20141006 Derasa Clam nipped!

For the last two months I have been keeping my Derasa clam separately in a 75G RR that I have set up to allow the two squamosa clams more room to stretch. But two weeks ago I discovered that the Derasa clam have not been opening. So I decided to take it out of the 75 and place it back into my 92.

It turns out- someone has been nipping this clam! See the hole in the middle of the clam mantle (the white circle) My suspicion is the orange or gold spotted rabbitfish. Because not only the clam, the rabbitfish has also nipped on my leather corals.

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.

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.

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!