Fishroom Reality Check

[User]

Sorry about the YT, looking forward to seeing the new occupants though.

Thanks, appreciate it.

 

[Victoria M]

YEah, I should have. The PT was suffering from extreme HLLE when I got him and the owner of the store offered full refund if he didn’t improve after a few weeks. I got him for about 1/3rd I could see anywhere else. I should have held off on the YT and got a bigger specimen, but there was talk of a Hawaii ban and I didn’t want to go without a YT. I got the last one in any of the 6 stores within 100 miles. I drove 160 mile round trip to get her. Then of course that’s blew over and a month later I see 15 in the store 7 minutes away.

Katie actually just asked why replace with another yellow? Tbh, she has a point- many beautiful fish out there. I loved the purple on yellow coloration with the YT/PT combo but the aggression and cohabitation issues far outweigh the aesthetics. Maybe get the sailfin ive been looking at?

Anyway. I think next week I need to commit to the dispar shoal and get a few comedy fish. Thinking Midas blenny and a lawnmower. The Midas will bring that yellow pop of colour. I’ve been gunshy aboutvthe dispars since QT can be an issue but I keep talking about it and never get past the checkout. Lot of money to drop only for a repeat of the first attempt. Helps that Katie is on board but feels indulgent considering it’s her money I’m spending .

Comedy fish? That is a great way to put it. I just love our starry blennies droll little face. The bite marks he is giving Mr. Foxface aint so droll though. I keep wondering what he is doing to tick the blennie off so bad. Um... Jawfish are fun too. I love their big eyes and how their head swivels like an owl.

I hope you dont really feel it is her money you are spending? Just a joke I hope. But definately get what she likes if you can. That always helps to get what they think is cool too. That is how I had the coral munching, farting queen angel though.

 

[Victoria M]

It’s been on my list for a little while. I saw a gorgeous one in the store a couple months back but someone bought it right then. I was heading out on vacation the following week anyway so didn’t have time to QT.

Then, when I got back, I’ve been kinda putting off buying more fish. But it’s time to stock up. More fish will hopefully dilute the PT aggression. Plus staying away from similar tangs will help

So-

Midas blenny
Lawnmower blenny
Desjardini sailfin tang - any issues with a PT? Different form, right, so should be tolerated?

mckoskers flasher wrasse
Shoal of dispars

Once pods farm is producing more pods (6 weeks out at this point- restocking next week hopefully)

Ruby red dragonet
Green mandarin


Thoughts?

Desjardinis grow into beligerant a holes really fast. IME anyway. So beautiful though.
Starry Blenny is beautiful.
watanabei angels are beautiful.


I want a Lamarcks angel. I need to figure out the next two fish. I just think adding more than one fish at at time helps with aggression.

 

[Dubs83]

It’s been on my list for a little while. I saw a gorgeous one in the store a couple months back but someone bought it right then. I was heading out on vacation the following week anyway so didn’t have time to QT.

Then, when I got back, I’ve been kinda putting off buying more fish. But it’s time to stock up. More fish will hopefully dilute the PT aggression. Plus staying away from similar tangs will help

So-

Midas blenny
Lawnmower blenny
Desjardini sailfin tang - any issues with a PT? Different form, right, so should be tolerated?

mckoskers flasher wrasse
Shoal of dispars

Once pods farm is producing more pods (6 weeks out at this point- restocking next week hopefully)

Ruby red dragonet
Green mandarin


Thoughts?

Sorry about the YT, bud. I do think a YT is something special so if you can replace her, go for it. Maybe get a pair of larger ones and remove the PT for introduction?

As far as your fish list.
Midas blenny is a great fish. So are starry blennys!

sailfin, my PT could care less about my SFT but it’s just my limited experience

 

[User]

Sorry about the YT, bud. I do think a YT is something special so if you can replace her, go for it. Maybe get a pair of larger ones and remove the PT for introduction?

As far as your fish list.
Midas blenny is a great fish. So are starry blennys!

sailfin, my PT could care less about my SFT but it’s just my limited experience

Hmm, two YTs could be cool. Interesting thought.

Midas abd starry Benny it is then. Both got several positive comments.

