Pterois Bioload, filtration question

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
L

Laticauda

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 16, 2010
1,400
2
0
Central Oklahoma
Ok, I currently have two G. tiles "freshwater moray" snowflake eels, and a "freshwater toadfish" in SG 1.012. Both of these species thrive in marine conditions, and I plan on increasing the SG over the next few months so I have more options of tank mates.

I have in mind a Pterois species (not sure which one yet, I'm sure it will depend on availability in my area.)

Before I take on this venture, I want to be sure I have everything I need to be prepared for the newest addition. They will be kept in a 75 gallon aquarium with lots of holey rock and Argonite sand as substrate. I currently have a Fluval 405 as filtration.

Some important questions I have are:
1)Will I need more filtration than this (the Fluval turns 340gph?) I plan on adding some live rock to the tank, but not until after my SG is much higher, since it won't survive in my current SG.

2)Will this tank space be adequate for all the inhabitants I plan on keeping in it?

Also, anything you think would be useful for me to know before I to this route. This will be my first marine tank, so any and all tips/information are welcome. Thanks for looking!
 
Laticauda;4871075; said:
Ok, I currently have two G. tiles "freshwater moray" snowflake eels, and a "freshwater toadfish" in SG 1.012. Both of these species thrive in marine conditions, and I plan on increasing the SG over the next few months so I have more options of tank mates.

I have in mind a Pterois species (not sure which one yet, I'm sure it will depend on availability in my area.)

Before I take on this venture, I want to be sure I have everything I need to be prepared for the newest addition. They will be kept in a 75 gallon aquarium with lots of holey rock and Argonite sand as substrate. I currently have a Fluval 405 as filtration.

Some important questions I have are:
1)Will I need more filtration than this (the Fluval turns 340gph?) I plan on adding some live rock to the tank, but not until after my SG is much higher, since it won't survive in my current SG.

2)Will this tank space be adequate for all the inhabitants I plan on keeping in it?

Also, anything you think would be useful for me to know before I to this route. This will be my first marine tank, so any and all tips/information are welcome. Thanks for looking!
Click to expand...

I don't know anything on coverting fish from brackish to salt or anything like that so I will just touch on the filtration.

You will need more than this. You are keeping a pretty large bioload for a 75 gallon, possibly too much bioload. I am not sure how big the toadfish gets, so that would affect it.

You will need to get some powerheads in the tank for water and waste movement. A protein skimmer would help a lot. You will also need to clean the canister filter frequently(once a week or more) to keep your water quality up.

As far as the live rock goes, yes buying saltwater live rock and putting it in would kill the rock, but if you buy dry rock it will become live and help your system as you make your way towards full saltwater.
 
Thanks for the tips! They say toadfishes can get up to 12 inches, but I believe she's been stunted from being kept in less-than-optimal conditions for most of her life (not enough food, never receiving water changes, etc.)
I got her in the end of December from a guy who was keeping her fed on one peice of small krill per day, he had her for a little over a year that way. She is currently eating a larger piece of food every 2-3 days instead. She's about 6 inches now, and I don't believe has grown at all since I've had her. Even if she is stunted, I still love her, and want to keep her, but that's kind of off topic.

As for filtration, I have a few options available to me. (Eventually, all of these filters will be using Matrix or Pond Matrix for media.)
1) I have a brand new Odyssea CFS500 that I could put on there.
2) I also plan on buying a Eheim 2217 (240gph), which I could use in conjunction with the current Fluval 405.
3) I have the sump/overflow that came with the 125 that I bought that was housing the toadfish and one eel. Its pump turns 860 gph, and has a dual outflow. The only problem I currently have with this sump is that it doesn't have much room for biomedia, but I plan on filling it with Matrix soon, so that shouldn't be a problem anymore, regardless of what tank I keep it on.

Which of these options would you think would be best for what I plan to do with the tank? I've been contemplating it over and over in my head, and I think I want the two smaller canisters for my tropical tanks, but if it would be better to use two canisters (for increased flow) then I would be open to do that as well.

I will have a lot of holey rock in the tank, and I was planning on letting it become "live" and having that as a portion of my filtration, and it will have the best chance at it, seeing as it will be in the tank during the change from 1.012 to 1.020.

I think that's all the questions I have right now...but I'm sure I'll have more later!

Oh, and, can anyone tell me specifics about the Pterois species they have kept themselves? Pros and Cons? I really don't know much about this fish, other than the limited regurgitated information found on google! Thanks!
 
I'll go with sump since you are getting holey rock. Those would also help with the bioload to a certain degree. As nonstop suggested, a protein skimmer might help, so a sump would be a good place for it. And if you are still lacking of bio-filtration, top the sump off with matrix.
 
Bump. Anyone with personal experience with these fish? Any comments on attitude, personality, quirks, difficulties/things to watch out for, etc.?
 
I dont mean to float my own boat, but I am kinda the lionfish guy.

Kept a few, looking to diversify species wise, but definitely have experience with the genus you are interested in.

Filtration does need to be beefed up, h2o flow will help keep particulate suspended, as dustin mentioned. A nice skimmer (AquaC is the brand I recommend, especially to newbies) will remove those suspended particulates.

I have kept juvenile's in a 75g tank, but some members of this genus can get over a foot! Although sedentary, their large finnage when they do move, is going to need some open tank space. A 120 (4ft length version) is the smallest tank I can recommend an adult being kept in.

Sump is definitely the filtration you want, expands your h2o volume, and is just easier/more customizable for things you might want to do down the road filtration wise. My brother is swearing by matrix right now, it should help with the big bio load.

As far as other questions...what are you interested in knowing? Sorry I didnt see this thread sooner, I have been crazy busy recently.
 
Thanks for responding! Just the guy I was looking to answer these questions!

Are any species of Pterois (not the dwarf lions, these would be gobbled by my toadfiish, undoubtedly) suitable for their full lifetime in a 75? I am pretty limited as to tank size, due to water space available for premixing my brine solution.

Also, I do plan on having quite a bit of holey rock in the tank, so need to know before I aquascape whether or not I will eventually be adding one of these awesome fish to the tank, so I leave enough room for the aforementioned AWESOME finnage.

Do you find them hard to get on feed? Could I just feed it the same things as I feed my (currently) brackish fish? Their diet consists of Tilapia, Shrimp, Octopus, and any other type of white fish I find in the asian markets.
 
Your diet sounds great! I am sure they will be more than happy with that assortment. Mine mainly get shrimp...and its actually a great food to get them started eating if they refuse initially. (Only had this problem with mail order/wholesale fish, usually the ones in LFS's have learned that the big hand means food.)

I think that anything nice and stinky will help trigger a feeding response though.

A 75g is probably the bare minimum...and I would lean towards a smaller member of the genus if you could. Volitan will get to be too large.

More important that holes in the rock, is to have large caves...They like to hang around upside down in these, and either digest, or wait in "ambush".

GL! Keep us in the loop!
 
I'm not very familiar with the different species, and the only ones available for sale here, are the volitans. Are you familiar with the species that stay smaller? I would be willing to special order, or order from an online source if I have to. It's important for me to accommodate the animals I keep, so it's important that I don't buy a species that would be too large for the 75 gallon tank I have available.

Depending on what I find available, I may have to hang up my dreams of a lionfish for another time in my life, when I have less FW tanks, and larger SW.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom