Urchinhead Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Ok Rene... Now you have me hooked. Would you (or anyone else) please point me to a good source to read up on these guys? I am going to be pulling just about everything out of my tank and redoing my fish setup and would like to have 3 of these guys as the center of the tank but want to know allot more about them before I finally commit to that plan. Note: Since I am feeding 2-3 times daily to keep wrasse on wrasse aggression down I don't see any difference than having bloody Anthias in the tank anyway and the main concern I have is with temp. My tank will hit 81* at times during the hotter days but normally sits at between 76-78*... Link to comment
wombat Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Ok Rene... Now you have me hooked. Would you (or anyone else) please point me to a good source to read up on these guys? I am going to be pulling just about everything out of my tank and redoing my fish setup and would like to have 3 of these guys as the center of the tank but want to know allot more about them before I finally commit to that plan. Note: Since I am feeding 2-3 times daily to keep wrasse on wrasse aggression down I don't see any difference than having bloody Anthias in the tank anyway and the main concern I have is with temp. My tank will hit 81* at times during the hotter days but normally sits at between 76-78*... Anthias will do "okay" with 2-3 times a day but if you really want to see them fatten up and get nice male coloration and such I recommend feeding them at least 5 times a day, especially the Mirolabrichthys spp. Autofeeders are easy to build if you want to hear more about it... http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/hcs3/index.php http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-12/hcs3/index.php http://www.fishbase.gr/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=23430 Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Thank you sir. Those are the links I had either read before when I was first into Anthias in the old tank or found on my search for this subtype. Another concern I have is having them in a 60 gallon similar to what Rene has in terms of Anthias on Anthias aggression...? As to autofeeder's... Actually I would like to hear more about it. I was thinking along those lines already. Since its a PITA to get done with my schedule now... Link to comment
wombat Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 First of all do you have weekly or twice monthly access to live brine shrimp from a fish store, and can you also purchase phytofeast live? Link to comment
seahorsedreams Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 He has access to all the live Phyto2 he needs :-) I feed (sometimes) twice a day the same as the rest of the anthias and the seahorses.... 1/2 the time it's only once a day. They are a little timid and scatter when I approach the tank, but so do the blotched and the sunburst. They come out immediately and eat like pigs. They certainly recognize what the open lid means (well, besdies cleaning the glass). Do you use live brine to get them some extra nutrients. Definitely could use some enriched with Beta Glucan. What do you like to enrich them with out of curiosity. Link to comment
wombat Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I will post a few details right now but get you guys a picture of the setup and some diagrams for alternative methods in a few days. I use a brine shrimp hatching cone that sits above the tank and an automated ball valve opens for 1 minute every hour to drain a bit of the water. There's a small air bubbler in the cone. Every morning I add live adult and baby Artemia and a bit of Phytofeast Live by Reef Nutrition along with 4 gallons of tank water. Before adding them to the cone in the morning the Artemia (both adult and baby) are enriched in a separate tub 24 hours a day with Algamac, Spirulina, and Astaxanthin. We are going to switch over to Algamac Enhance next time we buy a batch, it is an all in one enrichment powder that seahorse breeders use. http://www.aquafauna.com/Diets-AlgaMac-Enhance.htm The automated ball valve is made by a company called Gilmour, it is used for lawn/garden watering and can do 8 cycles a day. It costs $40 and is battery powered. There are lots of different brands and models capable of doing the same thing but the Gilmour 9408GF valve is what we've settled on after much trial and error. It's nice and sealed, built very solidly, is easy to program and the motor can be easily swapped out without tearing apart your existing plumbing. http://www.mrpearl11.com/Gilmour_Water_Timer_9408GF.aspx Needless to say this whole rig is quite a monstrosity sitting above your tank. There are much smaller options which I can describe better with a diagram in the next few days. But...consider the upside. Feeding your anthias 8 times a day with enriched brine plus 2-3 hand feedings of mysis, arcti-pods, chopped clam, etc. will make them big and fat like little miniature donkeys (check out the female in the background): http://jcdaquariumdesign.com/July09/conten...6716_large.html If they don't look like they're about to burst, you're not feeding them enough. Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Wow! Those are some pretty fish! Thank you Rene for the food sourcing! And Wombat I use that timer at home for watering so its not too much of a stretch. What about converting a reactor vessel and using a dosing pump? I have access to GHL Dosing pumps so I can loacate the rig remotely instead of on top of the tank and could even run a small chiller to keep the temps where they should be on the water but the question becomes is that necessary and how do you make sure a consistent amount of food get pushed out? Or do you just do a hit/miss and hope for the best? Uh... Possibly stupid question but... What about getting them onto pellets/flake? Wow! Those are some pretty fish! Thank you Rene for the food sourcing! And Wombat I use that timer at home for watering so its not too much of a stretch. What about converting a reactor vessel and using a dosing pump? I have access to GHL Dosing pumps so I can loacate the rig remotely instead of on top of the tank and could even run a small chiller to keep the temps where they should be on the water but the question becomes is that necessary and how do you make sure a consistent amount of food get pushed out? Or do you just do a hit/miss and hope for the best? Uh... Possibly stupid question but... What about getting them onto pellets/flake? And what about the whole aggression factor with only 3 in such a small tank? Oh and what about keeping these guys for 10+ days in a 15 gallon QT tank? Would I be able to swing it if I stuck an MP10 in there to keep water flow up and random? Link to comment
krazykarel Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Love the close up! What amazing colors! Link to comment
wombat Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 And Wombat I use that timer at home for watering so its not too much of a stretch. What about converting a reactor vessel and using a dosing pump? I have access to GHL Dosing pumps so I can loacate the rig remotely instead of on top of the tank and could even run a small chiller to keep the temps where they should be on the water but the question becomes is that necessary and how do you make sure a consistent amount of food get pushed out? Or do you just do a hit/miss and hope for the best? I imagine you would just need a stirrer or air bubbler to keep the mixture homogenous. You can also put the entire rig in a small refrigerator. Uh... Possibly stupid question but... What about getting them onto pellets/flake? Not stupid at all...works great if you can get them on it. Link to comment
bluenassarius Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 nice fish SHD. Link to comment
Urchinhead Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I imagine you would just need a stirrer or air bubbler to keep the mixture homogenous. You can also put the entire rig in a small refrigerator. Makes sense. I can put an airstone in with zero problem. The chilling part though is a problem. Small fridge is out of the question... Not stupid at all...works great if you can get them on it. Cheers. The Anthias I have worked with (Lyretail, Bartletts, Sunburst, & Dispar) all converted to both flake and pellet with almost no effort on my part... The one that I have avoided so far way Queens because I understand they do not take well to pellets. Do these guys fall into the same category? And any good sources of information on them specifically? I can't seem to find any... Link to comment
wombat Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Makes sense. I can put an airstone in with zero problem. The chilling part though is a problem. Small fridge is out of the question... Cheers. The Anthias I have worked with (Lyretail, Bartletts, Sunburst, & Dispar) all converted to both flake and pellet with almost no effort on my part... The one that I have avoided so far way Queens because I understand they do not take well to pellets. Do these guys fall into the same category? And any good sources of information on them specifically? I can't seem to find any... Yeah, the 4 species you mentioned are a bit easier to get eating pellets and flake. I have a group of lori and tuka that to this day will not eat pellet or flake even after 2 years in captivity. The Hikari micropellets might be good to try but I've never had luck with it. If you can wait a few months I am writing an article on finicky anthias that should be in print pretty soon. Link to comment
seahorsedreams Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 Well, they're doing great. Will eat anything that comes their way. Still haven't figured out the male except for the fact one hangs a little off from the rest. Going to assume he's going to be/is the male. To look at him you would not know. There is no visual differences. Link to comment
