planing for fish in 40 gal tank

[Stirfry]

yo ppl i have currently a 40 gal set up and upgrading to a 80 gal and i want to turn my 40 into a fish only tank and i want to put some triggers and some eel's and lion fish and stuff like that any clue on good fish to put in??? help too many fish give me some help???

[Beverly]

yo ppl i have currently a 40 gal set up and upgrading to a 80 gal and i want to turn my 40 into a fish only tank and i want to put some triggers and some eel's and lion fish and stuff like that any clue on good fish to put in??? help too many fish give me some help???

How a about doing a FOWLR tank? The rock'll help handle the bioload. Make sure the rock is fully cured before adding the fish, which you probably already know.

Also, if you do get a lionfish (which are so cool looking) make sure it's eating at the lfs and that you can feed it what the lfs is feeding it. They are notorious for starving to death in home tanks.

Though I have had no experience with them, but won't triggers get pretty large, and perhaps aggressive, for a 40 gal?

If I was going to do a small FOWLR, I'd probably go for the dwarf angelfish, like coral beauties, flame angels, etc., and maybe a butterfly (always wanted a copperband, but they're not reefsafe).

I'll bet there are folks out there with small FOWLR tanks who can give better suggestions.

[DJ88]

turn my 40 into a fish only tank and i want to put some triggers and some eel's and lion fish and stuff like that any clue on good fish to put in???

40 gallons is too small for triggers and lion fish. IMO. Maybe the lion on its own but triggers grow. Big and make a BIG mess.

[BCOrchidGuy]

Beverly has an awesome looking fish only tank, just look through her previous posts and she has some links to pictures. I think the post was about her Koran Angel, honest she has an awesome looking fish only tank.

[Beverly]

Beverly has an awesome looking fish only tank, just look through her previous posts and she has some links to pictures. I think the post was about her Koran Angel, honest she has an awesome looking fish only tank.

Sorry, but that's not my FO tank you're talking about. Don't have a tank that could hold a Koran Angel. Maybe you're thinking about EmilyB, or someone else?

[Quinn]

yo ppl i have currently a 40 gal set up and upgrading to a 80 gal and i want to turn my 40 into a fish only tank and i want to put some triggers and some eel's and lion fish and stuff like that any clue on good fish to put in??? help too many fish give me some help???

way too small for anything like that. i don't know anything about them, but i'd be thinking about a boxfish if i had a spare 40 gal. i think emilyb has one, you could ask her what she thinks. i'm not sure how big they get.

bev i know of a few people who keep copperbands in reefs :smile: i think stephane in montreal knows a fair bit about that. of course some people are willing to try anything, there's people out there with moorish idols and triggers in SPS and clam tanks :eek:

[BCOrchidGuy]

Sorry Beverly, wonder who I was thinking of.... Yes lots of people keep CBB in a reef tank, I've been told they are not reef safe, they nip at Xenia etc.. I've also been told they aren't actually nipping at the polyps but something close to the polyp... I've been hesitant to try, but the LFS has some lovely smaller ones in now..... hmmmm

[Canadian Man]

Hey Quinn, Boxfish get very large as well.

[EmilyB]

I have two (small) triggers in a 120g right now with some other fish. They do a fair enough job of polluting that one, even with a Euro-reef skimmer..... :eek:

Quinn might be thinking of my valentini puffer, which would be a good choice for a 40g. This fish is not compatible with triggers or other hugely aggressive fish. There are small wrasses that may be a good choice, I don't know. My valentini currently resides with a yellow tail damsel, and a coral banded shrimp of all things... :rolleyes:

The death of a box fish in a small tank can unfortunately mean the demise of all your occupants in short order.

Re the CBB: I believe the copperband to be "largely" reef safe. I have one in my 155g for a while now, the only thing it has bothered was the open brain. I eradicated all the xenia from that tank, so I can't comment on that, however my Black Back butterfly thinks it's spaghetti. The CBB are a lively fish filled with personality.

[BCOrchidGuy]

I've got a 27 gallon reef set up and I may try the CBB in there, I have a small Xenia and a leather so if there is an issue I can catch the CBB easy enough..... food for thought...

[EmilyB]

Forgot to mention., the CBB will be a big fish, and they like to swim....will you have a place to upgrade him into ? I was basically just commenting on the reef safe comment for the CBB.

Also, anyone buying a CBB, be absolutely sure it is eating.

[BCOrchidGuy]

I figured if he leaves the Xenia alone in the small tank I can move him into the 90... if he goes after the Xenia well good excuse to buy another tank.

[Diomedes]

Hey Stirfry, If you are interested in keeping morays, triggers, and lionfish, then here are some acceptable species in those families. The triggers are the hardest group to place in a 40 gal, as most individuals grow much too large. The trigger species that stay the smallest are the Bluechin (max 8.5 "), the Picasso (10"), the Scimitar (9.4"), Blackbelly bursa (9.0")....so the picture is pretty bleak for their long term care in a 40. But If you get them when their young the 40 will be fine for a while, and during that time you can save up to purchase your 135 gallon tank!? You will need a large tank for almost all triggers once they breach adolescence.... The morays I suggest are Richardson's moray, Whitelip moray, Snowflake, Chesnut, etc. Do some research there are lots of small morays. Lionfish spp. are the easiest to locate and the small spp. will be happiest in a 40 gal...contrary to popular opinion Lions do not all get extremely large. Examples: the twinspot lionfish (Fu Manchu), the shortfin lion, the zebra dwarf, the antennata etc. Do some more research.
The best help I could offer though is to go and buy Scott Michaels "Marine Fishes"...That will save you asking people for info and possibly not getting the full story.

Good Luck

Stephen

[Quinn]

ah yes puffer that's what i was thinking of.

i suppose a dwarf lionfish would be alright in a 40 gal, but do you really think a moray would be? i know dez in edmonton has a snowflake in a 55 gal (i think), even that seems a bit small? i don't really know, i'm still debating whether i'd prefer a moray or shrimp in my 150 gal :neutral:

[Stirfry]

thx all i have alot to think about now!!!

[BCOrchidGuy]

There are some morays that grow to a maximum lenth of less than a foot, you have many choices.

Good luck