Bending the rules of minimum aquarium size?

[jeremy.gosnell]

As of late, the Blackfish movement that has generated a buzz around Seaworld is starting to trickle over to home reef aquariums. Any time animals are removed from the ocean and placed in captivity (either publicly or privately) certain segments of the general public takes issue with it. Some of the anti-aquarium movement has merit, especially that which focuses on the fact that many of our fish come from under or un-regulated fishing hotspots, such as Indonesia and the Philippines. The trade has been called out to become more transparent, as to where fish are sourced and the use of cyanide capture. We've been led to believe over the past few years that cyanide capture is a thing of the past, when in fact it's still in use. All of those issues should be discussed and improved upon.

The side that says fish are as sentient as a dog, cat or even primate is often a matter of opinion and interpretation. While I think fish have a host of interesting behaviors and cognitive abilities, I am not sure that they demand a 100% no captivity rule, similar to that animal rights groups want for marine mammals. We keep dogs, cats and a host of other animals as pets, so it's hard to understand why some are so against keeping marine fish and corals. The fact they are taken from the wild plays a large role in public perception and this will improve when the majority of animals offered for sale are captive bred and raised. Respectful and appropriate aquarium husbandry is a key to proving the anti-aquarium crowd wrong, as is only supporting ethical, sustainable vendors (of which there are many).

As for the fox face; I think 55 gallons is a minimum for the species, however you could get by with a 45 for quite some time, if you get a small, juvenile fish. Understand that eventually you will need to donate the fish to a new/larger home or upgrade your tank eventually. However, this will be years down the road.

 

[becks]

I'm a believer in giving the fish the most natural tank as we can over lengths and sizes, although important there is a lot more to it than that. people always say tangs swim large distances a day so respectively the difference between a 6 and 5ft tank irrelevant to the distance covered in the wild, however a 5ft minimalist tank with lots of swimming room and less fish would be better than a 6ft tank with a rock wall taking up lots of swimming space that was stocked with alot of fish. Then some tangs act differently generally regal tangs are less active than purple tangs etc etc

Before I add clown fish I will have a anemone first, although they appear fine without them, in the wild they always tend to stay at their anemone or search for one if they don't.

Long nose hawkfish normally hide amongst certain coral types so I'll have one of those for my Longnose hawk.

They are my examples of trying to give the fish the closest possible environment they are in the wild. There are behaviours you can identify that can show if a fish is stressed like pacing etc so a lot of it comes down to researching the fish you want and being a responsible aquarist.

 

[ReeferReefer]

As of late, the Blackfish movement that has generated a buzz around Seaworld is starting to trickle over to home reef aquariums. Any time animals are removed from the ocean and placed in captivity (either publicly or privately) certain segments of the general public takes issue with it. Some of the anti-aquarium movement has merit, especially that which focuses on the fact that many of our fish come from under or un-regulated fishing hotspots, such as Indonesia and the Philippines. The trade has been called out to become more transparent, as to where fish are sourced and the use of cyanide capture. We've been led to believe over the past few years that cyanide capture is a thing of the past, when in fact it's still in use. All of those issues should be discussed and improved upon.

The side that says fish are as sentient as a dog, cat or even primate is often a matter of opinion and interpretation. While I think fish have a host of interesting behaviors and cognitive abilities, I am not sure that they demand a 100% no captivity rule, similar to that animal rights groups want for marine mammals. We keep dogs, cats and a host of other animals as pets, so it's hard to understand why some are so against keeping marine fish and corals. The fact they are taken from the wild plays a large role in public perception and this will improve when the majority of animals offered for sale are captive bred and raised. Respectful and appropriate aquarium husbandry is a key to proving the anti-aquarium crowd wrong, as is only supporting ethical, sustainable vendors (of which there are many).

As for the fox face; I think 55 gallons is a minimum for the species, however you could get by with a 45 for quite some time, if you get a small, juvenile fish. Understand that eventually you will need to donate the fish to a new/larger home or upgrade your tank eventually. However, this will be years down the road.

Yeah, keep in mind foxface get huge! I have one in a 90g but I'll need a bigger tank in a few years for him. Note:directed at OP

 

[Mark426]

Big fish in small tanks look stupid.

 

[Elementalj]

Big fish in small tanks look stupid.

I agree. Too much stress in my opinion and it would eventually affect the health of the animal.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Understanding tank dimensions is important. For example, a standard 70g has the same footprint as a 40g breeder, so unless a fish requires the vertical space, those 2 dimensions are practically interchangeable.