Felicia Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 They will eventually. Sometimes it takes them a while to find a coral they like. Sounds like a great choice, by your description! I think I'm going to go the colorful flasher wrasse route instead of trying another angel. Time to change things up and I just don't want to deal with the risk of an angel wreaking havoc on my LPS and clam dominated tank. I'd also hate to tear up the new tank to get an angel back out if it goes rogue. One of my local stores has male McCoskers in stock, so I will potentially go pick one up this evening and get him settled into the tank since the cycle is done. My only concern with him is that I know they live in harems in the wild, but it seems people can keep a single male just fine as well. I've read they won't be quite as colorful or flash as much since they don't have a female to show off for, but hopefully it will stay pretty and colorful. I considered maybe adding a female too, since I'm replacing the angel which was pretty big, but it seems its very hard to find a female McCoskers wrasse. Here's what they look like: Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 That's one beautiful fish. Link to comment
gena Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 I think I'm going to go the colorful flasher wrasse route instead of trying another angel. Time to change things up and I just don't want to deal with the risk of an angel wreaking havoc on my LPS and clam dominated tank. I'd also hate to tear up the new tank to get an angel back out if it goes rogue. One of my local stores has male McCoskers in stock, so I will potentially go pick one up this evening and get him settled into the tank since the cycle is done. My only concern with him is that I know they live in harems in the wild, but it seems people can keep a single male just fine as well. I've read they won't be quite as colorful or flash as much since they don't have a female to show off for, but hopefully it will stay pretty and colorful. I considered maybe adding a female too, since I'm replacing the angel which was pretty big, but it seems its very hard to find a female McCoskers wrasse. Here's what they look like: I think I had one of those a few years ago. Very similar looking anyway. It was fairly small and so pretty. Unfortunately it didn't live very long. I don't think I even had it a week. Now that I think about it, I don't have a lot of luck with the fish I get at a certain LFS. I'm not buying fish from them anymore. Link to comment
Felicia Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 I think I had one of those a few years ago. Very similar looking anyway. It was fairly small and so pretty. Unfortunately it didn't live very long. I don't think I even had it a week. Now that I think about it, I don't have a lot of luck with the fish I get at a certain LFS. I'm not buying fish from them anymore. There are several species of flasher wrasses that all look very similar and should have similar behavior. I sure hope mine lives a long time! They're supposedly very hardy, but a bit sensitive to the first few days in the tank. Once they settle in, people say they are super hardy. I'm hoping since I decided to add mine as the very first fish, that he won't be too stressed and will get settled in well. Ok, so I just picked up a McCoskers Flasher wrasse. I was leaning towards a new angel, but still so worried about it being a nipper, so I was on Live Aquaria last night looking through all the options for other fish. I ended up deciding I really liked the idea of a male McCoskers wrasse. They're completely reef safe, colorful, decent sized, open water swimmers. They're red/orange coloring is just amazing since I've never had a fish that color. They're super peaceful and get along great with coris wrasses and all the other fish I have. They're only drawback is that they're jumpers, but I have other fish that jump, so I have a nice tight fitting lid. No worries there! My only concern was whether a single male would be ok since they live as a male with a harem of females in the wild. I did some reading and talked to the LFS and they're supposed to be totally fine as a lone male. They just may not be quite as bright and flash as much when they don't have a female to show off for. I did read that they will actually flash at other fish, people, food, etc though in a lot of cases. Anyways, I wasn't planning to rush off and grab one today, but I contacted my LFS to see how frequently they get them in and they informed me they just got in 10 nice looking males in yesterdays shipment. I figured I just had to snatch up one of them since I'd get to have so many to choose from. Knowing my luck, if I waited I wouldn't be able to find any. That's how it always works! So after work, I drove down to the LFS and picked one up. I looked at all 10 and watched them closely to pick out the most outgoing/active one. He's nice and fat and healthy and I even got the LFS owner to feed him some flake food and he gobbled it up like a fiend. I'm not big on picky eaters since I prefer to feed the main tank a blend of pellets and flakes. He's going into the new set-up first which works out well since everything I read recommended adding them first since they're very peaceful fish. Hopefully since he gets the tank all to himself for a few days, he'll be brave and out in the open a lot. He's acclimating right now and is very active in the bad. As much as I wanted another angel, its fun to try a new fish and mix it up a bit! I'm so excited about this fish! Here he is! Link to comment
gena Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Mine was added with a bunch of resident fish already established. I'm sure that's why it died. Too much stress on a probably already ill fish. He's even prettier on my big screen. Much better than my iPhone . Link to comment
