Chilly Bandit

michael_cb_125 · Nov 23, 2020

Good evening everyone. I dont post much, but I am sitting on the sofa after tending to the livestock, looking at the tank, and figured why not?

It is finally cooling down outside and my tank is slowly dropping in temperature as well. This is my favorite time of year, as my fish LOVES the cooler water. I keep a unique aquarium setup compared to most. This tank has been running non stop for 14 years, and has been ran in the following fashion for the entirety.

I consider it a temperate reef (granted at the moment no corals) as the max temp during the summer is 72, during winter it tends to stay in the low to mid 60s depending on how low I drop my home temp. Basically it is a seasonal aquarium that changes temperature with the seasons.

My sole inhabitants are a male bandit angelfish and a white striped hermit that I collected 10 years ago on our coast. I got my bandit along with another tiny baby before I got my tank, so 14 and a half years ago.

I lost my female about a year ago to complications from HLLE after using carbon....

So now it is just the old man and the hermit.

Anyway, the point of the post was supposed to be about how much more energetic my angel is when the water temp drops to 70 or below. He looks like a little puppy wanting out of his cage.

Anybody else have Deepwater or temperate species? I would love to hear if anyone else experiences similar behavior.

I am trying to load a video of the tank..

jda · Nov 23, 2020

I have given it a try, but just love the corals too much. I had a Clarion and Passer almost twenty-five years ago and they loved the water at 68-72... what a couple of ******s.

Most Bandits are collected much deeper than 100 feet, so no surprise that they like the cooler temperatures. Fourteen years might be approaching old age. Any idea how long those live? Most other P. Apolemichthys don't live much longer than 14 years. In any case, well done.

I would have an C. Interruptus if I thought that it would thrive long term at 78 degrees. I would gladly pay the price. They just don't seem to thrive as well at 78. Another reason why I don't understand why people pay so much for a Peppermint Angel and then put it in a reef.

michael_cb_125 · Nov 23, 2020

I like my corals, but love my fish.
I have kept many different Deepwater species, and have experimented with some of them.

Certain species will tolerate warmer water for quite a while and then decline. Best to just keep them at Temps they are accustomed to.

I am not sure on bandit longevity. I figure that they have the potential to hit the 20 year mark.

My fish does not look old or aged at all, just much larger than the 3/4" baby i got him as, lol.

michael_cb_125 · Nov 23, 2020

pcon · Nov 23, 2020

I keep my mixed reef in the low 70s, heater is set to 70f but I struggle to get the tank below 73f consistently. I mostly keep it this low for my Roa Modesta, but I think the burgess and Prognathodes Aculeatus appreciate the low temps as well. Corals dont seem to mind at all, SPS, LPS, softies.

mort · Nov 24, 2020

I haven't done this with marine fish, I do set a minimum temperature of 24c for my marine which it only stays at in the winter months, but I do this with some tropical freshwater tanks and I've noticed the fish live much longer with their seasonal rest. I have not witnessed more activity during these colder periods, it's probably the opposite because they stop breeding but I do think it makes them healthier and in better conditions for when the temperatures start to rise.

With your angel I'm guessing it's used to more stable conditions than my freshwater fish so the cooler waters are what it is much happier in. It looks one of the nicest bandits I've seen and I'd guess you have many more years with it.

michael_cb_125 · Nov 24, 2020

So for me the video i posted is not working, can others view it?

Pcon- up until the last three years the tank was a full blown reef. I had quite a selection of lps, softies and a few Deepwater spa types. They never seemed to mind the cooler water, but I did my best to note where the corals were collected and tried to aquire specimens that were collected in cooler or deeper waters.

I have kept both P. aya and P. Guyenensis with poor success. Both species were kept in the same conditions as my bandit. I could not get over 5 years out of them. I know for some that seems like a long time, but I know that fish can live much longer than most folks assume. And I always aquire juvenile fish, except the guyenensis which was 3".

The butterflies would just start withering around the 4 year mark for me.....

Modesta are a very underrated fish. Very pretty IMO and super neat behaviors.
The close relatives from deeper water are pretty cool as well, only harder to attain.

Does anyone here enjoy Deepwater Caribbean species?....

~Michael

pcon · Nov 25, 2020

P. Aya is one of my dream fish. I do think prognathodes are a bit trickier than people generally give them credit. Getting confident that my aculetus was eating took some time and effort.

The Roa are all pretty spectacular fish. mine is the most personable fish I have had. as interactive with me as a puffer I am really glad I snagged mine this year. The whole genus seems hard to find in the states, but the modesta is at least an order of magnitude or two cheeper than the rest.

I am a big fan of mesophotic fish and some of the Caribbean varieties are quite spectacular. I love the Lipogramma, and If I could justify 2k on a 1in fish, at this point in my life, I would absolutely have an evides. There are also some spectacular anthias, Protonogrammus martinicensis a particular favorite of mine. but there are also some gorgeous ones like Anthias asperlinguis, and a few species of plectranthias.

Zionas · Nov 25, 2020

This is very interesting. I have quite a keen interest in mesophotic and even more, rariphotic fish and corals. I wonder what a fully rariphotic (exclusively containing species found 120m and deeper) would look like.