CUC/Inverts in a FOWLR tank

[ajtomase]

In your FOWLR tanks, what if your preference on cleanup crew/inverts?

 

[MnFish1]

A siphon? I would not necessarily use a CUC in a FOWLR, mainly because the fish tend to eat them - and they may not have enough 'food' to survive. My CUC (I had a huge one) disappeared completely after the purchase of a larger harlequin tusk. I have never replaced them

 

[fish farmer]

I actually had urchins in a FOWLR tank, depending on what you house...triggers would certainly like them.

 

[DaddyFish]

Chocolate Chip Starfish can hold their own against Triggers and Puffers. You can't use them around ANY coral. Mexican Turbo Snails will last a short while. I really haven't found anything else that isn't on the lunch menu.

I did have a monster-sized Red Hermit Crab once that did a good job of eating leftovers. However, he was always running around the tank perimeter, climbing decor and rocks like he was desperate to escape. Figured out why one day when after many, many months in that tank, the Snowflake Eel decided he smelled tasty. Took her an hour to rip him apart bite by bite.

 

[Frostblitz20]

depends if you have sand or not.

With sand i would add in starfish of some time/conchs/urchins if no sand then i would skip these and just do Snails/crabs.

 

[blaxsun]

Agree with @Frostblitz20: substrate greatly expands your options (black cucumbers, cerith and nassarius snails, feather dusters, long tube anemones, starfish, etc.) This is probably also the list of what I’d exclude in a bare bottom setup.

 

[MnFish1]

Agree with @Frostblitz20: substrate greatly expands your options (black cucumbers, cerith and nassarius snails, feather dusters, long tube anemones, starfish, etc.) This is probably also the list of what I’d exclude in a bare bottom setup.

Curious though, what then becomes the difference between a 'reef tank' and a FOWLR. My impression was that people that wanted to keep FOWLR's in general - were doing so because they want to keep things that will kill reef inhabitants (like cucumbers, snails, feather dusters, etc). I guess the maintenance is also simpler with regards to chemistry, etc with no corals

 

[blaxsun]

Curious though, what then becomes the difference between a 'reef tank' and a FOWLR. My impression was that people that wanted to keep FOWLR's in general - were doing so because they want to keep things that will kill reef inhabitants (like cucumbers, snails, feather dusters, etc). I guess the maintenance is also simpler with regards to chemistry, etc with no corals

Corals would be my guess. I don’t have any desire for a FOWLR tank, and I’m not sure what the cleanup crew requirements would even be - only that typically you’ll see more non reef-safe fish in a FOWLR (which also often means non invert-safe).

 

[Apeman]

Only thing that has survived my tank has been a Tiger Cowrie. He’s been flipped over a few times but they can’t get to him. He does not move around during the day but once it’s lights off he’s very active.

 

[Dan_P]

Curious though, what then becomes the difference between a 'reef tank' and a FOWLR. My impression was that people that wanted to keep FOWLR's in general - were doing so because they want to keep things that will kill reef inhabitants (like cucumbers, snails, feather dusters, etc). I guess the maintenance is also simpler with regards to chemistry, etc with no corals

I manage my water the same way for my fish as I would for coral, though alkalinity and calcium concentrations are much easier to maintain

I added 15 Mexican turbos to manage hair algae. I decided one day that I was tired of it. I now have 15 golf ball size snails roaming the tank. You might say I have invert tank because their biomass is larger than the 7 Green Chromis.

Anyway, I think the FOWLR can be broadly defined unless you stock aggressive meat eaters.

 

[fish farmer]

Curious though, what then becomes the difference between a 'reef tank' and a FOWLR. My impression was that people that wanted to keep FOWLR's in general - were doing so because they want to keep things that will kill reef inhabitants (like cucumbers, snails, feather dusters, etc). I guess the maintenance is also simpler with regards to chemistry, etc with no corals

I ran a 120 gallon FOWLR for about 20 years at a local campground. It had the stock lighting which were some weird triton HO tubes, maybe 1 watt per gallon. I could keep a few mushrooms alive. I upgraded to some used VHO's for a bit and then had some easy softies grow for a while. The tank was run with well water, no coral additives, no ATO, just topped off every few days, no closet space/fish room for all the gear.

It was never in the cards to ever run it as a reef tank. I would have been more demanding of the owners if that is what they wanted, but they just wanted pretty fish and have it set up in a couple of months.

 

[StPatrick89]

Curious though, what then becomes the difference between a 'reef tank' and a FOWLR. My impression was that people that wanted to keep FOWLR's in general - were doing so because they want to keep things that will kill reef inhabitants (like cucumbers, snails, feather dusters, etc). I guess the maintenance is also simpler with regards to chemistry, etc with no corals

I’m Fowlr because I’m more interested in the fish than the corals. It seems to my from my experience with people in the reef community that they’re more into the coral than the fish. Another reason I’m fowlr as you mentioned I can keep any fish I want. I love my triggers. For my “clean up” I had a diamond goby that kept the sandbed white. I have to get another. Lastly, fowlr is a lot less expensive and a lot less maintenance. I’m not dosing, buying special pumps, and whatever else reef people do.

 

[JumboShrimp]

No cleanup crew for me. I feed frozen Mussels in my FOWLR. If it even LOOKS like food, it’s like the movie “Gone in 60 Seconds!” Lol.

 

[mellgibs]

View attachment 2338728

No cleanup crew for me. I feed frozen Mussels in my FOWLR. If it even LOOKS like food, it’s like the movie “Gone in 60 Seconds!” Lol.

Frozen mussels still in the shell? What’s this I read about puffers and triggers needing to eat shells to keep their teeth grinded?