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COWLR - Do we need fish?

BryanDuggan

BryanDuggan

Everything I have seen in the few years I have done this leads me to believe the largest problem for most reefers is nutrient in, vs nutrient out. Obviously coral need some nutrients beyond what lights can supply, but aren't we creating our own problems by dumping fish food in coral tanks? instead of dosing things that feed the bacteria that eat fish food/poop, why aren't we dosing just coral foods? Is the answer, we like fish?? I have two tanks beside me, both starting up, and the thought occurred to me to run one FOWLR and one COWLR.

Thoughts?
 
Sunny

Sunny

NJRC Member
Article Contributor
It boils down to what is your goal of being in the hobby. 80% of the hobbyist keep fish only. You cannot grow corals without fish, no matter what fish poop supplements you use.

To me, with all the time/effort/money we spend on this hobby, fish form an integral part of it. You can keep fish with a lot casual upkeep than the corals (forget keeping SPS with that kind of attitude).

Time to ask yourself, why are you in this hobby?

Fish is what gets people in this hobby, not corals..
 
R

raccioppi83

Eh. @Sunny I know plenty of people that got into saltwater aquaria because of the corals.. They originally were going to do freshwater before they saw corals, which swayed their decision to make the salty dip into their personal ocean.
 
Trio91

Trio91

Administrator
Staff member
Moderator
Personally I'm a fish guy, I can do without the corals. I do think a nice mix of both helps create a nice showpiece in your home
 
etmanning1

etmanning1

NJRC Member
Zoas Grow Out Winner
Fish for me serve two purposes:

1) as workers in the tank, all my fish (except the clown) have a job to to. They eat algae, sift sand, or eat pests.

2) as decoration, I personally prefer coral to fish but if anyone but me is looking at the tank, they want to see fish.

This way the fish are both interesting to watch and keep but are also useful in my main goal, which is keeping coral.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Vice President
Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
I'm with Marcus here. I wen into this hobby because I like fish. When I was a kid and FW tanks store only carried SW fish not corals and I fell in love with them. I tens to overstock with fish, a bad habit I'm trying to break. When I joined this club is when I started corals. Sometimes I regret and others times I don't.
 
iTzJu

iTzJu

Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
I am more on the corals side than on the fish side and ran tanks that had like 1 to 3 fish. lol but I agree with everyone here. the fish add the dynamic of the tank, while the corals add the colors and depth. in my next build, i'll be adding more fish this time around.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

Both .... though fish were original reason to start tank. And I enjoy watching fish/critters more than coral, the combination is where it is at.
Relationships between fish and nems or shrimp and fish are probably the most interesting.
Corals are for the picture vs fish are the movie if that makes sense.
 
BryanDuggan

BryanDuggan

My love of fluorescence minerals was what first drew me to corals. I like fish too, but I'd have nothing but blues running, if it was healthy, just to see the corals glowing.

Your statement "You cannot grow corals without fish, no matter what fish poop supplements you use." might be my answer, though I still don't understand the chemistry of why that would be. The role they play in

I'm not being lazy about this, or maybe I am? I think we all try to find ways to make things easier. I just wondered if one tank with fish and one without would be better for the one without. The replies about pest removal etc are good points.
 
Mark_C

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
Was into the coral thing.
On advice of a founding member I was told that regardless of what I add, corals need fish poop (paraphrased).
So all my tanks have some kind of damsel as a mainstay (mostly clowns).
I slightly overfeed the fish/inverts with a mix of frozen block, marine snow, and ACC coral food.
All doing well, good growth on corals all around
The fish I look at after the corals, if at all, they're bees to the flowers.
 
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