Nano Predator

[Fish dude32]

I would like to turn my 12 gal qt in to a predator tank. What would you recommend for the fish?

 

[rldavisou]

I wouldn't recommend it. A 30 gal would be better for an aggressive nano.

 

[snorvich]

Well, a frogfish may do ok as a single occupant. It is not something I recommend, however, as I agree with the comment above.

 

[chrisstie]

For that size the only thing I'd go with is a mantis shrimp. Predators tend to be much larger than a tank like that could handle and their dietary needs will dirty a small volume of water very quickly.

 

[Fish dude32]

That was what I was afraid of. Oh well, I'll just have to do a nano reef!

 

[hidnReefAquatic]

interesting nano preditor tank

 

[chrisstie]

You could still do a mantis shrimp and a reef. Don't count them out they are pretty cool!

 

[louie07]

dont do a mantis... then can break the glass........ and that would be bad. you can still try, just a word of caution

 

[Conductive]

Thats not really true. Only the largest of mantis shrimp can (and it's very rare) break glass. anything small enough to house in a 12g would be 100% safe. they may do some remodeling but thats it

 

[E.intheC]

now, when you say 'only the largest'.. what size are we talking here? over 6 inches or so? I'm starting to research mantis shrimp and the 'breaking glass rumor' is one thing that I'm not too fond of, if it's true

 

[corbett_n]

this is a good opportunity to upgrade to a bigger tank.

 

[Fish dude32]

What if I was to plumb it into the 90 gallon and 20 gallon sump?

 

[Fish dude32]

This is what I had in mind:

 

[Agu]

A mantis shrimp would be fine in a 12 gallon tank. Other than the largest mantis your tank is safe. However mantis keepers often put starboard under the substrate if the mantis is a digger. The mantis sometimes don't realize that the bottom glass isn't a rock to drill through.

I suggest you visit the mantis forum on RC for further information.

 

[chrisstie]

Hmm while plumbing into your 90 would definitely create an opportunity for better water quality for any predator, there are still very few that I feel would comfortably fit inside a 12g.

Were there any particular fish you had in mind? You MIGHT get away with a dwarf lion or *maybe* a young angler but things like eels and groupers just get so big it might be like putting a 10 pound ham into a 3 pound can.

 

[Kynigos]

First off, I've had something like 15 mantis shrimp over the years and all in tanks 20 gallons or less and none have even come close to breaking the glass. There's really no reason they'd attack the glass as they're quite intelligent and have excellent eyesight. I only had one that would attack the glass (a spearer) and that was only when I'd bait him with food held up to the outside of the tank. The smashers I've had have had no interest in the glass and, frankly, even a 6-inch mantis shrimp probably wouldn't be able to break a 10 gallon tank unless it tried several times. As far as I'm concerned they're completely safe.

One predator that may work is the Golden Dwarf Moray, Gymnothorax melatremus. I have one in a 12 gallon nano and have had no problems (hes' been in there about 4 months now). Size-wise he fits perfectly. I have around 15 pounds of rock in the tank and he routinely evades detection for days at a time so I'm fairly confident he's comfortable in there. The only thing you might want to watch out for is water quality. I do very frequent water changes to keep the water quality good and I'll probably get a nano-skimmer to help out. My eel is about 7 inches right now and has maybe grown a bit since I got him, but not much. He may outgrow the tank one day, but from what I've heard they max out at between 8 and 12 inches (I couldn't get a reliable and repeatable answer). One more thing, you won't be able to get one of these guys for less than $150 and probably closer to $200 or $300.

 

[Fish dude32]

I was reading in a magazine that the author was keeping a sargassium frogfish and i thought that i might giver it a try. btw, i saw on here somewhere that a guy bought super cheap glass drill bits from a chinease web site. anyone know the address?

 

[Fish dude32]

oh, and the golden morray, alittle out of my price range.

 

[reefscape15]

I think a baby angler would be totally awesome. I kept one in a 20gal fully stocked reef with a pseudochromis and it was plenty of room. I would reccomend one in a 12g, seeing how my 20gal only ended up with about 13-14gal of water. I had about 40lbs of rock in there. just make sure u get a very small one, wartskin or painted are my favorites, and do not overfeed! Maybe 1 small piece of food 2 or 3 times a week till it grows to 1.5-2" then back off to 1 feeding per week. My wartskin is about 3.5" and only eats every 10 days

 

[Fish dude32]

Sounds great i think that is what I'm gonna do