20140930 Green Bubble Tip Anemone

Green Bubble Tip Anemone

I got this green bubble tip anemone two weeks ago. I have had lots of experience with rose bubble tip anemone (RBTA), but have never had a green bubble tip. To be honest I am a bit scared because I don't know if this anemone has the same light requirement and feeding habit as its rosy colored relative. This is why I have been hesitating to post about it to make sure it does well in my system.
I initially placed the anemone about 6" away from its current spot on to of the rock work. The anemone used the 1st hour of its stay here drawing around the rock to its current spot and has stayed there ever since. The anemone was not in very good health- the best way to judge an anemone's health is how sticky it is. I tried to offer it food for the first two weeks and none would stick. But the anemone had appeared to be doing alright- expanding and swaying under the light each morning.
Today I made another attempt to feed the anemone and the krill stayed! I must also mention, my 5" clarkii clown has been busy sharing her hosting duty between my other 6" RBTA and this GTA starting this week. So I think the anemone's stickiness must have something to do with the clownfish.
This has became one of my favorite corners of the tank as the GTA and the smaller RBTA flows with wave.
My feeling so far is they are hardy and very beautiful to look at, get yours here!

20140919 Swallowtail Angelfish

Just to compare what I got from the Local Fish store with what's currently available at Liveaquaria. This Genicanthus Semifasciatus (Masked Swallowtail Angelfish) is a changing male about 4.5 inch long for $300 + Shipping. And also to update, the fish has been eating very well and is now mingling well with other fish in the tank. Below is LiveAquaria's quick stats:

Minimum Tank Size: 125 gallons

Care Level: Difficult

Temperament: Peaceful

Reef Compatible: Yes

Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.021-1.025

Max. Size: 8½"

Diet: Omnivore, Plankton Eater

Compatibility: View Chart

20140919 Japanese Swallowtail Angelfish

Last weekend I visited my local fish store Living Art Aquarium and noticed they have this angel available- Paul, the owner labeled it "very rare, and very good price" at $99. For those of you who are not familiar with this fish, many would pay up to $400 for a male specimen.

There are two fish in the Genicanthus family sharing the common name "Japanese Swallowtail Angelfish"- Genicanthus melanospilos, and Genicanthus Semifasciatus.

The first one is also known as a spotbreast angelfish and is quite common in the Aquarium trade with price ranging from $70 -$120 for female and a bit higher for male. Personally, I think the female of this species look prettier than the male (so do many of the other members of the Genicanthus family).

But not the Semifasciatus. While I think the female looks really adorable with the black mask, the male specimen of Semifasciatus is simply regal with the golden mask and trim streaming down the mid section separating tiger striped upper section and the silver abdominal portion.

They are not common, thus Paul's quote "rare", and they are also not the hardiest during shipping and acclimation due to their origin- ranging from Philippines to Japan, living as deep as 300ft, they can come from water as cool as upper 60's but also as warm as upper to mid 70's. So depends on the source, they might not always enjoy the tropical, reef temperature. Secondly, because they could have been collected at a greater depth, improper decompression can result in swim bladder disfunction, which was common in the genicanthus family but has been better in recent years.

Now, why was this fish so cheap, you might ask? Well, Paul explained when he was picking up livestock from the wholesaler, this fish was severely beaten and was in really bad shape. With the huge order Paul had placed, the owner just toss this in for free but not optimistic with its chances. After the fish had arrived Paul's store, it rebounded and recovered almost completely and was eagerly accepting food. I could not pass on this. 

If you google some of this fish's photos, you can see that my fish is actually in the midst of a gender reassignment. That's right, they are hermaphrodic and can change gender back, and forth at will. This fish appears to be on her way to become a male. You can still see a hint of the black mask around the eye, and the tiger stripes have not yet fully appeared. (Either that or it can be reversing it from male back to female, but I am hope it is the first one).

Currently I have a 5" female watanabe angel in the tank, as expected there is some squabble between the two since they are in the same family. But it has not grown too violent since at least one of them is female. It is only day two of the fish in my tank and it has been eating very well! I will have more updates later.

20140916 Power Outage and Fishtank

One of fish keeping hobbyist's biggest nightmare- power outrage. What should you do and prepare for expected (known approaching hurricane or winter storm) and unexpected (thunderstorm, fire, flash flood, and other disaster) power outages.

An example of what power outrage can do to an aquarium is New Orlean's Aquarium of the Americas' major disaster after 2005's Hurricane Katrina. Just about everything that was not mammal or reptile perished during the disaster. The lone survivors were the mammals and turtles as they breath from the air.

Living in Wisconsin, the long, brutal winter can often cause power outrage during strong snow storms. And the threat is not only the immediate oxygen deprivation from uncirculated water, but the rapid temperature drop from the elements. For this reason, depends on where you live and what capacity your tank is, it is strongly recommended that you have a backup generator as your tanks' lifeline during times of emergency.

So the question is- how long can things survive without any back up? If the power outrage is temporary and will not last long during a relatively warm, summer day, no need to panic-
well, without flowing water to generate dissolved oxygen, most creatures will begin to display distress within a few hours depends on your bio-load. Imaging a fish can do alright in a bag of water during its transport from store to home (typically anywhere from 30 minutes up to 2 hours + acclimation time). That sac of water is definitely no more than 1/4 gallon. Now multiply that by how many gallons of water you have in your tank, and decided by how many fish/critters you have, you should get a pretty good rough idea of when your "deadline" is. That said, it's definitely not optimal to leave things as is. You can find battery operated pumps in stores or online. Don't be cheap on this, it can save hundreds of dollars in livestock for you.

The bigger problem will present if the outrage is more than a few hours. While the back up battery operated air pumps can last a day or two, your water temperature will begin to decrease overtime, especially if you live in colder climate in winter. This is when you must invest in a backup generator.
Once again, don't be cheap, this can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of livestock. When choosing a back up generator, I would add up the wattage needed for heater and at least one powerhead for the fish tank portion of your household needs. corals and clams can survive a few days without light so light is not your priority for short term outrage.

20140915 Gem Tang

I stumbled upon this while doing my "daily window browsing" for aquarium live- The gem tang- zebrasoma gemmatum at Liveaquariua's Diver's Den.

Gem Tang as seen on Live Aquaria

Some please take this guy home! Chances are if you have $3K to spare, you must have a system large and fancy enough to give this guy a much deserved good life! I would if I have it, will you?

20140915 Desjardini Tang acclimation

In my previous post I have described the five day process of trying to get the desjardini tang to eat and become used to human presence. One of my strategy was to reward them with food for greeting me. After a weekend of heavy feeding (Started Friday Night), the tang has become very good sport in swimming in the open in my presence.

I am sure too though, that all the overfeeding had escalated the nitrate level! well, I guess that's what the big derasa is there for! But at the end of the weekend I am very pleased to announce this desjardini tang is finally "house broken". Currently it swims alongside with three other larger fish in the tank to form the "dominant four"- The Desjardini tang, Chevron tang, Orange spotted rabbitfish, and flame back angel. and it's been fed heavily on flake food, frozen food (homemade blend), and nori sheets.

Conclusion- Based on my recent experience with the acquisition of Foxface Rabbitfish (in the other tank), the Chevron tang, and this desjardini tang, the average time for any new fish to become comfortable and feel blended in is about a week. The orange spotted rabbitfish though, gave me quite a scare, it was in the tank for over a month showing no sign of acclimation (while eating heavily). I must say most of the fish in this condition would have died within a month, but looks like choosing some open swimming tank mate was the key to open up the rabbit fish's personality.

20140913 mixing desjardini tang and chevron tang

Today marks the two week point for my chevron tang's addition, one week point for the desjardini tang. As with all tang additions and mixing, I kept a constant eye on these two's interaction. The funny thing with the Chevron tang is that it wasn't very active and was quite picky on eating during its first week of stay. But the moment I put the slightly larger desjardini tang in, the chevron seemed to have "came alive". Not only it became very active to swim in the open, its appetite suddenly opened up and ate everything I fed from frozen, flakes, pellets, and nori.

The desjardinit tang was never a picky eater even when I asked the store to feed it prior to my decision to purchase. But it had remain very cautious of eating. It does eat everything I feed, but only after a couple minutes observing others eat then it will join.

The two had some sparks during its first day of introduction. Desjardini raised its dorsal and anal fins to maximize its size while the two size up. Finally the desjardini found a nice little corner to settle and guarded it pretty well. No one can get close to the strong hold in the next few days.

