Fish selection-- Kole Tang considerations?

[zonkers]

Hi all, this is my 1st post to reefs.org, so let me start with a howarya to everyone out there

I've had my tank running for nearly a year now, so I'm sure many will probably still consider me a neophyte, but I've kept freshwater tanks for nearly 20 years prior (with varying degrees of success over the years ), so I'm not oblivious to aquaria keeping in general.

I'll skip over the saga of the last year (many lessons learned), but let me head off to a basic tank concept/configration: 'reef' style with an ultra passive population of fish. I have not gone crazy with corals yet, taking things one step at a time.

Tank is 72g bowfront with a 10g fuge. Kent Maximma HiS RO/DI. AquaC Remora Pro protein skimmer, Eheim Professionel II cannister w/(marine) heating element, & CoralLife PC hood (2 10K white 65W, 2 actinic 65W, lunar leds), approx 75lbs live rock in main, 15lbs in fuge. Bugaboos abound. Aragonite substrate. Using 2 290gph Powersweep oscillating powerheads, when combined with Eheim & fuge output, I figure circulation about 10x/hour. SG 1.026, pH 8.3, KH ~9.0, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5-10ppm, phosphate .5-1.0ppm (I know this is still very high, but I'm running Rowaphos in the Eheim, & this is actually down from 3.0(!!)). Ca 420ppm, Mg ~1250ppm.

Fish: Mandarin Dragonet (fat & happy), Hippo Tang (again, fat & happy), Green Chromis (last surviving of 4, healthy), Yellow Watchman Goby (well fed, but hides a lot), 2 Green Clown Gobies (newest additions, seem to be adjusting well). Tank has had ich in the past, but all fish have been successfully treated in QT & life cycle broken in main tank (Had to go copper-- Kick-Ich is junk!).

Motile inverts: Skunk cleaner shrimp (molts regularly), Sandsifter starfish (gravel scrubbing machine), scarlet hermit, some blue & redleg hermits, Astraea & turbo snails, & a multitude of other snails that hitchhiked in. 1 Lettuce Leaf nudibranch-- last surviving of 3, seems to be doing 'ok', but that's another posting.

Sessile inverts (in order of acqusition): Some Discosoma & Rhodactis mushrooms (spread large & splitting offshoots), 1 small Favia Brain (has 'grown' since purchased), 1 smallish (6 head) Torch Euphyllia coral (1 week in & expanding nicely). Feeding frozen Cyclopeeze & DT's live phyto.

*Whew!* That said, I guess someone may suspect I have a little algae growing

I actually defeated an extended diatom bloom when I learned I had high amounts of silicates in my well water & started using an RO/DI. Silicates are now undetectable & diatoms are unnoticeable. But because I still have moderate levels of phosphate & nitrates, I still have a fair bit of hair algae going on. It's on the retreat, not covering up any of the substrate, rock, or corals, but is up & down the back of the tank pretty much. I try to siphon out as much as I can when I do a water change (usually about 20% every other week), but it grows back. I expect it will diminish more as phosphates continue to go down. The Crispata I bought met with varying fates (1 left, a fraction of his former self, but making a comeback), but the short version with these fellows is that the hair algae in my tank wasn't to their liking. I have not had the best luck with macroalgae in my fuge, I suspect my lighting is inadequate. I will not use caulerpa (too many horror stories), & in fact, have destroyed the Taxifolia I inadvertantly picked up from my LFS. I have some Gracilaria in the fuge, but this is only just barely hanging on-- defintely not functioning as a proper nutrient export.

So I would like to supplement my algae control with other ecological means, which brings me to the header of my posting-- I am thinking about a Kole Tang. So far in my research, these guys are supposed to be pretty mild mannered (mostly), & just what the doctor ordered when addressing nuisance algae. I am hoping to keep one as a supplement measure in addition lighting, circulation, & to nutrient control.

I understand though, that they can bicker with other tangs. Does anyone have any idea how one might react with a hippo tang? Mine is about 3 inches long & pretty skittish.

