Open top tank fish

[Cthulukelele]

Hi all!

I am planning a low maintenance macroalgae mangrove tank I discussed awhile back. It will be in a deep blue undrilled tank that is 45 gallons 4 feet long 1 foot deep.

Since it is going to be a mangrove tank, it will need to be uncovered.

My question to the R2R community: what are some great aquarium fish that are not super likely to jump and non poisonous so my cat doesn't die if they do?

I am not planning to make it a reef (but if I do it'll just be softies I don't mind something occasionally munching).

 

[Jesterrace]

All fish jump at some point. Probably the best solution if you are set on it would be to get some Damsels and put them in there. They are cheap, hardy and will help graze on algae around the tank. My LFS uses them in their frag tanks (very similar setup to yours) and they have some that have been in there for years. I just wouldn't recommend mixing other fish with them as that is a pricey gamble.

Take your pick:

https://www.liveaquaria.com/category/28/damselfish?c=15+28&r=

 

[Cthulukelele]

All fish jump at some point. Probably the best solution if you are set on it would be to get some Damsels and put them in there. They are cheap, hardy and will help graze on algae around the tank. My LFS uses them in their frag tanks (very similar setup to yours) and they have some that have been in there for years. I just wouldn't recommend mixing other fish with them as that is a pricey gamble.

Take your pick:

https://www.liveaquaria.com/category/28/damselfish?c=15+28&r=

How bad an idea do you think keeping an anglerfish with them would be? Game of Thrones it up. Or maybe a hawkfish?

 

[nereefpat]

Hawks are jumpers.

 

[Jesterrace]

How bad an idea do you think keeping an anglerfish with them would be? Game of Thrones it up. Or maybe a hawkfish?

Really bad with the Angler and I don't feel that an Angler is well suited to a mangrove tank (it's just nothing like it's natural environment). Hawkfish might find some of the smaller damsels food and IMHO are too expensive to risk as a jumper. The advantage to going with Damsels is that they would be a more natural fit for a mangrove tank (zipping in and around), would provide a service with some algae removal and if one does jump out of the tank, you can easily replace them for cheap. I think a handful of them and calling it good would be the best choice for that tank.

 

[Greybeard]

My 18 month old topless reef contains the following fishes:

1 Ocellaris Clown (yes, his partner jumped... the only fish I've had do so to date)
Smith's Blenny
4x Pajama Cardinals
Scopas tang
Female Spotbreast Angel (Genicanthus sp)
Bi-Color Goatfish

Until recently, I had an orange spot rabbitfish, as well. No, he didn't jump... but he did start eating my corals, and had to be re-homed.

The smith's blenny is a long, thin fish that you'd think would be a likely jumper. In this case, I wouldn't have selected him, but he was in my old tank... so he came along. No problems.

The PJ Cardinals are full grown, very peaceful and calm.

The Goatfish might be a good addition to your mangrove tank... Cool fish... helps keep the surface of the sand cleaned up.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Really bad with the Angler and I don't feel that an Angler is well suited to a mangrove tank (it's just nothing like it's natural environment). Hawkfish might find some of the smaller damsels food and IMHO are too expensive to risk as a jumper. The advantage to going with Damsels is that they would be a more natural fit for a mangrove tank (zipping in and around), would provide a service with some algae removal and if one does jump out of the tank, you can easily replace them for cheap. I think a handful of them and calling it good would be the best choice for that tank.

Thanks!

Can you keep a lot of different species of damsel together? I heard they got pretty violent with one another.

Also mangrove tank is probably a bit misleading. My plan is to create a kind of peninsula tank with a magrove sapling on one rocky end to practice bonsai and a good amount of live rock and macroalgae. Would a well-rocked peninsula tank still be an unnatural home for an angler? The understanding if I kept him with damsels and chromis is that they'd be food if he got a little hungry which I was actually kinda intrigued by. I promise I am not trying to talk you into giving me an okay on the fish, but want to make sure I provide complete information

My 18 month old topless reef contains the following fishes:

1 Ocellaris Clown (yes, his partner jumped... the only fish I've had do so to date)
Smith's Blenny
4x Pajama Cardinals
Scopas tang
Female Spotbreast Angel (Genicanthus sp)
Bi-Color Goatfish

Until recently, I had an orange spot rabbitfish, as well. No, he didn't jump... but he did start eating my corals, and had to be re-homed.

The smith's blenny is a long, thin fish that you'd think would be a likely jumper. In this case, I wouldn't have selected him, but he was in my old tank... so he came along. No problems.

The PJ Cardinals are full grown, very peaceful and calm.

The Goatfish might be a good addition to your mangrove tank... Cool fish... helps keep the surface of the sand cleaned up.

Would a goatfish be comfortable in 45gallons? It is 4 foot and shallow, so it may actually be perfect dimensions for them. I had read they need a lot of room, but they are mainly benthic correct?

 

[Greybeard]

Would a goatfish be comfortable in 45gallons? It is 4 foot and shallow, so it may actually be perfect dimensions for them. I had read they need a lot of room, but they are mainly benthic correct?

