Let's talk about Habitat Aquascaping... What needs to be considered in the HNSA approach?

[Daniel@R2R]

The concept of "habitat" is seeing a recent resurgence in the discussion of aquascaping. Essentially, it's the recognition that we are creating not just something that should be designed to be aesthetically pleasing (a la minimalist or NSA scapes), but that our primary thought should be to remember that fish and other organisms will live here. It's been pointed out that when zoos create habitats, the needs of the animals are the first consideration given.

BRS has done some great work in creating some video content to explore this topic. Here's one of the videos they've put together:




However, I'm wanting us to continue this discussion here and maybe discuss HOW to go about considering these things. So here are a few possible questions for exploration:

Is it enough to just be sure we're including overhangs and caves? Or are there other things we should be adding?
How much does planning ahead factor into this? Should we be planning a stock list and then aquascaping to match it?
What are some of the specific types of habitats for specific types of fish/critters (since a goby's needs are different from a clownfish, wrasse, or tang's)?
What are some other questions we should be considering?

 

[tharbin]

Man did you hit a hot button. Guess I'll just make a quick comment and then bow out as this topic boils me...

I think that the entire NSA/HNSA movement has done the hobby a significant dis-service. BRS in particular with all of the silly videos. Just the idea that a supposedly 'seasoned' reefer had to have a eureka-moment, years after the fact, that many reef fish actually need places to hide/sleep is beyond unfathomable to me.

 

[piranhaman00]

What kinds of questions are these? Do people design tanks to not keep animals happy? What’s with all these acronyms that have to do with rocks in aquariums?

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

I know that you are probably sick and tired of my terrible aquascaping input, but I am also in the planning phase for a large tank, and find aquascaping to be quite interesting. I personally think that aquascaping around the needs of your fish, coral, and motile inverts is essential to a happy tank. My ultimate rule to providing habitat is letting each fish have at least three caves available at any time that your largest fish can fit into. For example, if I had a tank with 10 fish, with the largest one being a purple tang, I would make 12 or more purple tang sized caves. Every fish can choose from three or more caves to hide in. This would prevent most territorial aggression. Some fish are exceptions to this rule, and do not need caves. For example, sand dwelling wrasses do not need any caves, and clownfish usually do not make use of them. I might get in trouble with the aquascaping police for this, but a great way to get this effect is leaning your rock on the back wall. The uneven surface of the rock up against the smooth back glass creates dozens of caves. One of my favorite aquascapes is a mixed reef at my LFS. They have a big pile of rock up against the back glass, and I have never seen "happier" fish. It does seem kind of silly to me that BRS and others doing a normal NSA took so long to "discover" that fish need a comfortable environment to live in. There is nothing wrong with the concept of open water and branching rock formations (The best FOWLR tanks I've seen have this), but sacrificing the place where fish will spend 2/3rds of their lives for good aesthetics and an open water column is not a good idea. Also, NSA and HNSA demand the use of quarried rock, and the sooner we forget that or dump it in the sea, the better in my opinion. Overall, I think that the growing popularity of HNSA over NSA is good for the hobby because it is helping people to have happy fish while also having that open water that everyone likes, but abbreviations and people proclaiming that their style of aquascape is the best is completely unnecessary. I'd bet that if somebody gave an abbreviated name to rock piles, walls, caves and islands, people would start making them more.

 

[ReefGeezer]

My tank will house a lot of Wrasses and Anthias. I designed the aquascape with them in mind. There is ample sand for the Wrasses, lots of hiding spots for the Anthias, and plenty of swimming room for them all. One of the things we forget about though is flow. While my Wrasses and Anthias love current, the Cardinals and some of the other fish in the tank don't. I have allowed some areas of the tank to have lower flow with them in mind.

 

[TheDragonsReef]

Man did you hit a hot button. Guess I'll just make a quick comment and then bow out as this topic boils me...

I think that the entire NSA/HNSA movement has done the hobby a significant dis-service. BRS in particular with all of the silly videos. Just the idea that a supposedly 'seasoned' reefer had to have a eureka-moment, years after the fact, that many reef fish actually need places to hide/sleep is beyond unfathomable to me.

I dont really think its affected the hobby at all. These styles have always been around, they were just recently given names is all.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Great questions!

Is it enough to just be sure we're including overhangs and caves? Or are there other things we should be adding?
I think that, depending on the inhabitants of the tank, overhangs and caves might be enough (though those need to be planned out size-wise to accommodate your various inhabitants and help them feel safe and secure), but for some animals you'd likely want to consider adding things like sand, or specific macroalgae or coral species too. Additionally, if you're wanting your microfauna populations to really flourish, it would probably be beneficial to plan somethings around their needs too (things like macroalgae or a pod hotel, for example, could be really beneficial in this regard).

How much does planning ahead factor into this? Should we be planning a stock list and then aquascaping to match it?
I'd say that planning ahead should play a major role in this, and that we should - generally - be planning a stock list and aquascaping to match, as this would lead to an ideal setup for the inhabitants of the tank.

