Nitrate question

"Tidepool Geek" wrote in message
...

"Kevin Muenzler, WB5RUE" wrote

I've had a small marine aquarium going for about three months. It's
populated with native life from the Texas Gulf.
[snip]
I feed the anemones goldfish
and the hermit crabs are fed brine shrimp.

"Billy" wrote

I would cease the goldfish feedings. Even if you vacuum, there is going
to
be a ton of biological material floating about.

Hi Kevin,

First off, I agree with Billy - probably. The thing is, most anemones
don't
eat fish. There are a few fish eaters and most large anemones are capable
of
digesting a fish but the largest proportion of anemone species are better
optimized to eat small crustaceans such as copepods, amphipods, and
shrimp.
In the wild, your anemones probably capture and eat several dozen to
several
hundred 'pods' per day. When you give such an animal a goldfish it's going
to take him a much longer time to digest it and, while it's being
digested,
you've got (essentially) a dead fish in your tank - An anemone's gut is
not
very well sealed!

If you're collecting native species, the best thing to do is to is to
stock
up on field guides and marine biology texts for your area. Then try to
visit
one or more public aquaria that feature local species and ask questions
about diet, habits, habitat, etc. You'll not only be better able to care
for
what you have, you'll also get ideas about what other animals might be
good
additions to your system.

One caveat: If you're researching a species that doesn't happen to have
any
commercial value there's always the chance that the field guides and
aquarium docents don't know any more than you do, so stay flexible! BTW:
It's been my experience that a true biology text is less likely to steer
you
wrong - if the author doesn't know something he's not likely to try to
fake
it. [field guides and docents* sometimes make stuff up]

*I'm a docent myself. I try to avoid making stuff up but I've been known
to
grossly oversimplify things in order to avoid having a visitor's eyes
glaze
over!

Natively yours,

TPG


Thanks Geek man!
My critters were harvested from the jetties at Port Aransas, TX. They are
small, brown to reddish brown anemone that range from two to four inches in
diameter when fully "inflated." I didn't think about feeding them
crustatians. I suppose I can use small bits of thawed bait shrimp or
prawns.

My son bought a very small percula clown, 1/2 inch, he's so cute. He avoids
the anemones. I don't know if he's just new to the aquarium or if he's not
compatible with them.

Kevin




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