Tank birthday, 47+ years

[i cant think]

I joined the Mandarin wagon yesterday and finally got my first mandarin (My second Dragonet). My first ever dragonet was a Flaming Scooter Dragonet but I hope my mandarin can get as fat as your scooters do

 

[LegalReefer]

Is that a herd of Hectors Gobies? Didn't know you could keep more than 1! I have one in my tank and he is my absolute favorite fish, always hard at work nipping at hair algae and cleaning the sandbed.

 

[i cant think]

Is that a herd of Hectors Gobies? Didn't know you could keep more than 1! I have one in my tank and he is my absolute favorite fish, always hard at work nipping at hair algae and cleaning the sandbed.

You can keep several of most species of goby. They’re all Hermaphrodites and change from male to female.
Alrhough if your tank is less than 4’ long I wouldn’t keep several of any species of Sand sifting goby.

 

[surlytx]

I have an 40 gal AIO with a display area size of 24" wide x 18" deep. I have 3 Mexican barnacle blennies now and would like to add another fish or two. After researching I am stumped by wide ranging opinions of suitability of fish for a given tank.

I'm hoping you and the other regulars would please provide some input.

Thanks!

 

[tbrown]

I have an 40 gal AIO with a display area size of 24" wide x 18" deep. I have 3 Mexican barnacle blennies now and would like to add another fish or two. After researching I am stumped by wide ranging opinions of suitability of fish for a given tank.

I'm hoping you and the other regulars would please provide some input.

Thanks!

What type of fish at your considerations?

 

[Paul B]

Is that a herd of Hectors Gobies? Didn't know you could keep more than 1!

You may be correct. I had I think 6 of them but I can only find 4 . They may be spawning somewhere but the 4 I see are usually bullying one of them. I will see if I can find the others.

 

[LegalReefer]

You may be correct. I had I think 6 of them but I can only find 4 . They may be spawning somewhere but the 4 I see are usually bullying one of them. I will see if I can find the others.

I hope I'm not correct, they look fantastic in a group! It's a dream of mine to be able to spawn and captive raise them someday, though I've read that they are a particularly difficult species to do so for. Your tank is looking great by the way, how did you manage to get rid of all the overgrowing sponges?

 

[Fort Salty]

Paul,
That snippet of your notes is really enlightening. You have frequently mentioned the life of your tank, but it is something to see how you have chronicled everything along the way. I find it fascinating to see you describing quarantine and medication; one might think you ignorant of such things from how some have spoken of you on this forum. Thanks for sharing! I also appreciate what your friend from the train had to say. I used to work with a blind man. If he didn't have a ride, he just walked to work; and he was an avid gardener.

I appreciate getting to read what people like you, Atoll, and other long time aquarium keepers have to share about your experiences on the website. Thanks!

FS

 

[Paul B]

Your tank is looking great by the way, how did you manage to get rid of all the overgrowing sponges?

Thank you. I start posting about that in this thread on page 410.

. I find it fascinating to see you describing quarantine and medication; one might think you ignorant of such things from how some have spoken of you on this forum.

Fort Salty, many people on these forums feel that I and some old salts have no idea how quarantine and medication works. The fact is we invented the thing and were not in a coma for 50 years.

Looking through my Log Book I dealt with every illness known and many that were not known. We didn't have any salt water medications or books. No computers or cell phones so no internet or fish forums.

We had a very few useless magazines, aspirins and Elvis Presley.



Except for maybe Martin Moe, I don't remember anyone who was doing this at that time although I have read a few people on these forums were around then. If you wanted fish before 1971 in the US, you had to collect them yourself which I did before the Army which I was in in 1969 but I grew up on Long Island so I always had a place to collect salt water creatures which were mostly crabs, shrimp, lobsters, eels and a few young fish.

This hobby has been around for quite a while and after many years you learn enough and graduate to a place where you know how to keep fish and disease will be a non issue as it is for all old timers. We try to teach these methods (and some of us write books) but it seems that our advice is just to hard to follow even though we don't have disease problems, like ever.