However, if you're not sure what you'd like to keep, or if you worry you might be prone to impulse buying something that wouldn't fit your plan, you can actually plan to accommodate for that too (which I'll touch on a bit more in the question below). For example, if none of your planned stock list requires sand, but you know you might want a wrasse or sand-sifting goby in the future, you can plan to have at least some sand in your tank as a "just-in-case" sort of thing. Similarly, when planning out your flow and lighting in the tank (which will be influenced heavily by the aquascape), you can also prepare for unexpected livestock by keeping places in the various high, moderate, low, and no light zones (as dictated by your rock & coral/algae placement in the tank) open, and by implementing high, moderate, low, and even no flow zones in your tank (by placing your rock-scape accordingly).

What are some of the specific types of habitats for specific types of fish/critters (since a goby's needs are different from a clownfish, wrasse, or tang's)?
Specific types of habitats include seagrass meadows, coral reefs, intertidal zones, mudflats, estuaries, mangrove mudflats/estuaries, kelp forests, oyster reefs, salt marshes, open ocean, tidewater glaciers, various deep sea zones (including deep coral reefs, whale falls, thermal vents, brine lakes, cold seeps, etc.), etc. Even within these various zones, however, there are still smaller habitats that should be considered, such as specific types of anemones for specific species of clownfish, specific sps coral species for clown gobies, specific sponges for specific shrimp species, etc. - even things like different substrate sizes can provide different habitats for specific species. In my opinion, while mimicking these habitats may not be necessary for our tanks' inhabitants, these are all things that should be considered when picking what species to keep and how to arrange our aquascapes (as the open ocean, for example, will have far less rocks in it a coral reef would [yes, I recognize this is a ridiculous statement, but it gets the point across], and a seagrass meadow would likely have less rocks and a different average substrate size than a coral reef too).

If you want to keep species from various habitats then, instead of just picking one to recreate, you could try to recreate multiple micro-habitats in the tank. For a simple example, you could recreate a mini seagrass meadow in one corner of the tank and a coral reef in another corner. This would allow you to try and give creatures from both habitats the best living space possible without sacrificing keeping creatures from one of the habitats. Plus, if done well, this could actually look very aesthetically pleasing, and be a nice little educational piece (for teachers, parents, or anyone wanting to watch people's eyes glaze over as you explain the various habitats in depth to them).

What are some other questions we should be considering?
I think some other questions we could consider are:
-What could we do to help our tank's inhabitants feel even safer and more comfortable?
-What can we do to more closely emulate our tank inhabitants' natural habitats?
-Should we more closely emulate our tank inhabitants' natural habitats?
-What could we do differently with our aquascapes to help encourage spawning?
-Could we do something with our aquascapes to give fish fry a chance to survive in our display tanks? (I think this one might have a slight chance of succeeding to a small degree.)
-Could we do something with our aquascapes to make it safe to mix predators with calmer/more peaceful species? (I seriously doubt this one, but I think it's an interesting question all the same.)
-What could we do to help bolster our microfauna populations further?
Etc.

 

[StewL6]

I had a guest over and of course had to show him my tanks. He was looking at my new 110 landscape and said that looks like an apartment building for fish. Yes it does just needs some nice gardens.

 

[Auquanut]

Great topic! Yes. We should absolutely consider the needs of our planned fish as well as coral placement when building our scapes. It's easier for an experienced reefer than a new reefer. There are ways of achieving a relative NSA look while still providing for the needs of the livestock, but it takes research and perhaps a bit of experience. I think that most of us that have been around for while will admit that just getting our first reef to come together and seeing it start to flourish kind of trumped the idea of a manicured aquascape.

My personal advice to the new reefer would be to not skimp on the rockwork. Build in plenty of caves and swim-throughs. Get comfortable with your tank and your abilities as a reefer, and then consider the possibilities for building a scape you would ultimately like to see.

 

[Seek&Reef]

This is the list I created when I compiled my list of thing to remember. Only thing I’d add looking back is having access to grab fallen snails etc. My scape is a little tight for tools

 

[atoll]

Q/Is it enough to just be sure we're including overhangs and caves?
A/not at all. IME youbshould be planning g your aquascape to reflect the needs of the fish you intend to keep.

Q/Or are there other things we should be adding?
A/ Depening on your list of fish wants then lots of rock work and with many wrasses sand on the bottom of the tank.

Q/How much does planning ahead factor into this? Should we be planning a stock list and then aquascaping to match it?
A/ Yes, yes, and yes.

Q/What are some of the specific types of habitats for specific types of fish/critters (since a goby's needs are different from a clownfish, wrasse, or tang's)?
A/ You should know that from the list of fish you intend to keep. It isn't rocket science.

Q/What are some other questions we should be considering?
A/ Compatability with fish you intend to keep with other fish and your reefscape.
Try and follow mother natures ways she know best afterall she has had millions of yours to perfect her ways. You can't improve on her but you can try and follow her as much as is reasonably possible. You will have to have you own idea of reasonable, I have had mine for many many years.

