Filling a large tank with mini fish...

[ShawnSaucier]

this idea is awesome. I have a 135 display fuge that I just plumbed to my main DT, and I was trying to figure out a direction to go with it. I think this may be it!

I think that would look amazing, and would love to see some pictures if this is the route you decide to go. Depending on the macros you choose and your scape, it would look vast. Tons of tiny fish swimming through the roots system of mangroves would be amazing.

 

[ShawnSaucier]

All box and cow fish.

You really are mad... But I love it

 

[YodaHart]

I had this idea when I started by 120 about 7 months ago. I wanted to get a bunch of different species of "nano" fish instead of just 2 or 3 large fish. This way you would always see some action in the tank instead of just a few fish that may hide. I already had 2 paired maroon clowns and a kole tang from my previous tank. I'm planning to get a few others:

Lyretail Anthias
Hector's Gobies
Court Jester Gobies
Bassletts
Smaller Wrasses

 

[ShawnSaucier]

You will find the survival rate of mini dartfish to be on par with the parvulus cardinals. What I have found to help be successful with both of these fish is to hatch baby brine and feed minimum of 3x's, but preferably 5x's a day.

Other cool small fish ideas are: a colony of barnacle blennies, the trimma gobies are cool, and if you are doing small fish you could do garden eels.

This is good to know about the minis. I am looking for a simpler feeder in a sense. Sometimes work pulls me away for weeks at a time and I don't want to leave my wife with a huge feeding chore. Currently we have made our own food consisting of finely chopped mollusk and cephlapods mixed with reef caviar, phyto and selcon. Our last batch has provided enough food for about 6-8 months of feeding x2 daily. Growing brine seems a bit complicated, but I'm sure it may just seem that way.
We have a few barnacle clusters worked into our scape, a few barnacle bennies camping out would look really cool. But as cool as the garden eels really would be, I don't have a deep enough sand bed in the tank. I'm not a huge fan of seeing the layers of a DSB from the normal view points of a tank. In a future build though, something I have thought of would be to do a 30" tall tank that sits 6" into a stand. So the view point would always be at the top level. At which point, garden eels would be tre' cool.

 

[eatbreakfast]

...as cool as the garden eels really would be, I don't have a deep enough sand bed in the tank. I'm not a huge fan of seeing the layers of a DSB from the normal view points of a tank. In a future build though, something I have thought of would be to do a 30" tall tank that sits 6" into a stand. So the view point would always be at the top level. At which point, garden eels would be tre' cool.

Actually garden eels dont need as much sand as many think. The ones at the store in Greenwich are only in 4", and I have seen them work in 2-3". Although most of their body is covered, they are quite flexible, and most of their body is horizontal. Without large active fish garden eels are quite easy to keep.

 

[luxauterna]

I think that would look amazing, and would love to see some pictures if this is the route you decide to go. Depending on the macros you choose and your scape, it would look vast. Tons of tiny fish swimming through the roots system of mangroves would be amazing.

Yea I will definitely keep you posted. I need to get some more rock, and much more macro. Right now I have two kinds of caulerpa and gracilaria, but I need more and it needs to be better aquascaped.

 

[anflyer]

Yes to all,!!!!!