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Help with "FOWLR" tank

Sig

Eats genetically engineered tomatoes
Hey everyone, so our first project in Zoology is to design, make, and upkeep a randomly assigned aquarium biome. Our group was assigned "fish only with live rock", and until a few minutes ago I had no idea what that even was. I've been doing some research, but have no experience whatsoever in keeping fish, and thought it might be a good idea to ask for some help.

This is currently just in the design phase, but if anyone has made this tank before and know easy fish/general tips you'd want to suggest, that would really be helpful.

Thanks!
 
Hey Silence!

Great stuff there. I have a soft spot for FOWLR tanks. I was in the reef hobby for most of my highschool and college years, but made the switch to FOWLR in grad school as they are much, much easier to move.

A few things to consider:
Why live rock? This the thing that distinguishes FOWLR tanks from the typical marine aquarium. Large formations of live rock do multiple things: live rock has a ridiculous amount of surface area due to its porous nature: nitrifying bacteria grow on every surface of a tank and are responsible for converting fish waste into less toxic compounds. The rock itself supports incredibly high populations of bacteria, making the rock a giant living filter. The rock also serves as a network of visual barriers, creating territories for aggressive fish and lowering fighting.Lastly, the rock serves as a nursery of sorts for food organisms, seeding the tank with tiny isopods and amphipods.

Tips:
Stock light, stock small fish. Even with the addition of live rock, saltwater fish are sensitive to nitrogenous waste. Large fish produce more waste for their body size than small fish. Large fish also tend to make a tank seem crowded and less of an ecosystem.

Use the reef mentality - all fish have a purpose. Lots of fish help keep the tank looking clean. Choose fish that serve functions: lawnmower blennies (eat hair algae), sailfin tangs(eat macro algaes), sand sifting gobies (keep substrate clean), cooperband butterflies (eat nuisance organisms like aptasia), neon gobies (eat parasite off other fish), etc.

Lastly, from a teacher standpoint, consider having a message or theme. For instance, look up the Berlin Method. Low stocking, light feeding, no filter... say what? Live rock handles all the biological work. Because you won't be growing corals, protein skimming isn't that big a deal. Without a filter, you save on electricity... you have a "green" tank :p combine this with farmed or tank bred fish and sustainably harvested fish food stuffs... I smell an A

Lol keep us posted and chime in with questions. I know a few of us were fish kids and still are at heart.
 
^ couldnt have said it any better myself.
 
@Physalaemus, Thanks a bunch for the tips! We haven't even finished cleaning the tanks we're going to use, so we're a looong way away from the different kinds of fish, bet it's a big help! I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Thanks!
 
Okay! So the design phase is almost over. We have a forty gallon tank that has been cleaned, a filter cycling, though that's more to get the initial gunk out because we'll be using a protein skimmer, and a heater trying to get the right temperature. The substrate is fine sand with pebbles/gravel making a hill on one side. We don't have the live rock in yet.

We're not 100% sure on the fish list, but this is the best we have so far:

royal gramma basslet x1

blue tuxedo urchin x1

Banggai cardinalfish x2

peppermint shrimp x2

skunk cleaner shrimp x2

Any suggestions? I want more shrimp, but my partners don't, so I can't do that unless it's really spectacular.

Thanks!
 
Seeing as how the FO in FOWLR stands for Fish-Only, I'm not sure why you're including invertebrates at all? I hope the substrate is some sort of calcareous aragonite sand or coral rubble. It adds a great deal of buffering capacity to the water.

You're light on algae eaters. For a smallish tank, I'd recommend a lawnmower blenny and a small sailfin tang / foxface (be careful the dorsal spines are venomous).

Get the live rock in asap. You will see a big die off of stuff living in it that will cause a big ammonia spike. The sooner that is dealt with, the sooner you can start stocking.
 
We're using it as "no plants or coral". My teacher said it's okay. About the live rock, It'll probably be in 1-2 weeks before the fish. Is that enough time? The rock is currently in another tank without any fish, if that makes a difference. The blenny looks like a good fit, but it looks like it gets really big. Will that be a problem? Of the fish we have already, will they be a good fit for the tank with the addition of an algae eater?

Thanks for the help!
 
Too big? I've never seen one bigger than 4 inches :p

The rock cycling in another tanks is fine. I was concerned that you would be putting it right into the tank from the shipping box and then adding fish.

Otherwise, the fish list looks great. I might suggest a third Banggai cardinal (they like to be in groups). Keep an eye on the cleaner shrimp. They can pester fish in smallish tanks.