Victoria m says desjardinis turn into jerks. Hope not. Don’t think 2 bullies will work in a 180. Maybe I just throw a Powder blue in there too to keep the jerks in line

 

[User]

Comedy fish? That is a great way to put it. I just love our starry blennies droll little face. The bite marks he is giving Mr. Foxface aint so droll though. I keep wondering what he is doing to **** the blennie off so bad. Um... Jawfish are fun too. I love their big eyes and how their head swivels like an owl.

I hope you dont really feel it is her money you are spending? Just a joke I hope. But definately get what she likes if you can. That always helps to get what they think is cool too. That is how I had the coral munching, farting queen angel though.

Angels aren’t even on my radar due to the coral munching, but I might look for one that is less likely to do it. If there is one

 

[Dubs83]

Angels aren’t even on my radar due to the coral munching, but I might look for one that is less likely to do it. If there is one

for what it’s worth, my swallowtail has not touched any corals in the tank. from what I read, genicanthus angels are found in deeper waters and therefore not as eager to munch on coral

 

[User]

Desjardinis grow into beligerant a holes really fast. IME anyway. So beautiful though.
Starry Blenny is beautiful.
watanabei angels are beautiful.


I want a Lamarcks angel. I need to figure out the next two fish. I just think adding more than one fish at at time helps with aggression.

That watanabei angel is kinda nice

 

[Victoria M]

Lamarcks angels and watanabeis are one of the very few reef safe angels. I believe as Paul said they are of the genicanthus Pomacanthidae family. Now I gotta go look it up...

 

[Victoria M]

That watanabei angel is kinda nice

They are beautiful! The Lamarks angel has beautiful markings! “Kinda nice”

 

[Victoria M]

So are there any hills in the LBL atv areas? It sure looks like a beautiful time. Was it chilly when you went?

 

[User]

Lamarcks angels and watanabeis are one of the very few reef safe angels. I believe as Paul said they are of the genicanthus Pomacanthidae family. Now I gotta go look it up...

They are. That’s how I found it, looking up genicabthus after Paul mentioned it.

Yeah, is ‘kinda nice’ too mild? To set expectations, this is a guy who said The Golden Gate Bridge was ‘pretty decent as far as bridges go’

 

[User]

So are there any hills in the LBL atv areas? It sure looks like a beautiful time. Was it chilly when you went?

Lol, no. It’s all flat. It’s like a glacial basin of something. Tallest ‘hill’ in the park is something like 78 feet above lake level or something.

Chilly? No. But I’m Scottish. March couple years ago it was 53 overnight. 75 daytime. Perfect for me. Didn’t even take my sleeping bag. Just the hammock and my undies under a bug net.

Oh, yeah. The bugs. Man, the bugs. Uugghh. But I was at the waters edge. Fewer bugs in the forest but you have to watch out for The Beast Of LBL...

 

[User]

My tiger nassarius snails are cracking me up. They just sit there with their snorkels out waving.

But if I drop a pinch of reef roids in there, 7 seconds later they ALL come up to the surface at once and glide around the tank. So fun

 

[NY_Caveman]

Sorry about your Tang. I think a pair of Watanabies would be awesome

 

[DS204]

It’s been on my list for a little while. I saw a gorgeous one in the store a couple months back but someone bought it right then. I was heading out on vacation the following week anyway so didn’t have time to QT.

Then, when I got back, I’ve been kinda putting off buying more fish. But it’s time to stock up. More fish will hopefully dilute the PT aggression. Plus staying away from similar tangs will help

So-

Midas blenny
Lawnmower blenny
Desjardini sailfin tang - any issues with a PT? Different form, right, so should be tolerated?

mckoskers flasher wrasse
Shoal of dispars

Once pods farm is producing more pods (6 weeks out at this point- restocking next week hopefully)

Ruby red dragonet
Green mandarin


Thoughts?

My opinion on keeping fish should be taken with a grain of salt, because I've only been keeping saltwater for about a year and only 4 fish so far. That being said, we picked up that midas blenny along with a ruby red scooter blenny on the same weekend. Both are super neat, and the first time I've ever kept either. I'm super worried that the red scooter blenny will eat all the pods because they're both in a small, 13.5g observation tank. The tank is mature and there's pod life, but that scooter blenny is munching all day long and I definitely worry he'll starve. Hopefully not, but I am indeed worried. It'll be 3 more weeks before they move to the main display tank, which doesn't even have the refugium hooked up yet.

