First Introduction - Fish Or Invertebrate

The majority of aquarists decide that the first introduction to their aquariums should be a fish yet does it need to be this way.

I fully understand why this happens and perhaps this is due to historic reasons where aquarists used hardy fish to assist in the cycling of their aquariums. Something which I am glad to say is not done anymore. Perhaps it is the movement and colour of the fish which draws the eye. There are many reasons as to why people choose a fish as the first inhabitant of their aquarium. It uis of course not up to me to sway their decision in any way but perhaps people believe that a fish has to be the first introduction.

On another note if the aquarium is a fish only aquarium then the aquarists will of course be introducing a fish first!

For the aquarist with a reef aquarium however there is another choice especially when live rock is used as the filtration but it does not matter what filtration is employed. Live rock even when matured correctly is not very sterile and therefore may carry opportunistic parasites. When a fish is caught in the dealers it is put under immense stress due to the catching, the bagging, the transport etc. When the fish is introduced to the aquarium its immune system may be lower than normal and in a reef tank filtered via live rock it may become prey to opportunistic parasites.

I appreciate that the above can happen at any time in the aquariums life however at the very start the aquarist is learning and if a fish is lost at the very start then this is sad for obvious reasons however the aquarist’s confidence in the aquarium and his/her own abilities and may give up the hobby.
There are certain fish which are more resilient than others however a lot of these fish - damselfish for example can become problematic later due to the aggressive nature and it is very hard to remove a fish from an aquarium with live rock in it!

Another method at the very start instead of fish is introducing hardy invertebrates.

By introducing hardy invertebrates first the aquarist will gain experience in acclimatisation techniques as well as stocking techniques. At the very start when the aquarist’s knowledge is low for want of a better word it is probably fair to say that a fair amount of tinkering will be employed. What I mean by this is that the aquarists hands will be in the aquarium a lot moving various corals around as well as the relevant water movement devices until they are satisfied that the conditions provided in the aquarium are suitable for the aquarium inhabitants.

If the decision is made to introduce invertebrates prior to fish then the aquarium, as with fish must be ready for the introduction of them. By this I mean that the nitrogen cycle has completed, there are no large algae outbreaks evident or they are under control and the water conditions are maintained in accordance with the recommended levels. For examples nitrates should be low as should phosphate levels. More than that the water conditions should not just be maintained they should be stable.

With the aquarist deciding to introduce invertebrates in the first instance the equipment purchased and installed should be capable of support the life in the aquarium. For example the lighting needs to be correct. This may sound basic but I hear of a lot of people trying to keep corals under lighting which to be honest is just not suitable for them.

At this point - actually a lot earlier the aquarist should know what corals, fish etc that they want to keep and should have based their purchases around this decision. At this point in the aquariums life you would not be looking at introducing an SPS coral like acropora etc as the aquarium is simply not ready for it.

At this point the corals you will be interested in purchasing are the ones which are not too expensive and do not have the colour of the majority of SPS corals. This is not to say that these corals are dull and colourless as they are far from it but when you compare prices you will see what I mean!

Speaking of purchase again I recommend that you build a relationship with a local dealer, another hobbyist or an online area (like Aquarists Online hint hint…) where you can go and ask advice as to what is suitable etc. Building a relationship with others is important as you can use their experience, their knowledge to your advantage o=plus you can learn a lot about the hobby and will hopefully not make expensive mistakes.

When selecting corals you are looking for corals which are suitable for the beginner. When looking you will probably see some exceptionally colourful species. I would probably stay away from these as there are some species which do not contain zooanthellae and require feeding for them to thrive. A good example of this is the sun coral. There are also other colourful ones which are probably for more advanced aquarists or aquarists who have had stable aquariums for a long period of time.

You have to remember that the aquarium is new and the water, rockwork, sand, glass, equipment etc all needs to age. You can always come back to these more colourful corals when your confidence has grown by maintaining a reef aquarium for a number of years.

In my opinion the list below details what I believe to be good ‘starter corals’ and are suitable for first introduction.

• Button Polyps
• Xenia
• Mushrooms
• Leather Corals
• Star Polyps

This does not mean that you should not introduce fish. I personally think that an aquarium with just corals in and no fish lacks movement however I think that perhaps more aquarists should introduce invertebrates prior to introducing fish to gain both confidence in themselves as well as giving the aquarium time to settle.