With the Urchin, the lawnmower blenny may not be as necessary (they overlap in diet). Maybe a pistol shrimp and a prawn goby would make a good duo :D They're a blast to watch as they do their symbiotic thing. Their digging will also keep the sand aerated and healthy.
 
The pistol shrimp and goby combo looks really cool! Though the shrimp kinda scares me a little bit... a 212 decibel, 5000 degree attack at 100 miles an hour? And this thing is PEACEFUL? :0o: Would it hurt the other fish and/or kill me by being super annoying? if the answer to both of those questions is no, I think I found the tank completer!
 
  • #10
Whoa! I had no idea that this prawn goby / pistol shrimp combo formed such a close bond like that! It's like having an episode of Blue Planet right on your desk!
 
  • #11
actually setting up a 20 gallon nano right now, though not a FOWLR, fish will likely be a purple fire fish and a yellow watchman goby also planning on a pistol shrimp......just got the live rock yesterday.....had forgotten how much fun it is, when i checked this morning i believe i discovered a half dozen mushroom corals, some brittle stars and a couple of fan worms....
 
  • #13
Haha no. The pistol shrimps in the trade don't kill fish. They can kill shrimp and amphipods smaller than them, but at a whopping inch long, that's really not an issue.

I used to teach a marine bio class and we would periodically collect them so students could key them out for ID purposes. We learned quickly to put them in watchglasses that were at least 1/16" of an inch thick. They cracked the petri dish sized ones lol. Mantis shrimp are even worse about this. The club-footed ones can break the glass on a standard ten gallon tank.
 
  • #14
lol...they dont call mantis shrimp, "thumbsplitters" for nuthin! :lol:
 
  • #15
I have a friend here in Utah, who had a nice little 15 gallon species tank for his mantis shrimp, which eventually ended up breaking the front of the tank during feeding time.

A pistol shrimp isn't going to be anywhere near as loud or destructive as a mantis would be. One thing I would watch out for though is the other shrimp in the tank. Pistol shrimp have been known to eat other decorative shrimp like peppermints and cleaners. This is pretty common, so I would want to risk putting them together, but maybe that's just me.
 
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  • #16
Update! Everyone's gotten the tanks up and running. Turns out our fish list was a very loose guideline, but we got a few things we wanted. So far we have:

5n172f.jpg


1 Bangai

1 peppermint shrimp (not visible, coolest thing ever though)

1 clown fish

1 royal gramma basslet

and 2 things in the picture that I don't remember what they are, because we didn't ask for them. The blue one will occasionally chase the bangaii around and nip at it, until the way bigger clownfish comes out and chases it away. Friends for life!

We'll probably get another banggai and shrimp, but our tank looks pretty empty compared to the others. Are there any really small school fish that would go well in it? just something to swim around and add life?

We are also the only group to not have any fish deaths, but that might just be because all the others have a bunch of small ones. One tank lost every single fish from a virus, though! They made good eating for my plants at school! :lol:

As far as accessories, the pump is designed to move... I think 1000 gallons an hour? I might be wrong, though. The protein skimmer is rated at 200 gallons, I think the filter is 100, the heater is 150 watts... in other words, we are going WAY overkill! :lol: Never have any ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite, so at least that's working.

What do you think?

Happy growing/fish raising!

Edit: Fixed! Sorry about that.
 
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  • #17
Oh boo I can't see the photo, but I'm so excited :D
 
  • #18
We lost two of our fish.

And by "lost" I mean we CAN'T FIND THEM. They're just GONE. They were both seen on Friday, and monday hits and the basslet and bangai are nowhere to be found. We assumed they were just hiding, but today we practically turned the whole tank upside down looking for them... NOTHING! We are baffled! There are three possible theories:

1: Both got eaten. A little nuts considering they're fed every day, there are no fish bigger then them, and there's absolutely no trace of parts.

2: They jumped out and died. But there's a plastic mesh completely sealing the tank! We also looked behind it, all around it, for a good 10 minutes, and found no bodies.

3: Someone jacked em'! It also sounds ridiculous, but it fits just as well as the other two... they were the prettiest fish in the tank, and they disappeared over the weekend. But who would steal a fish?? :0o:

What the fish is going on??
 
  • #19
Theft......it's school....nuff said. :lol:
 
  • #20
well i hope whoever stole them (if they were stolen) at least knows how to take care of them, and not some moron who would just fill a goldfish bowl with tap water and toss in the fish...
 
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