How about feather dusters? I have a few that have been growing from my live rock & would like to preserve them. Are Kole's known to peck at them at all?

Anything else I might not be thinking of here? Thanks to anyone & everyone who has any experience to share... thanks all

Pete

 

[Anonymous]

First of all Welcome to Reefs.org
A few things there are differing opinions on whether a cannister filter is good since it can release nitrates into the water all at once you might want to look through some FAQ's here they should give some more information.
The copper medication you used, was it in a seperate tank or your main tank?
You may have to get some more experienced people here but the body shapes are similar to the Kole Tang and Hippo tang, I don't know if there is enough difference between them that they won't fight. Also a 72 may be just a touch on the small size for a Kole Tang.

 

[zonkers]

Hi Njord, tanks (*boo!*) for your reply

I have to admit, I've done quite a lot of reading about nearly every aspect of marine aquaria keeping, & this is the 1st I've seen suggested that cannister filters can unload a suprise dump of nitrates. From what I understand, the common trap with cannister filters is that individuals tend to forget about them & let them run without cleaning for months at a time. In addition to that, that running carbon for too long without changing it properly can unload phosphates into the water after a period of time.

I suppose in that regard, yeah, cannisters could unleash a nasty surprise for a complacent aquarist, but I stay on top of mine. Its a two-chamber cannister-- I keep small chunks of live rock (in place of bio-media) in the lower chamber, & use Boyd's Chemi-pure & Rowaphos in the upper chamber, & change my filter pad at least monthly. I don't run carbon primarily because of the phosphate issue. Everything I've read about carbon indicates that its use must be judiciously applied & carefully monitored to prevent phosphate release.

As I said in my previous post, my phosphates are on the decline, & nitrates are at a semi-acceptable level. There is no question in my mind why the hair algae is there. I am presuming that there will always be some low-level of growth in the long run, & am simply exploring ideas on what additional steps I can take to manage it.

When I treated for ich, as I also said in my previous post, this was done in a quarantine tank (QT). I'm not so much a newbie that I don't realize that copper will kill off my microfauna & inverts, but thanks for your concern On the flipside, I did try using Ruby Reef's Kick-Ich in the main tank. Actually, I'm a little embarassed to admit, I did have to go through an ich contamination in the main tank twice. Maybe I'll share that story another time. But in any case, I tried Kick-ich both times, & found it utterly ineffective. On the second go-around, I even upped the dosage by an additional 50%. I got nada from it except mushrooms with upset tummies. Never again. Both times I had to go through the wonderfully entertaining task of taking apart all my rock & fetching the fish from out of the main tank. Also, both times, copper successfully nuked the ich (carefully monitored) & the main tank was allowed to go fallow (fish-free) for 30 days in order to break the ich life cycle.

But back to the original question-- Kole Tang compatibility. I've been doing more reading, & I guess the common thread is that Kole's are most snitty with their own species. I see what you're saying about the shape similarity with the Hippo, & definitely will bear this in mind. The same goes for the tank vs fish size. I would like to keep a juvenile if possible, as I intend to go to a larger tank in the next couple years. I'm hoping that I could do that before a Kole (& my existing Hippo as well) start to outgrow the 72.

So thank you again for your observations, & we will probably be chatting again in the future. In the meantime, I would still be interested in anyone else's experience or thoughts on Kole + Hippo Tang compatibility, & any other special considerations when keeping one (still would like to eliminate whether Kole's pick on feather dusters or not).

Stay fishy

Pete

 

[ChrisRD]

I've never owned a Kole (yet) so I can't offer much, but I can move this into the GRD where you'll get some looks from the more experienced crowd...

HTH

 

[Anonymous]

This thread needs a different title from the other identical one

You can change it by editing your first post.

 

[ChrisRD]

Hmmm... ...I didn't realize this was cross posted...

 

[Anonymous]

Considering you fish load and current tank mate I would not add another tang. Koles are great, I had one in my 110 and it was one of the most peacefull of my 3 tangs. If it were me I would wait until after the upgrade.