This of course also does not mean that you will not get problems when introducing fish at a later stage. You might but just remember to acclimatise them properly and use a quarantine tank.

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Tags: Aquarium Filter, Care, Equipment, invertebrate, live-rock, nitrogen cycle

The Bubble Tip Anemone

There are a few anemones that find favour with aquarists and this is one of them. As well as the name in the title they are also commonly known as the four coloured anemone, the bulb tentacle anemone, and the bulb anemone. The proper name is Entacmaea quadricolor.

The anemone is one which requires good lighting as it contains symbiotic algae, and it is this algae that gives the anemone its colour. Good lighting is defined in the same way that lighting for corals is, and that is it must be sufficiently intense and of the correct spectrum. If the anemone is to be located quite low down in a deep aquarium then metal halides will be required.

Again in the same way as corals, good seawater movement is needed. This does not need to be particularly strong, just strong, moving the tentacles and swaying the body. Current from a power head should not hit the anemone directly.

The final requirement needed to settle the anemone happily in its home is to provide it with the correct position from a security point of view. When placing the anemone on the reef ensure that the anemone when fully open will not interfere with neighboring corals, but the most important point is to ensure that the foot of the anemone is located in a fairly deep crevice or hole, not a tight squeeze but a good generous loose fit. The anemone should anchor itself within the hole or crevice, which will also give it protection should it require it. It is unlikely that this will be needed in a home aquarium but the anemone doesn’t know this!

Failure to provide the named requirements, some of them, or one of them will either result in the demise of the anemone, or it will be very tiresome and start wandering around the aquarium looking for what is missing. I located an anemone in an earlier aquarium, meeting all the above needs, and it stayed put from the word go. Finally the anemone had to be removed as it just became too big.

Talking of size, the aquarist should be aware that this anemone could achieve a diameter of around 18″ (circa 45.75cm). Therefore it is not suitable for small aquariums; a length of say 48″ (circa 122cm) should be suitable.

It is my opinion that new aquarists without experience should not purchase this anemone (or any other) until such time as they have some experience. If the aquarist has kept an aquarium for a year successfully, that is, has maintained high seawater quality and the fish and corals have done and are doing well, then that is a reasonable time to consider an anemone.

Once in the aquarium a little time is needed for the anemone to indicate that it is settled. The indication is that it stays in one place, expands fully and is in good colour (meaning the algae are functioning therefore the lighting is acceptable).

Feeding is simplicity itself. First of all the anemone obtains nutrients from the symbiotic algae and feeding should not be overdone. When required, the anemone will accept a small piece of fish or mussel. This can be placed towards the mouth within the tentacles, when the anemone should respond and move the food to the mouth. Feed once or twice a week to start and build on experience.

This anemone in common with others contains nematocysts in the tentacles, which are like small harpoons that are activated on contact with a fish or shrimp. They penetrate the body of the victim and inject a toxin enabling the anemone to overpower and devour. There isn’t usually a distinction made for the aquarist’s prize livestock! Having said that, most fish seem to have an inbuilt instinct to keep away from the danger. I clearly recall becoming tense on more than one occasion when a lovely fish, intent on its search for food, seemed to be so, so close to the anemone ” but I didn’t lose any.

Many aquarists are keen to associate an anemone with a clownfish. Well, Entacmaea quadricolor is one of the anemones that act as hosts for clownfish. It is important not to overload an anemone with clownfish, usually one or maybe two is quite sufficient in an aquarium. No attempt should be made to host a clownfish until the anemone is known to be settled. The clownfish that are known to inhabit this anemone are Amphiprion clarki, Amphiprion ephippium, Amphiprion frenatus and Amphiprion melanopus.

It has been known, more than once, that a suitable clownfish has been placed in an aquarium containing a host anemone, only for the clownfish to totally ignore the anemone. Why this is I cannot say - is it because the fish was aquarium bred? If so, perhaps the fish doesn’t know it is supposed to live in an anemone! As said, I don’t really know. Fortunately, I have managed to obtain clownfish in the past that have been cooperative.

So if the aquarist has the experience and can provide the conditions, an anemone is worthwhile. If the anemone settles well and a clownfish (of the correct type) is introduced, then the aquarist will have the pleasure of seeing one of Nature’s strange and amazing combinations.