I noticed the desjardini tang is hiding a lot whenever I want to observe it. I also continue to observe the slow to eat habit. So I hid in a corner and observe the tang's behavior to determine whether the tang is hiding from other tank mates or from me. Fortunately for it, the fish was hiding from me, which is unfortunate for me. So my next attempt is to spend more and more time in front of the tank, and reward them with food whenever they come out of hiding- in hopes to draw a more positive impression of me rather than all the traumatic experiences- captured, transported, and captured again, and transported again, gets tossed, captured... all by human.

20140906 New Tankmate: Desjardini Tang

Zebrasoma Desjardinii- The Desjardini Tang, aka Red Sea Sailfin Tang, has also been on top of my list of jeweled fish to keep. The problem is- I have already had a yellow tang, and knowing if I add a desjardini tang into the same tank, I will be picking out a dead body sooner or later, I never did.

About three weeks ago I placed a special order request for this fish at a local fish store- Living Art Aquarium. But two weeks later, instead of waiting for this tan, you probably recall I picked up a chevron tang (Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis) instead. I figured this fish is new, but somewhat established, plus the desjardini is nearly 5" (I asked for 3-4", but 5" is still OK) whereas the chevron is barely 3". I thought it would be a good timing to add this fish. And then, the funny thing happened...

During the first week of my chevron tang's addition, I had barely got this fish to begin accepting pre-soaked, soften flake food but rejects most all other food, including frozen. The chevron also spends much time hiding yet instead of patrolling. But the moment I added this desjardini, the chevron became very territorial and patrols all open areas of the tank (with the orange spotted rabbitfish as its deputy). The chevron also immediately begin to accept flake of all sizes, frozen, as well as nori pieces- as a show to demonstrate who's the boss!

The Desjardini, in the midst of all these domination demonstration, didn't seem too bothered since it's almost 2" larger than the little chevron. And it began to accept flake, frozen, and nori right away as well! And unlike chevron's introduction, the flame back angel didn't even bother to confront this big guy.

20140904- Tank update

When you see something everyday it's really hard to notice changes. But by comparing the photos from 6 months ago, I can tell these clams had some significant growth!

20140902- Chevron tang feeding

I have long coveted this jewel of the sea- Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis, the Chevron Tang. And I admit, part of the reason I want it is because of the "Hawaii" part in its name. I have always known this is not only an expensive fish, but also can be quite challenging to keep as well. And now that I am finally at a place to own it, and am accepting the challenge.

Challenge 1: Breaking the barrier with current tank mates- check! Fortunately I don't have any tang in this tank (yet). The only other fish that I currently up can size up to this 3" tang is the orange spotted rabbitfish- which until this tang arrived, is constantly hiding in the rocks.

I have had this rabbitfish for a month now. The rabbitfish eat well but stays low. Ever since the arrival of this chevron, I have seen it more in one day than I have in the last month. So the rumor is right- you do need an open water swimmer to calm the nerves of a nervous fish.

The only aggressive episode since Chevron's arrival was the flame back angel sizing it up and flipping tail. But that soon subsided. The second day I see this tang swimming side by side with the rabbitfish a lot.

Challenge 2: Feeding- check (sort of)! As with any thing in the Tang & Angels family feeding can always be a hit or miss. Prior to purchasing this guy I followed my normal protocol: a. How long has the store have it (over two months), b. Is it active (very), c. Is the fish in good shape/health (no visible sign of infection nor parasites, body is plump and full with no missing chances of fin anywhere. d. how's it eating (it nibbles on algae wafer and grazes constantly). The fish did not actively accept any feed the first night I brought it home. It does graze the rock from time to time throughout the next two days but does not accept frozen food- yet. 

I then noticed she eats flake-very selectively. The tang only eats a very specific size while spits out anything too large. So my next approach is to only feed small, crushed chunks. The tang still eats sparingly. Upon closer observation I noticed the tang only begins to accept chunks not by size, but by the length of time it has been floating in the tank. So my theory is this fish is picky on how "soft" the flakes are after the water softens it. My next experiment was to pre-soak the flakes briefly to achieve the "softness" to the tang's liking then disperse. The result was a jack-pot, the tang began to accept all flakes in different sizes and shapes immediately!

20140901 Species to NOT keep

I started a list of fish to not purchase or keep a while back. And then I stumbled onto this:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1157901
Check this out and it is actually quite a good list.