fish to go with seaweed

[eleodes]

does anybody have suggestions for pretty authentic fish or invertebrates that would work in a biotope aquarium for Caribbean or Gulf macroalgae or turtle grass?

i have a couple of chalk bass <em>(Serranus tortugarum)</em> already and they are great (they act like a pair of little dogs and follow me back and forth when i walk around the room). i haven't found too much on their habitat use but i guess they are not real strong reef associates.

i have particular interest in infaunal stuff, but i will leave that for another thread.

 

[Samala]

This is my favorite web page for a quick list of the types of fish you might find in a seagrass bed - http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/southflorida/seagrass/lifefish.html#fishes.

Keep in mind many many many juvenile stages of reef fish can be found in a typical seagrass bed. Also, lots of the fish listed on the link are completely unsuited to tank life (lots of the tangs, grunts, etc.)

I have actually been entertaining the idea of keeping a jawfish or two. You'd certainly have the sand bed for them. Yellow headed exist in the Bahamas/Exumas in very large colonies extending out from underneath the coral heads and into the surrounding seagrass/macroalgae zones. I even have pictures of that - drove my Dad crazy making him wait thirty minutes of precious bottom time trying to snap a photo of wild jawfish (they're my faves). I hope that helps some.

If you poke around that website you can find links for life in a grass bed thats not fish.

>Sarah

 

[eleodes]

i have seen several references mentioning that jawfish need small pebble-sized substrates like <a href="http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7326&N=2004+113553"> this stuff</a> for their burrows. it seems as though the fine sand better-suited to turtlegrass would not be large enough for their burrow construction. perhaps one could, however, either throw some larger-sized material on top for them to move around or blend from fine sand into coarser material in one corner of tank.

i guess that they only ship orders to institutions, but <a href="http://www.gulfspecimen.org/BoneyFish.html">Gulf Marine Specimen</a> has a number of real unique species that you don't see in the regular reef fish trade. including lizardfish and a pipefish.

 

[Samala]

Thats true.. though I'm using a medium grained aragonite and some larger chunky stuff for the grass bed.. not sugar sized sand. Though.. I'd likely have to provide a good amount of rubble if I kept jawfish. Thats a pretty good link too.

>Sarah

 

[eleodes]

Sarah, hey i just downloaded and printed all of your seagrass tank history stuff. can't wait read it--looks facsinating.

it's a real mess, but here is <a href="http://entomology.wisc.edu/~dbiggs/aquatics/tanks.html">my page </a>with system set up at various stages.

i have been shooting pictures with the microscope and have started a <a href="http://entomology.wisc.edu/~dbiggs/aquatics/organisms.html"> gallery </a>with those also. mostly it is all stuff (including some pests) that came with live rock.

i will be tidying up both of those pages but just wanted to throw out there anyhow.

 

[Samala]

You printed the pages?! Holy cow. I wonder if I can now say I'm 'published'.. hahah. Just remember I dont know anything more than what the scientific journals say... and us researchers dont always know what exactly we are doing. I should probably rework those pages so that there is a printable version.... I cant imagine they print nicely with that huge fixed column on the side.

Oh yeah, the micro gallery is gorgeous. Some extremely intricate animal photos you captured. I should send you snail veliger stage larvae for pictures! I cant for the life of me convince our imaging center they're worth the time on the scope. But I think they're cool...

>Sarah

 

[eleodes]

Sarah

i would love to shoot pictures if you have some stuff. i have found that this camera here works really well for underwater and i have a strong interest in getting an image bank started. anything at all that you can get from your tanks or the coast would be cool. i'll email you my postal address.

some things (fast critters) are probably better to photograph dead, so you could ship in alcohol, while certain others (especially real soft-bodied organisms) are better alive. live things could of course also be released into tanks here if they make it. i could see if i could use some project money to help cover shipping costs.

a big website (a good one) basically is a publication. so make sure to put it on your CV.

well later anyway.

-Devin

 

[Absint Reefer]

pipefish would do well

 

[eleodes]

Carson Lee

do you know very much about pipefish? i understand that some are more aquarium-hardy than some others(?).

 

[Absint Reefer]

I've had good experiences with the alligator pipefish I would suggest going to the seahorse and pipefish forum

 

[ozadars]

I second the pipefish. However, wait till you have lots of pods and mysis in your tank. Shrimp fish and sea moths should suit well in your tank as well as a harem of mandarin or scooter blenny. All of these fish feed on the same thing though so you shouldnt choose them all.

There are gobies and cardinals that live in grass beds but they should be hard to find there.

Anemones such as S. gigantea, S. haddoni or M. doroensis can also be found between sea grasses with a pair of clowns.

 

[piercho]

I'd recommend a Rainsford gobie. Tiny, only sifts the very top of the substrate, and grazes on filamentous algae which grow on the grass blades. I don't know if its seagrass-associated, but its certainly sand-associated. Anyway, I would include a Rainsford or some other "lightweight" filamentous algae grazer like some Centropogye angels. More robust fish grazers can pick at the grass itself. Both need a little rubble to hide in, though.

The Kardens (Bangaii) Cardinalfish is associated with zones near seagrass and seagrass anemones.

I'd be cautious with anemonefish selection, I had a maroon clown pair with a M. doorensis and the big female fanned up several quarts of sand a day.

Of course the tilefish, if you've got a bigger tank.

I'll try and check my references when I get home.

 

[piercho]

Argh, my bag, I see your interested in a Caribbean biotope. Heres a list derived from Micheal of small and common Seagrass-associated specie from both oceans. You'll have to pick out the Western Atlantic ones:
Michael, Reef Fishes Volume 1:
Lined Seahorse
Longsnout Seahorse
Dwarf Seahorse
Messmate Pipefish
Anderson's Shortnose Pipefish
Florida Pipefish
Fivelined Cardinalfish
Bangaii Cardinalfish
Dwarf Wrasse
Sphinx Goby (Amblygobius, like the Rainsford)
Scribbled Rabbitfish

 

[eleodes]

wow, thanks everyone. that's great!

the biotope representation isn't all that important for this project (just a loose goal) so the suggestions for Pacific stuff are also good.

-a 2nd question-

can anybody suggest, or does anyone have, photographs of seagrass or macoralgae beds out in the ocean--for some artisitic inspiration?

 

[ozadars]

These are a few I found though google image search.

 

[ManEatingGuppy]

hey eleodes, do u have any experice with that website http://www.gulfspecimen.org ?

 

[eleodes]

ManEatingGuppy

not yet, but i might place an order with them sometime soon. like i said , they only ship to institutions, but i am setting up classroom aquariums. they carry a lot of really novel stuff that you don't see in reef trade. the "habitat assemblages" (benthic, fowling, oyster shell, <em>Spartina</em>, etc.) look especially intriguing.

it sounds as though they have a well-defined educational mission (they are not-for-profit) and it seems that much of their business might be organisms that are just for short-term observation and dissection (which definately has value, it is very important that kids get exposed to this stuff) and that might not be very aquarium-sutiable.

anyway, if i ever purchase from them i will post observations.

 

[piercho]

http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Seagrass_Habitat.htm Pics of each IRL specie in the wild are linked towards the bottom of the page.

 

[ManEatingGuppy]

allthe fish i like are never for sale, ussually their fishes that will end up on ur dinner plate .the local super makret sells blood clams, i think imma go get some on the weekends rather thanplaying 12 bucks for each when i can get it for 5 bucks for a lb