fish questions

[Jnance]

wondering if any puffer is going to be reef safe? like ive heard maybe the panda or masked puffer is fine? idk sounds fishy but just wondering.

oh and how about those flame angels, are they reef-safe most of the time?

Ive been told mandarin dragonets only eat copepods, what is everyones luck with getting them to eat a prepared fish mix, or mysis?

thanks people

 

[moortim]

I don't know on the puffer, flame angels can eat corals if they get a taste for them (I think, I might be wrong), and mandarins can eat prepared food but they don't usually come that way and you need a well established tank with lots of pods to feed them while you are teaching it to eat prepared.
What size tank do you have, how much live rock do you have, and how long have you had it setup?

Tim

 

[matts125]

wondering if any puffer is going to be reef safe? like ive heard maybe the panda or masked puffer is fine? idk sounds fishy but just wondering.

oh and how about those flame angels, are they reef-safe most of the time?

Ive been told mandarin dragonets only eat copepods, what is everyones luck with getting them to eat a prepared fish mix, or mysis?

thanks people

here is some answers for your questions:
as for the puffers the ones that are supposed to be reef safe will still destroy snails, shrimp and other inverts.
the flame angel and other dwarf angels are a hit or miss I know they have been known to pick at a lot of lps corals and clams. some people have great success and some dont..
the mandarins have to have live food, they dont eat frozen of any kind. you must wait till the pod populations in your tank are high enough to support this fish before buying one, a refugium is vital for this..

Hope this helps..

Matt

 

[Jnance]

I have a 40 gallon breeder with 30 gallon sump. probably 40 pounds live rock (guesstimate) and the tank has been setup for 13 months. i can visually see amphipods but not so sure on the copepod thing, can you see them?

 

[matts125]

the mandarin will eat all the pods (besides the very large ones)

Matt

 

[moortim]

IME I had a scooter dragonet (similar eating habits to mandarins) in a 55 and I did everything right but I still lost him. I personally wouldn't get a mandarin without a much larger aquarium than a 40 but it is up to you. Make sure you have lots and lots of pods and can replentish them quickly. Also be prepared to call it quits if the one you get starts to have a sunken belly.

 

[mmkeeper]

Mandarins will eat frozen foods and live brine

 

[matts125]

live brine is not healthy for them, it has no nutrients that the pods have and a mandarin cant survive on them..

Matt

 

[moortim]

Live brine can sometimes work to help them start eating different foods in an attempt to move them to prepared foods but matt is right, they cannot survive on them.

 

[Pikachu]

the thing with puffers (Arothrons in particular) is that they are messay eaters. they will suck in food chew spit suck and chew and spit etc. if u have ever seen a puffer eat u will know what i mean. Eating like this is going to polute ur tank alot. depending on the size of ur reef/filtration... the puffer may start degrading ur water quality (as well as eating corals )

 

[Jnance]

yeah puffers seem too risky, but i have also always liked the boxfish group. like a yellow spotted. i have been wanting to add a small boxfish or puffer. any thoughts from anybody on the boxfishes?

 

[matts125]

the risk with box fish is the fact that they emit toxins into the water when they get stressed or die (in small systems it can be fatal for everything in the tank) so do your research on them especially since a lot of them are considered difficult to keep or (expert) in other words..

Matt

 

[Pikachu]

Ive never heard of the boxfish ACUTALLy releasing toxins.. maybe like ONCE.. if ur tank is stable and well established, i dont see the toxins as a problem.. the only concern i see is that boxfish still eat alittle messily and can get huge.. also ive seen them pick at meaty corals (lps/openbrains) but definitely a nice colored fish. maybe someone can give u better statistics about them nipping at corals ...since im guessing... ill say fifty fifty chance that it ilwl nip at corals but thats just a made up number

 

[Jnance]

will the boxfish turn my inverts into popcorn shrimp? any input from anyone? thanks.