basser1 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Renee....... Thanks for the pics and glad to see these beautiful fish are doing well! My LFS just got some in, but I think my BC29 would be too small for them! But what I'd like to know is, how are the orange spotted filefish doing? How about posting some pics here for us to see..... Hmmmm?? Link to comment
seahorsedreams Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 I skeered to post them here..... skeered of the "Nano-Reef-Leave-it-in-the-Sea" Police. I hear they are worse than the Tang Police. Okay, I have a pair of Orange Spot Filefish. It's been two weeks now. They are still skinny but have nice bellies after feeding time. The female has been converted to frozen, the male I have only seen pick frozen up and spit it out. They feed mainly behind the rockwork despite me turning everything around in there... they still head for the back... even though it's now the front O.O. Like a bloody Loon, I sit there on a step stool, quiet as can be.... with a towel over my head so they don't see me. O.O She likes Hikari mysis, loves PE mysis. Doesn't know what to think of Rod's food and does not like brine. Anything too small and she gets excited, but looks past/though it. I'm presently using SPS frags and sun coral skeleton stuffed with various food to train. They will eventually go with the anthias (if I can successfully convert them and get them to thrive). Link to comment
wombat Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 You may consider separating them visually until they get chubby--the behaviors associated with a partner of the opposite sex can take a lot of energy even if sex isn't happening. Link to comment
seahorsedreams Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 I was considering that, except it seems the male follows the female. When she chases something he follows to see what she's tasting and will often lick on what she tastes. I was thinking it may be encouragement for him to actually chow down where she's already doing it. Yay or nay? Link to comment
seahorsedreams Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 The anthias and the filefish are going in with the ghoul.... he can't go in the scorp tank because he eats way too slow. Link to comment
wombat Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 The anthias and the filefish are going in with the ghoul.... he can't go in the scorp tank because he eats way too slow. More details on this guy please. Choridactylus? I was considering that, except it seems the male follows the female. When she chases something he follows to see what she's tasting and will often lick on what she tastes. I was thinking it may be encouragement for him to actually chow down where she's already doing it. Yay or nay? Hmmm, tough call, you're probably right though. One thing we got them eating pretty quickly after the coral skeleton trick (smeared Formula One on it) were the Hikari micro pellets, and now they get those via an auto feeder several times per day. They seem to be just about the right size. Link to comment
seahorsedreams Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 More details on this guy please. Choridactylus? Hmmm, tough call, you're probably right though. One thing we got them eating pretty quickly after the coral skeleton trick (smeared Formula One on it) were the Hikari micro pellets, and now they get those via an auto feeder several times per day. They seem to be just about the right size. What is a Hikari micro pellet? I don't think I've heard of those. Sounds interesting. They picked at the Formula One some. Ya, that's a Choridactylus multibarbus. Eats great but has to do his 5 minute zombie dance before he eats. That won't fly in the scorp tank he was originally intended for. They have to be taking from a stick to get in there. Link to comment
basser1 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Thanks for posting the pics Renee. I'm sure there are others out there that haven't seen beautiful fish like these. Good Luck with getting the male to eat! Link to comment
seahorsedreams Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 I don't know why I do this to myself. I just got my Fu Manchu to convert after a couple of months of trying. I was feeling like I suddenly had all this free time in the world now that I'm not as live food bound. And here I am buying SPS and fragging and dealing with hitchhiking acro crabs and smearing frozen food on skeletons and chopping PE mysis up with scissors.... and let's not forget the water testing and water changing. Why? *Looks at the fish* Oh, that's why. But still... we must be nuts. Link to comment
wombat Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Hikari Micro Pellets Be persistent with it and I can almost guarantee they will eventually accept it. Oh, and you have to throw it at the water surface to get it to sink. They are so small they'll just stick on the top from surface tension. Link to comment
seahorsedreams Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 Persistence is my middle name. Link to comment
phases Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Persistence is my middle name. Updates? Link to comment
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