Last but not least, I hate minimalistic reefscape, tried it hated it and added a lot more rock. I have never seen many fish if any on the reef around a such small amount of rock. Given stress is a big issue not providing the security a fish needs to feel is to my mind abuse of that fish. I only have small fish that will stay small in my D-D 1500 pro reef with the exception of a mimic tang of less than3" it's slow growing and when I consider it's too big I will move it on.

 

[Brucealmighty]

Well I maybe have broken the mould on this subject as I just placed rocks on the sand and on top of each other making caves and hiding places etc.

Hey but I'm old and I considered the 'fishes wishes' for habitats as a natural course of thought back when I started out. I have stuck to the same system ever since, only time I have used putty is to glue frags to the rocks I placed on top of each other.

Over years of the rock work being in place they knit themselves together via critters making calcium structures between the rocks (like cement in small areas) when it comes to moving the rock its usually stuck fast and will need to snap off so to speak

Finally as stated earlier I'm a grandpa in this hobby and I have read 75 % of this thread maybe a bit faster than I should but I still have no idea what on earth a HNSA or NSA aquascape is and as someone else mentioned before what's with all the complicating acronyms, I was happy at learning long polyp stony corals and short polyp stony corals it's just laziness....... LPS, SPS, FOWLR, CBB, BTA, HNSA, NSA, ETC ETC ETC

Soon we will have to go to university like doctor's and engineers to learn the acronyms, just to be able to have a saltwater tank as a hobby.

 

[atoll]

Well I maybe have broken the mould on this subject as I just placed rocks on the sand and on top of each other making caves and hiding places etc.

Hey but I'm old and I considered the 'fishes wishes' for habitats as a natural course of thought back when I started out. I have stuck to the same system ever since, only time I have used putty is to glue frags to the rocks I placed on top of each other.

Over years of the rock work being in place they knit themselves together via critters making calcium structures between the rocks (like cement in small areas) when it comes to moving the rock its usually stuck fast and will need to snap off so to speak

Finally as stated earlier I'm a grandpa in this hobby and I have read 75 % of this thread maybe a bit faster than I should but I still have no idea what on earth a HNSA or NSA aquascape is and as someone else mentioned before what's with all the complicating acronyms, I was happy at learning long polyp stony corals and short polyp stony corals it's just laziness....... LPS, SPS, FOWLR, CBB, BTA, HNSA, NSA, ETC ETC ETC

Soon we will have to go to university like doctor's and engineers to learn the acronyms, just to be able to have a saltwater tank as a hobby.

You and me both, you and me both. ;>)

 

[Freenow54]

I saw a video of a tank done by aquariums by design. I have 2 tanks now. Both full of rock, and habitat. my third tank a 65 will have about 5 rocks max. lots of coral. and all small fish

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

I had a guest over and of course had to show him my tanks. He was looking at my new 110 landscape and said that looks like an apartment building for fish. Yes it does just needs some nice gardens.

Sounds like it just needs more ! ;-)

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

More corals, that is!

 

[Fish man]

Something I read some where said the more hiding places your fish have to get into the less likely they are to hide. I've found this to be true. My fish are out in the water column during the day swimming freely in and around the structure but if a stranger approaches the tank they will dart into some crevice or something. If I look into my tank an hour or so after the lights go out it looks like there's no fish in it. They all have some place they go into, usually the same place every night. With my aquascape I've tried to mimic what I've seen while reef diving. I think it looks natural, provides open space for swimming with plenty of cracks, crevices, holes etc. for the fish to get into as well as plenty of space for corals.

 

[atoll]

Something I read some where said the more hiding places your fish have to get into the less likely they are to hide. I've found this to be true. My fish are out in the water column during the day swimming freely in and around the structure but if a stranger approaches the tank they will dart into some crevice or something. If I look into my tank an hour or so after the lights go out it looks like there's no fish in it. They all have some place they go into, usually the same place every night. With my aquascape I've tried to mimic what I've seen while reef diving. I think it looks natural, provides open space for swimming with plenty of cracks, crevices, holes etc. for the fish to get into as well as plenty of space for corals.

Very similar here noteing how more likely the fish are to be out in the open rather than hiding a lot.

 

[Nemo&Friends]

Finally as stated earlier I'm a grandpa in this hobby and I have read 75 % of this thread maybe a bit faster than I should but I still have no idea what on earth a HNSA or NSA aquascape is and as someone else mentioned before what's with all the complicating acronyms, I was happy at learning long polyp stony corals and short polyp stony corals it's just laziness....... LPS, SPS, FOWLR, CBB, BTA, HNSA, NSA, ETC ETC ETC

I was going to ask for a thread with a dictionary for all these acronyms. I constantly have to go to google and try to find a translation. At least please the full name of what you are talking about at least once at the beginning so that many of us can follow.

 

[atoll]

I was going to ask for a thread with a dictionary for all these acronyms. I constantly have to go to google and try to find a translation. At least please the full name of what you are talking about at least once at the beginning so that many of us can follow.

Am with you grandad to another grandad