sps are fish really needed?

rogerwilco357

rogerwilco357

Active member
Ok my tank is cycled and ready for corals . My question is can you keep an sps tank with no fish ? I love how clean the water is and wonder if I keep the tank fish free what will I need to add to the water to keep the corals happy .? My son's tank has only one fish and snails and his tank is so clean he says he only adds calcium and alk. feeds the fish but not alot and his corals are growing alot faster than mine. My show tank has 4 fish and I feed them daily . but my water just doesnt look as clean as his. So besides the calc,alk,and mag. should what else should be added to feed the corals? DT's phyto,or amino acids etc..
let me know what you add to your tank ..thanks in advance.
Rogerwilco
 
In regards to fish and clear water...
I do 10% weekly water change and siphon out detritus form the bottom and run a larger skimmer and my water is super clear with many fish and I don't have any mechanical filtration.
 
You could try not running a skimmer and dosing some sort of food that sps can easily consume. Some kind of zooplankton or smaller would work. You could also check out golden pearls, I've had very good sps response using this product.

Everyone will basically tell you that you need fish in an sps tank. This is the easiest way to feed your sps, via fish poop. It's just a way to turn cheap fish pellets into expensive sps size food. Keep in mind, fish will poop throughout the day, which is a consistent food supply for your corals.

I think that you should have some fish. With a decent skimmer and proper feeding they won't disturb the water quality.
 
just do limited fish. Or small fish to limit the bioload. I have 700 gal volume in my system I only have 5 med sized tangs and a few royal grammas and damsels.
Im all about the sps
 
true but watching my coral without the fuss Is alot more appealing to me at this point. clear water and brilliant corals with radiant color is just as much fun as with the fish and I already have the main tank with plenty of fish ..I just want to try going A different way too see if I can get coral to grow by simply adding dt's phytoplankton with amino acids coupled with the trinity calc,alk,mag. just wondered if someone already was going fishless with there corals? by the way bill nice tank pics you posted showing some skill with the camera huh.
Rogerwilco
 
personally I think fish are absolutely necessary to get the most out of your sps

I have tried running tanks with just dosing aminos/oyster eggs and such and it just doesnt quite cut it on its own

yes it will work and you can keep stuff alive, but you are cutting yourself short

I have this unkind trigger who is big and mean enough that he likes to kill everybody in the tank but him........For the last year he lives in my sump and craps directly into my return pump. IMO he is a super important part of the system and there he will remain getting fed all he can eat.
 
flyyyguy said:
personally I think fish are absolutely necessary to get the most out of your sps

I have tried running tanks with just dosing aminos/oyster eggs and such and it just doesnt quite cut it on its own

yes it will work and you can keep stuff alive, but you are cutting yourself short

I have this unkind trigger who is big and mean enough that he likes to kill everybody in the tank but him........For the last year he lives in my sump and craps directly into my return pump. IMO he is a super important part of the system and there he will remain getting fed all he can eat.
Click to expand...

That's awesome! A in sump trigger crap machine Why didn't I think of that!
 
the tank is super high flow bb....so its not any different than when the fish crap in the tank......it just allows me to keep an additional serious pooper in the system that I would have had to banish otherwise
 
I like lots of fish in my tank. I feel that the extra bio-load helps feed my corals and increases the growth and health of my corals. Im planning on getting at least 10-15 more fish for the new Rimless I just setup.

You should try and focus on a plan and method to export nutrients. Probiotic systems are great, along with regular water changes and a good sized skimmer.

Sonny
 
nutrients in place with ati pro.mod t5s and alpha170,so i need fish but what fish do well in a 65 gallon tank any recommendations anthias? is what i was thinking but are the jumpers? this is for the QT/frag tank I have setup now.
thanks for all your input. much needed
Roger
 
Last edited:
anthias and other small fish are all fine and dandy......but every tank needs a more serious pooper/larger fish in it than just a handful of smaller fish

If you arent all that interested in a bunch of fish anyway like ti sounds, i would suggest just getting one in the form of a trigger, which if you go with a niger or a bluethroat would be fine in that size tank.
 
rogerwilco357 said:
.I just want to try going A different way too see if I can get coral to grow by simply adding dt's phytoplankton with amino acids coupled with the trinity calc,alk,mag.
Rogerwilco
Click to expand...

acros are carnivorous ! phyto = phosphates
try oyster eggs or reef roids etc
 
I ran a 40g SPS-dominant tank for about a year and a half with no fish. My SPS colors were perfect (really, I didn't want to tweak them at all) and I had no algae whatsoever. I fed a homemade blend to the tank every other day (very very fine particle sized food). I also dosed amino acids. I still ran a skimmer and phosphate reactor.

When I upgraded tanks, I decided to keep fish again to impress non-aquarist guests. While my colors are good and I still have no algae, it just doesn't *pop* like the corals did when I was fishless. Next time, I think we'll go either fishless or keep only cuttlefish.
 
Mm...it really just depended on the color of the corals. I've always tried to keep my corals bright - not the pastel colors. If the corals started darkening, I'd quit feeding for a week or two. If they started lightening up or looking starved, I'd feed some more.

I'd guess I'd feed 1/4 cube of my homemade food (typical frozen food cube size) every 3 days or so.

The only downside to not having fish that I noticed was just the lack of stuff moving around to look at. Plus, friends/neighbors thought we were weird to have a fish tank with no fish...that's pretty hard to explain. :)
 
were they like hey uh where are the fish this is a "fish tank" right ..lol no it is A "reef tank" so you caved in huh...what fish do you carry now..blue tang ,yellow tang ,anthias purple tang etc the usual?
 
Pretty much. Kids always had the worst time with it, "where's Nemo? How do you have a fish tank without a Nemo?" I have a purple tang, two chromis that I hate, a mandarin, crosshatch goby, and a mated pair of Japanese swallowtail angels.
 
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