Murdock the Murderer

[CanadianReefer]

I'd like you to meet Murdock the Murderer, as he has been affectionately dubbed by my husband.

He's a juvenile flame hawkfish who has a taste for the finer things in life, namely 4 huge cleaner shrimp, 1 fire shrimp, the claws off of another fire shrimp (he barely escaped!), a porcelain crab (who he didn't even eat - just murdered for fun), a barnacle blenny and a dragonette. He also attempted murder on a Randall go by, and get this - repeatedly striked a clownfish nearly double his size! I also think he's what spooked my blue spot jawfish to go carpet surfing - RIP little Kermit :-( That's impressive, since I have eggcrate covers. I'll be upgrading them to a finer mesh - it will be better for light as well.

This murdering spree took place all within a 2-week period after having added him to my tank...

The clownfish, however, was his downfall. His repeated attacks left him a bit tuckered and vulnerable, so we were able to scoop him out (thank God!)

You just never know... flame hawks usually aren't that bad, but it all comes down to individual personality, and he loved to kill.

He's currently in a 20g QT while I figure out where best to house him. He needs some tough tankmates...

The lemon peel Angelfish is next on my list of fish to pull - he's eaten several LPS and a few SPS colonies on me. My poor meat coral had a bottle over top of him right now since he had started targeting it, as of late....

Here's a pic of my darling hawkfish caught in the act...

 

[S-t-r-e-t-c-h]

Fish are like people. Sometimes they're just jerks...

 

[S-t-r-e-t-c-h]

Interesting study on fish personalities released this week:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...alities/?tid=ss_tw-amp&utm_term=.fdd19dfa5445

 

[CanadianReefer]

Interesting study on fish personalities released this week:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...alities/?tid=ss_tw-amp&utm_term=.fdd19dfa5445

Interesring article. I've always been amazed at the range of personalities - especially when you have little guys that have no fear, & gentle giants that are full of it.

Most of my fish are bold (none of them fear me and will eat out of my hand), but until this hawkfish, I'd really lucked out on not having much violence. I once had a damsel that was awful (but funny) & my purple tang has been a bully but only really went after 1 fish to the extent that the poor thing had to be removed (he's recovering as we speak - I need to come up with a better plan for reintroduction!)

But this hawkfish... man... what a devil!

I'll put him into another tank, along with my lemon peel angel and my Kole tang and see how he behaves.

Poor thing looks devastated in QT... He went from an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet to a small glass box with a few pvc pipes and plastic plants. Not a happy camper indeed!

 

[lion king]

This is actually classic behavior of flame hawkfish. Inverts and less mobile smaller tank mates are easy prey. I frequently recommend these guys to predator enthusiast. Considering they have no swim bladder, size for size are as deadly as some triggers.

 

[CanadianReefer]

This is actually classic behavior of flame hawkfish. Inverts and less mobile smaller tank mates are easy prey. I frequently recommend these guys to predator enthusiast. Considering they have no swim bladder, size for size are as deadly as some triggers.

It's impressive, I'll give you that! I'd talked to many flame hawk owners before deciding on him. They all had model(ish) citizens. Said they were full of personality (very true) & didn't go after anything that was already established. Most only had issues when they tried to add a new shrimp etc.

I have a lomgnose hawkfish and he's been great... so I figured the flame was likely going to be a nice addition.

I learned from this experience!

The good thing is that I have places for the fish I "try out" in the DT if they simply aren't a good fit. I'll find him an appropriate place to call home where his tankmates won't be on the dinner menu! Lol

Interesring article. I've always been amazed at the range of personalities - especially when you have little guys that have no fear, & gentle giants that are full of it.

Most of my fish are bold (none of them fear me and will eat out of my hand), but until this hawkfish, I'd really lucked out on not having much violence. I once had a damsel that was awful (but funny) & my purple tang has been a bully but only really went after 1 fish to the extent that the poor thing had to be removed (he's recovering as we speak - I need to come up with a better plan for reintroduction!)

But this hawkfish... man... what a devil!

I'll put him into another tank, along with my lemon peel angel and my Kole tang and see how he behaves.

Poor thing looks devastated in QT... He went from an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet to a small glass box with a few pvc pipes and plastic plants. Not a happy camper indeed!