, but large gastropods and sea urchins seem to have a taste for them.

thanks man great post. i knew the answer to the "cannister" question. (deep in my heart.)

Sexy shrimps will host anemones

I dont use a canister filter as they have the tendancy to become nitrate factories.

I want to reinforce the comments of Donya on this. you simply cant get any more Nitrates than you had wast in the first place, as Donya says, only bad maintenance can cause you fears. fresh or Marine.

I read this a lot, about cannister filters. only conclusion i can make is, those who feel this, don't use cannisters.