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Tags: anemone, aquarium-fish, aquarium-livestock, coral, invertebrate, marine-fish, reef-fish

Brine Shrimp - Should You Use Them In A Salt Water Aquarium

Feeding the livestock in a marine system is of very great importance. All living things need food to obtain energy and remain healthy. Without an adequate food supply - adequate in both quantity and quality - livestock will soon start to have problems.

Brine shrimp have been in use for many years. They can be obtained frozen and live and, though I haven’t seen any for a while, they are also available dry.

One of the tricks that can be employed when a new fish is reluctant to eat is to use brine shrimp. When they go into the aquarium the other resident fish chase them with gusto and often the new fish will become involved in this and take a few. If the new fish is on its own a brine shrimp or two dancing in the current is hard to ignore.

I would guess that the majority of aquarists use the frozen type. These come in a flat pack which is divided into segments, each segment is broken free as required. The segments can be cut down into smaller amounts according to need. Before the food is introduced it needs to be defrosted and this process should be done in seawater or a little reverse osmosis water. The food should be allowed to defrost on its own without the assistance of a microwave or similar. Some aquarists rinse the defrosted food before use.

The best frozen shrimps to use are those that are ‘enriched’. Brine shrimp is not particularly rich though it probably provides good roughage. Some aquarists insist on a product that has been irradiated, which means that there will not be any disease causing dangers present.

Live brine shrimp are usually purchased from a local store by the bag. The shrimp are definitely fresh and the storekeeper should be able to state their origin and if they have been enriched. Some aquarists are concerned about the possibility of disease. I used live shrimp for two years or so from a local store and never had a problem. I ceased using them as the supply to the storekeeper dried up. At that point I switched to frozen.

Brine shrimp are available dried. I did try them once and found them not to be particularly worthwhile for the simple reason that they had to be pre-soaked for quite a time or they would float around on the surface - once soaked they did sink but the fish were not overly enthusiastic. As said I haven’t seen the dried variety available for a good while. I also wondered about the nutritional value. Without any evidence I always had the feeling that this was poor.

Producing live brine shrimp at home is easy. All it needs is a suitable container with vigorous water movement, a convenient location and a supply of eggs. The eggs have become much more expensive (or they have in my area) and it may be found that the frozen variety is more economical. There are brine shrimp hatching kits available commercially, and these come with full instructions which are straight forward. Just don’t put too many eggs in like I once did: there’ll be so many brine shrimp they’ll need feeding themselves before they can be used. Using tiny newly hatched shrimp is good for corals and fish.

Brine shrimp are not a complete food in themselves, more of a supplement. There isn’t a reason why an aquarist couldn’t use them every day, but it would be better to use them along with other ‘supplements’, a good example is mysis shrimp. A fully nutritional food such as marine flake and the like should be the base diet. In addition attention must be given to the dietary requirements of livestock. Surgeon fish for example will usually eat brine shrimp without problem, but they need more nutrition as mentioned plus a good supply of suitable algae.

Brine shrimp is an excellent part of the marine aquarist’s food store. Stored and used properly it will add dietary variety and the fish seem to enjoy chasing it down.

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Tags: aquarium food, Aquarium Maintenance, aquarium-livestock, Care, invertebrate, marine-fish

The Cleaner Shrimp

Personally I like cleaner shrimps (Lysmata Amboinensis). I think that they are a fantastic addition to a reef tank. I have two in my aquarium and really enjoy watching them.

I like the way thay they hang upside down in a cave, the way in which they will take food out of your fingers and especially when they climb up your arm looking for food when you have you arm in the aquarium doing this and that.

There is one thing about them which I don’t like though and that is ‘they walk on the corals’

I admit it is not a big thing and it certainly is not a bad thing but they do appear to like to walk over the corals. The corals then in turn retract the polyps and the cleaner shrimp carries on wandering around the aquarium in search of scraps to consume.

This one little thing aside though I do believe that they are a fantastic addition to a reef tank. They help to a certain degree with keeping it clean (they should not replace your clean up crew but make a good addition to it), they add some movement as well as colour and they also as said are great to watch.

There are many other types of shrimps you can have in your reef tank - banded coral, blood, peppermint to name just a few but in my opinion the cleaner shrimp does offer the best when it comes to aquarist entertainment.

One of the reasons we keep an aquarium is for the joy it gives us - is it not?

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Tags: cleaner-shrimp, Coral Reef, invertebrate, marine-aquarium, saltwater-aquarium