Apologies all for the slow reply, I had a bit of a family crisis and then my mother in law was visiting from the States for two weeks so I haven't had time to get online.
Its kinda funny that you made this thread just to get compliments and then realize that it is just a pile of rocks. I would suggest some tall spires and a tunnel. Pile of rocks is only good for eel :spin3: Eeeeeeel. But don't do eel cuz it'll make dinner out of seahorses.
I didn't make the thread for compliments, I wanted constructive criticism and advice, though it seems most people have assumed that is my motive.
I didn't make this thread for compliments, though it seems most people have assumed that
Please do some research on seahorses...my understanding is that they need a tank basically to themselves.
Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk
I've done plenty of research on seahorses and have carefully picked the tank mates I have in there to make sure they are compatible.
seahorses are expert only due to intensive husbandry and specialty setup for their tank and diet. Only attempt after tons of research and preparation.
Do you have a refugum? if not, your mandrinfish will likely have trouble eating after a few months. That's not a very large tank for them, and they typically only eat live copods.
Also, skip the linkia starfish. Sorry to say, but they do not fare well in any but the largest and most mature tanks. Their diet is not known, so they are basically left to forage, in hopes that whatever they eat is plentiful enough in your tank to sustain them.
Now to the actual question...rockwork. Personally I like the open look with rocks. Give dimension to the tank, and give the fish plenty of places to call home. The only problem is, it can be very frustrating to try to make, and the structures can be unstable, so risk toppling over if not done right. Especially hard with roundish rocks. The pro to your current setup is it actually looks pretty natural, so that's good. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. so whatever you like the looks of is what you should do. As others have mentioned, piles of rock can make getting flow through difficult, so plan for that with a powerhead or 2 if that's the way you intend to keep your rocks.
Thank you very much for the constructive criticism, this is what I had hoped for when I made the thread.
With regards to your concerns, I understand completely as I am assuming everyone who comes into this hobby enters it because they are passionate about these animals/creatures and would not want to see them die out in the wild, or suffer in captivity. I can assure you I am certainly not rushing to fill my tank with anything it cannot support and I have spent a long time scouring this forum, other forums and articles as resources to prepare for potentially keeping seahorses. I would not get anything I wasn't confident I could keep, I have yet to add seahorses to my tank and will not do so until I am comfortable the would do well in there.
I do have a refugium with plenty of pods in there. As of now my mandarin has been in my tank for about three months and he's doing fine, he looks fat and he swims about, hovering over the rocks, eating the pods all day.
If nothing is known of what the linkia starfish eats then I'd prefer not to have one in my tank. I'd be devastated to have killed it by neglect. Thank you.
Again, thank you for the constructive criticism. If my rock set up looks natural then I think that is how I would like to keep it. Some here have said there aren't enough caves but the picture doesn't really show the cave system that well, there are quite a few in there as the centre rock is sitting on a rock which has a cave and by the way it is perched, there is also a cave that can be swam through between the rock on top and the rock below. The rock at the top also creates a more open 'cave' with the rock in front and the other two rocks were specifically selected because they have natural caves, as well as creating caves by their placement. All of the inhabitants seem very comfortable with the current set up, so I am happy with it. I appreciate this may sound a bit defensive and I don't want to come across that way at all, as I would like help and advice from more experienced people.
I will look into getting a powerhead to help with circulation between the rocks.
Rock to close to the glass,piled up without inspiration. C-
You only ever seem to come in the "New to the Hobby" section to criticise newbies without ever adding anything constructive from what I have seen, why do you bother?
