Undulate species tank

[spamin76]

I am thinking about a new tank now that I am getting back into a bigger place and will have some money coming my way once more.

Just gonna house an undulate, nothing else. At the moment I have no gear anymore, so this would be a from the ground up set up. Any recommendation of skimmer and tank size? It's been about 2 years since I last kept any "real" fish so I feel like my feet are dry and need to be re-wetted . I would like to keep the set up under $500 if I can, but I don't want to cut corners.

 

[LisaD]

I haven't kept an undulate, but a number of people seem to have had good success with a 75, live rock, HOT skimmer (decent, but not bank-breaking brands).

since undies tend to lurk rather than swim actively, and stay fairly small (about a foot) I think this size tank as a minimum, would be acceptable.

you can keep costs down by looking for used equipment. I wouldn't skimp on a skimmer or avoid plenty of live rock. 1-2" shallow sand bed or bare bottom.

 

[Grouperhead]

I've got an undy in a 55g. She's about 5" and seems to have ample space. Around 60lbs of rock, and a sand bed from 0"-4.5" or so due to digging. I've got an old Prizm skimmer and emperor 400 with a couple of powerheads. She's scarred up every piece of plastic in the tank. Keeping undy's is very rewarding, as they are extremely quick to recognize their owners. They can be shy at first, so don't worry too much if he's hiding a lot at first. Mine will squirt water out of the tank at me, make vocal grunting noises at feeding time, and rearrange the tank in any way she pleases. I've also had great success keeping smaller hermit crabs with her. She doesn't seem to eat them, just carries them around in her mouth and drops them in random places. Undy's really are great fish, if you get one you won't regret it.

 

[LisaD]

I would agree a 55 is probably okay for a 5" undy, but don't they get a lot bigger as adults (12")? I've never seen one over 8", but even that would be crowded in a 55. I think I'd go ahead and get a 75 if I was planning to keep one to adult size. I've found upgrading ends up costing more than if I'd bought the bigger tank to start with...

 

[Grouperhead]

I've never seen an undy over 7". I've had mine since around 2002ish when I got her as a silver-dollar size juvie. Been in the same tank her entire life and she's had a pretty slow growth rate considering how much she eats. I don't really think she'll get over an inch larger, but if she continues to grow there will more than likely be an upgrade.

 

[LisaD]

cool that you've had her so long. triggers and puffers are my favorite fish, they have such personalities and intelligence. I love the attitude and grace of large angels too.

 

[spamin76]

so a 4' tank is par for the course for a full grown one eh?

I was hoping I could get away with a 3' but sounds like it won't work long term. I might be able to wrangle up a used tank.

In terms of running a sump versus a HOT skimmer, is there a strong preference?

I was thinking sump just because I have heard about their chewing tendencies and was figuring the more I could get under the tank as opposed to on the back of the tank, the better off things would be.

 

[Grouperhead]

A smaller tank IMO can work more long term for undy's because they're actually pretty shy. Mine spends most of her time on one side of the tank, often in relative hiding. Bigger is always better, but you can go smaller with an undy IMO.

 

[LisaD]

I think a sump is always better, especially with a smaller tank, as it gives you more water volume. I often use HOT skimmers, filters and refugia with tanks 55 and under, just because it's easier.

Grouperhead has the hands-on, long-term, undy experience. Since he reports undys are slow growers, and not that active, why not get a 3' tank and a relatively small one? By the time you are finished with grad school, you will probably have to move anyway, and will be in a better financial and logistical position to upgrade, if necessary.

 

[jmccown]

I don't think any type of hang on filters or skimmers will work long term with really aggressive triggers. My Queen Trigger chewed up my HOB coralife and would even jerk the feed pump off the skimmer. Plus she chewed up the intake/return pumps on an FX5 filter. I would go reef ready with nothing equipment inside the tank. Even powerheads will eventually get chewed up.

 

[LisaD]

Can you make guards for that stuff? Clearly, the sump is the best bet with these guys. I'm glad none of my fish are quite that aggressive, though my little niger is starting to leap out of the water after my fingers if I mess around in the tank.

BTW, I stopped by a LFS in Greensboro today. They had a lot of small undys in separate tanks with very little cover and several other fish in each tank. The other fish were stressed, with shredded fins. It was sad, they had some expensive fish that looked unlikely to thrive or survive due to getting picked on by undy's 1/2 to 1/4 their size...

 

[danorth]

Here you go, mid tug on the venturi taking it off, note the bubbles. I was able to take this shot because it kept doing it. It died due to power going off at the school for too long, it was alive for a few hours once school opened back up, but was really messed up. It was 7.5" on the nose.