are fish the main reason you do this?

[Netofficer3710]

I am sitting here at the foot of my bed watching my 60 gal reef under the moonlight and I realize that there is so much going on that I don't even mind that all of my fish are in another tank at the moment.

The more I think about it I find that fish are just an added plus to having a reef.
Does anyone else find the inverts and corals to be just as if not more interesting than the fish?
I really do not mind the absence of fish!

 

[OodleyBoodely]

I agree! The fish are nice, but...I love the whole mini ecosystem, the cool critters, the corals, even the hardware systems and trying to piece something together on a really non-existant budget, lol!

 

[kb1916]

Actually, turns out to be opposite for me. When I started it out, my gaol was to have a colorful SPS reef display. But I find myself now, more interested in the fish with many that I would like to get but that are not reef compatible. I'm seriously thinking of going to a FOWLR.

 

[snorvich]

I like corals and inverts as well if not better than fish.

 

[reefmanmatt]

i actually prefer the coral . i have some fish but most are targeted to clean and manage my reef for me

 

[frankpayne32]

I need to have both. To me just a fish tank is boring and just a coral tank is boring. Together they are the coolest!

 

[jayelblock]

Inverts are focus of my tanks, although it takes people a while to notice them. I'm crazy about shrimp, from my sexy shrimp, to the feeder grass shrimp I keep as detritus eaters, all the way down to the mysids that somehow appear as if by magic. Fish are good, as long as they act like inverts. That's why I have kept gobies almost exclusively. They hop over the rocks and don't thrash around in the water and distract me from watching my shrimp.

 

[Useful_Idiot]

I have fish just because they poop. Without fish poop my corals won't do as well. So I've read, haven't actually tried it. Mostly they annoy me because they steal from the lps I when I target feed. I've actually been pondering lately what I like the most about this hobby and why I spend most of my money on it. I"m not sure if it's being able to grow coral frags into beautiful corals, or the challenge of learning the chemistry and care taking due to my job no longer challenging me to problem solve. And I like to buy things. Like pumps with dc voltage drivers and dosers with microprocessors and thermal controllers with differential control and titration test kits and and and. But I've always been interested in animals. Spent my childhood in the ponds and rivers, always had something living in an aquarium for the last 25 years.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

re: are fish the main reason you do this?

many of the hardcore FO folks that I know of question why reefkeepers like to maintain living corals in their aquarium.

Personally, I think FO aquariums are extremely boring.

I prefer fish and living corals in my aquarium although I could certainly ease my maintenance routines if none of them pooped.

 

[Sophie10]

It's the whole package for me! I love the interaction of all the critters. I love how the the Diamond Goby rules the underworld, how the hippo nestles in the rock and flies out for a snack. Nassarius snails surfacing during feeding. The torch and duncan unfurling their polyps in the current. The continually changing and growth on the live rock. Copepods and isopods scurrying about. The whole tank dynamic, it's awesome! A very good question NetOfficer!

 

[dzfish17]

I like both too. My current project is mostly fish, but I plan on doing a smaller reef tank in the next yr or so. I had a 210g reef tank and it was a little too big... I'm thinking something around 55g this time.

 

[noahm]

I have a pair of ocellaris, a yellow wrasse, 1 blue chromis, and a tiny blenny thing hitchhiker in my 125. I definitely enjoy the corals and inverts more, but the few fish do add a bit of movement and character that would be missed otherwise.

I went into the hobby thinking the opposite though. I figured go FOWLR and later get some corals maybe, because that is the route most books seem to point you. Now I would have gone the opposite and done corals first and added a couple of fish later.

 

[Sk8r]

I like the garden. The fish are the birds and butterflies---welcome, and beautiful in the setting.

 

[davocean]

I like the garden. The fish are the birds and butterflies---welcome, and beautiful in the setting.

I've always said I'm basically just doing underwater gardening.
When I started years ago it was all about just being able to keep SW fish alive, and that alone amazed me for many years.
The corals were just stepping up my game.
I have to say I've really grown to the inverts as well, makes it more interesting to me to find the little living treasures from time to time.

 

[Lynnmw1208]

I love my corals and all but I really enjoy watching the behavior of the fish in the tank. Some fish are just so darn interesting. The best part is when the creatures are doing what they do naturally such as my cleaner shrimp cleaning fish. It's just so fun to watch!

 

[SushiGirl]

Fish are just a "side dish" to me. Love the inverts.