So my thoughts on the dragonet are that from a beginner's perspective, and I think that I'm a bit over my head with this one as I bought it based on emotional reaction (how cool it looked) instead of waiting which I originally planned to do with a mandarin.. not realizing they're both dragonets. The scooter blenny isn't taking prepared food yet either. Such a beaut to look at though. Amazing colours with the red + yellow + black. He's eating lots of pods, so I'll keep my fingers crossed on this one and be more careful next time.

Don't know much about tangs, haven't kept one yet. Also not 100% sure what PT is. Forgive my ignorance!

 

[User]

My opinion on keeping fish should be taken with a grain of salt, because I've only been keeping saltwater for about a year and only 4 fish so far. That being said, we picked up that midas blenny along with a ruby red scooter blenny on the same weekend. Both are super neat, and the first time I've ever kept either. I'm super worried that the red scooter blenny will eat all the pods because they're both in a small, 13.5g observation tank. The tank is mature and there's pod life, but that scooter blenny is munching all day long and I definitely worry he'll starve. Hopefully not, but I am indeed worried. It'll be 3 more weeks before they move to the main display tank, which doesn't even have the refugium hooked up yet.

So my thoughts on the dragonet are that from a beginner's perspective, and I think that I'm a bit over my head with this one as I bought it based on emotional reaction (how cool it looked) instead of waiting which I originally planned to do with a mandarin.. not realizing they're both dragonets. The scooter blenny isn't taking prepared food yet either. Such a beaut to look at though. Amazing colours with the red + yellow + black. He's eating lots of pods, so I'll keep my fingers crossed on this one and be more careful next time.

Don't know much about tangs, haven't kept one yet. Also not 100% sure what PT is. Forgive my ignorance!

PT is purple tang. Sorry.

Yeah- scooter blennies are hard. Those tiny little mouths. A very robust Pod population is a must. You might want to go pick up a few bottles of tiger pods and supplement the tank- hopefully they’ll reproduce and create a sustainable population for your little guy

Further back in my thread I detail how I was guilt tripped into a scooter blenny by an LFS. Literally showed my 3 year old the fish, got her excited, then bagged it up while I was looking at corals. Told my wife that I was is the store with that I wouldn’t mind. Anyway, that free scooter blenny cost me almost $120 in pods in order to sustain it through QT, but it only lasted 2 weeks. I set up a pod breeding container but they take 30 days to reproduce so it was too late. That pod culture lasted 5 months and I pulled out around 50000 pods I’d guess and put them all in my display. Seed stock was a $25 bottle of 5000 pods, so using that math, that culture would have cost around $250 to buy that quantity. Same with phyto. I was making a gallon a week for 4 months based off an $8 seed stock. That stuff goes for like $2/ fluid ounce around here .

I’ve since refined the phytoplankton and pod cultures and will be bringing them back online in a few weeks. Once I get my pods growing again, I’ll use them to feed the dragon eta in QT and to supplement the display. At night my display turns cloudy from all the pods coming out of the substrate, but it couldn’t hurt to add more.

I wish you good success with the dragonet !

 

[User]

 

[DS204]

PT is purple tang. Sorry.

Yeah- scooter blennies are hard. Those tiny little mouths. A very robust Pod population is a must. You might want to go pick up a few bottles of tiger pods and supplement the tank- hopefully they’ll reproduce and create a sustainable population for your little guy

I wish you good success with the dragonet !

Threw half a bottle of tigger pods into the display and another half a bottle into the observation tank already, so fingers crossed!!

Too bad the LFS tried to sell you the fish that way. The LFS here said the red blenny would take prepared foods, but he hasn't yet that I can see. I'm trying that ROE by Reef Nurtrition along with my other mix of frozen. I'm keeping positive though! Maybe I'll get lucky.

Those pictures you posted are great. Our midas blenny has the same inquisitive look on it's face all the time, I love it!

 

[DS204]

Hope you don't mind 2 photos-- Here's a picture of our midas blenny 'Benny' and a picture of our red scooter blenny 'Ruby'. These cute little critters should help to lift your spirits after your fish loss : )

Also, if you're kind - you'll politely ignore the green hair algae in the photo. I've been a little lazy with maintenance on this tank as of late!