I realize diseases is what makes these forums work, but I find it silly that anyone would let their fish get sick with all we know now about what causes diseases in Humans and fish.

The methods many people use are exactly the same as we used in the beginning. They didn't work then and unfortunately, they don't work now.

 

[Fort Salty]

I think that showing pictures of the fish, coral, shrimp,and crabs and sharing a little encouragement is what really makes the forum work. I like seeing the beautiful environments and unique ideas. A little Elvis never hurts though!

I'm glad you cleared out that sponge, by the way. That looked like a big job!

 

[Paul B]

It was a huge job and now I am still clearing out the hair algae that took over from the dead sponge and other organic matter in the rock after I cleaned it.

 

[C4ctus99]

So I’ve been trying to feed my fish clams… but my clownfish are very small and I can’t figure out how best to get them to eat it, any suggestions?

Also, recently set up a 75 and moved my fish up into it over the weekend. All of a sudden today one of the clowns has been acting crazy and super stressed out, running all over the place. Any tips on getting him to calm down a little? Live rock is currently lacking so maybe it’s the open space, but he has been fine in everything else, including temporary holding in a bare 10 gallon with a single rock over the weekend

 

[atoll]

I was lucky enough to meet and speak with Martin Moe at a nmarine conference here in the UK held at London Zoo. I had written a piece in the IMAs journal about my pair of spawning mandarins which he was very interested in. Martin was trying to raise flame angels at the time but could only get them to a few weeks,suitabke food was the issue he told me.
A friend of mine who was studying marine biology at Liverpool University had managed to raise a few pygmy angels Centropygi argi and Martin was of course interested in how he had accomplished it. No interweb back then of course in which to correspond.
I had also written in that same journal about my spawning argi's size line wrasses damsels yellow gobbies and others. I don't recall magazines back the 80s with similar articles.

 

[Paul B]

C4ctus99, I freeze large clams in their shell, then open the shells and shave off paper thin slices with a sharp knife. The thin slices break up into small pieces which is easy for fish to bite. Clowns and all fish will eat it and so far, I have never found a fish that won't eat clams, even pipefish eat it.

Maybe your clowns are stressed. They do need rock as in the sea they always live in the tentacles of anemones and never venture far from them.

As you know, they don't exactly swim like tuna and would get eaten instantly out in the open and they know that.

They don't realize that you don't keep barracuda and great white sharks in your 75 gallon tank.

Put in more rock

 

[atoll]

I buy freshly frozen small clams about 1" to 1.1/2" from a local supermarket. I put 1 inbthe microwave for 5 to 8 seconds which just enough to open them and defrost. I just prise them open and drop them in most of my fish attack them as soon as they hit the sand. I also by fresh live mussels,freeze them myself and do the same as the clams. I also make up.other foods from fresh and frozen shell meat like scallops and shrimps.
I would never keep clowns without a natural host anemone. That way they endure less stress IMO. Keeping fish as natural as possible is always best in my book.

 

[Paul B]

Tank is clearing but still a lot of algae. It is improving every day. .

 

[atoll]

Looking good Paul.

 

[Paul B]

My tank is doing very well and the algae is gradually disappearing, but I still have a bunch of it. Hopefully it is smothering any residual sponge.

I have about 40 fish which are all small except for a couple and an exceptionally large filefish will be traveling as soon as I can catch him. I will try to get him with a tiny hook which I have done before.

I have to resist buying more fish.

My corals are really opening up now that the sponge toxins are gone. Hopefully they stay gone

 

[atoll]

Many years ago I caught a large Engineer goby with a small hook and line. No harm done to the fish and probably less stressful than chacing it around the tank with a net not that, that was possible with so much rock and hiding places.

 

[Paul B]

A few years ago I also caught a large wrasse that got to big. I just don't want large fish as it limits how many small, interesting fish I can put in. I love this file and I have 3 of them so they may have the same fishing experience soon.