Mine is still a juvenile, about 4" long. My tank is 60" x 30" and 18" tall, with fairly sparse rockwork. Lots of open sand bed. The goatfish will come up to the surface if I'm feeding, but aside from that, he's pretty much always in contact with the sand.

LA says 10" max length, and 125G for minimum tank size. I've never seen a goat quite 10"... but I've seen several in the 8" range. I'd consider my tank as borderline for this species as an adult.

 

[Burrito]

What if you use a mesh top and cut openings for the plants?

 

[Cthulukelele]

Mine is still a juvenile, about 4" long. My tank is 60" x 30" and 18" tall, with fairly sparse rockwork. Lots of open sand bed. The goatfish will come up to the surface if I'm feeding, but aside from that, he's pretty much always in contact with the sand.

LA says 10" max length, and 125G for minimum tank size. I've never seen a goat quite 10"... but I've seen several in the 8" range. I'd consider my tank as borderline for this species as an adult.

So do you have another suggestion if that will be too big?

What if you use a mesh top and cut openings for the plants?

I could do that, but I was hoping to make the top down view part of the display. Also it is an awkward sized tank that'll need several holes which will probably invalidate there even being much of a lid at all. I may end up covering it, but it is really a better suited display uncovered hence my questions in this thread. I realize a lot of people are super opposed to open top EVER and I respect that!

 

[mattzang]

How bad an idea do you think keeping an anglerfish with them would be? Game of Thrones it up. Or maybe a hawkfish?

you know the red wedding? well....

 

[Cthulukelele]

you know the red wedding? well....

My internal dialogue is wavering between a semi-agressive small fish tank or 1 mega-predator fish and lots of floating snacks lol

 

[lactose]

I have a open top zero edge for quite a while and have found cardinal fish to be the only ones that work for me. PJ, Baggaii, ochre stripped and those little red spot ones that look like freshwater tetras.

 

[mattzang]

My internal dialogue is wavering between a semi-agressive small fish tank or 1 mega-predator fish and lots of floating snacks lol

my lfs has an angler in a tank and they said it basically eats anything that isn't pretty large. in fact, they feed it damsels from time to time because they're cheap. idk how long it takes to whittle a population down.. maybe ask this in the predator tank forum?

personally, the angler thing doesn't do anything for me. seems like the videos/threads i've come across on them is people saying they're not worth it in the end. they just sit there, all day. get a plastic model of one and put it in instead? then enjoy a tank full of swimming fish?

 

[Cthulukelele]

my lfs has an angler in a tank and they said it basically eats anything that isn't pretty large. in fact, they feed it damsels from time to time because they're cheap. idk how long it takes to whittle a population down.. maybe ask this in the predator tank forum?

personally, the angler thing doesn't do anything for me. seems like the videos/threads i've come across on them is people saying they're not worth it in the end. they just sit there, all day. get a plastic model of one and put it in instead? then enjoy a tank full of swimming fish?

Yeah what I really wish i could put in the tank is a toby puffer, but I am too worried about it jumping and killing one of my cats

 

[KrisReef]

Have you ever seen those trampolines with side guard rails? I think that if you made tall guard rails for the tank you could bounce the jumpers back into the tank if you tilt the rails slightly towards the center of the tank it should make it hard for fish to escape out of the top and would also allow your mangroves to grow unimpeded.

Also, Tangs don't jump so much.

 

[Cthulukelele]

I have a open top zero edge for quite a while and have found cardinal fish to be the only ones that work for me. PJ, Baggaii, ochre stripped and those little red spot ones that look like freshwater tetras.

That makes sense that those lazy bobbing fish are the least likely to jump

I envy the life of my carefree bangai lol

 

[Cthulukelele]

Have you ever seen those trampolines with side guard rails? I think that if you made tall guard rails for the tank you could bounce the jumpers back into the tank if you tilt the rails slightly towards the center of the tank it should make it hard for fish to escape out of the top and would also allow your mangroves to grow unimpeded.

Also, Tangs don't jump so much.

I'll have to think about putting in a fish backboard then

Would a bristletooth like maybe a tomini be happy in a 45 gallon? It would be 4' long and shallow.

 

[KrisReef]

I'd put a Tomini in a tank that size but lots of folks on here seem to think that tangs need more swimming room to be happy? I think that if they are fed often and if you keep the tank clean they are happy enough.
If you have a lot of mangroves, I think that you need to add more cryptic fishes that like to swim between plants. Might make a cool sea horse habitat, mandarines, pipefish, gobies could all be happy amongst the tree roots.

 

[Cthulukelele]

I'd put a Tomini in a tank that size but lots of folks on here seem to think that tangs need more swimming room to be happy? I think that if they are fed often and if you keep the tank clean they are happy enough.
If you have a lot of mangroves, I think that you need to add more cryptic fishes that like to swim between plants. Might make a cool sea horse habitat, mandarines, pipefish, gobies could all be happy amongst the tree roots.

A lot of people seem to think length of tank is the most important thing. My dream stocking list:
Dragon pipefish
Valentini puffer
Flame hawkfish
Tomimi tang
A few blue green chromis
Mandarin dragonet

And you know what, I just might go for it lol