Looking into Large Aggressive SW tank

[ThePetFreak]

I plan on getting on someday soon, I want to do my "homework" first.

I have some ideas o species that I want to keep:

Blue Spotted Stingray
Cortez Stingray
Black Banded Cat Shark
Clown Triggerfish
Volitan Lionfish
Panther Grouper
Niger Triggerfish
Humu Picasso Triggerfish
Naso Tang
Saddle Valentini Puffer
Porcupine Puffer

That is pretty much the order I would want them in. The rays inspired this idea for an aggressive tank. I saw a tank with some cortez rays and a lionfish, I just stared at it for a while in amazement.

I know that not all of these are possible, whether they will kill eachother of otherwise, that is why I am asking here first to help get the list narrowed down a bit.

I am not sure on the tank size that I want, I am thinking 210 Gallon.

THANKS!

[RPetty]

I had a aggressive tank a while back...

1 picasso trigger
1 undulate trigger
1 clown trigger
1 dog faced puffer
1 Porcupine Puffer
1 snowflake moray
1 panther grouper
1 turkey fish

the triggers killed the grouper, they ate all the food so the turkey fish starved, the snowflake had to fight for his food everytime he ate.. so he became way too aggressive and i ended up giving him up to my LFS after a year, i had to hand feed the poor little puffers because they are too slow to get the food before triggers ate.

i gave the eel, undulate, picasso, dog face, and porcupine back to the LFS because they were all too rowdy. not to mention they are all heavy waste producers... now i only have one trigger (the clown) and luckily for me he is blind in one eye so he's not aggressive at all. He even allows my cleaner shrimp to do their work on him.

just remember that some of the fish that you are considering are faster and more aggressive, so the more docile of the bunch will require special attention from you.

[snowclown]

hi guys,
I am a keeping some of these fish in my 8ft-225gal FOWLR system, eg, 10in clown trigger, 9in volitans, 12in snowflake moray, 8in emperor angel, 10-11in panther grouper etc. very soon they will all need to transfer to my 10ft system.
I noticed the subject of feeding was mentioned. It need not be such a problem if well thought through. Because of the different feeding habits of the fish it is possible to keep them at seperate ends of the aquarium when they are eating, eg, clown trigger, moray, at one end with their shell fish, grouper, volitans , at the other, with their live food.
They do however require humungus filteration , and a very high turnover, and i tend to incorperate a lot of chaeto, calerpo, and red mangroves in the sump.
Hope this helps.

[trainedkilla]

lol

My porcupine puffer is the most aggressive eater in the tank. The two triggers I have can hardly eat because of him. My picasso beat him up pretty good on occasion though. I currently have most of the fish you want and other than the puffer and picasso, they get along fine.

What I do not have is the rays and the shark...I have never kept them. I would advise adding the lion, puffers and rays first. Add the triggers last. The triggers may cause alot of problems for the shark. Especially the clown trigger...he is a nipper.

[tankanator]

WOW 3 triggers in one tank, I would if you can go bigger then 210 that means you probably have to go with acrylic.

[ThePetFreak]

I definatly want to go with Acrylic. I am not sure what size to get, this is something that I have plenty of time to think about though.

[WeeNe858]

careful with the puffer or some of the more aggressive triggers as they will nip the tails and wings of the rays.

i recommend getting a larger footplan tank as opposed to a traditional tank. this will give your rays more room and also give you a different presentation on the aggressive fshes.

[Grins]

The most successful stories I've heard of SW rays have involved enormous tanks, sugarfine substrate, no rocks, and only sharks as tankmates

[ThePetFreak]

"careful with the puffer or some of the more aggressive triggers as they will nip the tails and wings of the rays." Would the clown trigger do that?

I would at least like:

Blue Spotted Stingray -or- Cortez Stingray -or- California Ray
Banded Cat Shark -or- Horn Shark
Clown Triggerfish
Volitan Lionfish
Panther Grouper

If that would not work then I suppose I will need two seperate tanks.

I definatly want at least a 210 gallon acrylic tank that is only 2' tall (4' x 3.5' x 2') if that is possible. The larger the better though.

[texanstwoone]

I would pass on the clown and huma. What about a harlequin tusk?

[WeeNe858]

Blue Spotted Stingray -or- Cortez Stingray -or- California Ray
Banded Cat Shark -or- Horn Shark
Clown Triggerfish
Volitan Lionfish
Panther Grouper


-cortez is another name for california stingray (i recommend blue spotted)
-banded cats are easier to take care of
-clown will get a little personal with the other fishes
-volitan will hang out but if you have plans of hand feeding your fishes then hes a danger
-panther groupers are pimp :]

harliquins are wimps when your around and they wreak havoc when your not

[trainedkilla]

The only potetial problem is the trigger and that all depends on his personality.

[ThePetFreak]

Those are definatly pretty fish.

I definatly want Ray(s) So basically; no matter what the footprint of the tank, I could only get Shark(s) and Ray(s)?

Does anyone have problems with Acrylic and algae? Considering that acrylic actually has microscopic pockets for single celled algae growth.

[texanstwoone]

Emperor snappers do well in a aggresive tank

[ThePetFreak]

oh I would definatly rather a blue spotted ray if possible. I suppose if I were to get a clown and it shows any signs of aggression then I will trade it back to the LFS, but I really like them haha. Too many fish, not enough room or $$$ (for now haha)

[mrtuskfish]

I would pass on the clown and huma. What about a harlequin tusk?
The tusk is a great choice, get an Aussie, if you can. I personally don't mix lions and aggressive triggers or puffers. Lions are not really aggressive, they're predators and their slow movement and flowing fins are very tempting targets. I know lots of folks do well with this grouping; but lots of lions are lost this way too.