Felicia Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Mine was added with a bunch of resident fish already established. I'm sure that's why it died. Too much stress on a probably already ill fish. He's even prettier on my big screen. Much better than my iPhone . Yeah, from what I read, adding them is the touchy part, but if they make it through the settling in period then they are hardy fish. He looks even better under nice lighting and not in a bag! He looked amazing in the store. He's got blue lines that light up when he's under slightly more blue lighting. Link to comment
Felicia Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 I also got my symphyllia brain coral in the mail today! It showed up looking super healthy and is nice and puffy in the holding tank. I've got the lights really dimmed because I don't want to bleach it. I'll slowly increase them back up over the next couple days. Since the lights aren't very bright, it isn't showing off the color as well as it could, but it still looks great even under dim light. Its going to look so nice on the sand bed in the new set-up! http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/photo2-12.jpg.html'> Link to comment
gena Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 I also got my symphyllia brain coral in the mail today! It showed up looking super healthy and is nice and puffy in the holding tank. I've got the lights really dimmed because I don't want to bleach it. I'll slowly increase them back up over the next couple days. Since the lights aren't very bright, it isn't showing off the color as well as it could, but it still looks great even under dim light. Its going to look so nice on the sand bed in the new set-up! Oh my gosh...it's so pretty!!!!! I love it!!!! I want one . Link to comment
Felicia Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Oh my gosh...it's so pretty!!!!! I love it!!!! I want one . I LOVE it too! Its so nice in person. I can't get over the baby blue in the middle. I'm glad you talked me into buying it Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Damn that's stunning. Nice find. Link to comment
Felicia Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Damn that's stunning. Nice find. I know! I it! Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 I completely forgot to tell you about the jumping. They aren't kidding! My McCosker has been behind the aquarium, between the stand and wall. Took a bit to reach it and it was covered in cat hair. :-( It jumped when I was doing something in the tank with the lid off. That trip wasn't enough. Somehow it was able to jump through a gap less than 1/2" between lid and back wall. It landed in the back chamber on filter floss. Fortunately I was home and it had an inch of water. That's the total of actual escapes. Still hear it hit the glass lid at at least once a day. So yeah. Lids for the frisky fish! LOL Oh yeah, have you noticed the way it's eyes follow you? That fish knows what's going on! Link to comment
markalot Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Echoing what PC said. I have glass lids and plastic protection in the space behind the lids, and my flasher managed to jump into a surface skimmer box and then onto the floor. I think he hit the glass and angled into the box, which had no protection above it. Assume they will jump at the first opportunity! Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 So excited about your new wrasse and brain. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on that fish. Link to comment
Felicia Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 I completely forgot to tell you about the jumping. They aren't kidding! My McCosker has been behind the aquarium, between the stand and wall. Took a bit to reach it and it was covered in cat hair. :-( It jumped when I was doing something in the tank with the lid off. That trip wasn't enough. Somehow it was able to jump through a gap less than 1/2" between lid and back wall. It landed in the back chamber on filter floss. Fortunately I was home and it had an inch of water. That's the total of actual escapes. Still hear it hit the glass lid at at least once a day. So yeah. Lids for the frisky fish! LOL Oh yeah, have you noticed the way it's eyes follow you? That fish knows what's going on! Echoing what PC said. I have glass lids and plastic protection in the space behind the lids, and my flasher managed to jump into a surface skimmer box and then onto the floor. I think he hit the glass and angled into the box, which had no protection above it. Assume they will jump at the first opportunity! Good to know about the jumping guys! My main screen lid is currently on the holding tank, so I used my old acrylic lid for now so that the wrasse can't jump. I'm realizing the screen lid if sufficient for most fish, but it doesn't fit the tightest in some places, so I may have to make a new one. No big deal though since I have all the supplies for that. The only big opening will be where the AC70 flows back into the tank, so I may have to rig up a way to have the screen cover more of that opening. I'll figure something out! For now, he's very secure and definitely can't get out of the tank. And yes! I did notice how much his eyes move! Kind of more like my seahorses than other fish. He went in a cave last night and laid in there and just watched me with one eye in the opening to the cave. So excited about your new wrasse and brain. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on that fish. I am too! Two very different new things are always exciting. Glad I stumbled on the McCosker's Wrasse on Live Aquaria. I was considering a leopard wrasse or a melanarus as an option, but I just never though of a flasher wrasse because I had it through my head they were like anthias and needed a 125 gallon aquarium. Nope! Live Aquaria has them all listed as a 55 gallon aquarium minimum, which considering how insanely conservation Live Aquaria's tank sizes are, that means they're perfect for a 30 gallon. Especially with my tank being 3 ft long, hopefully he'll stay super active and swim around a lot. So far, I just love this fish! Last night as soon as I put him in the tank, he went to bed in a rock cave. This morning when I checked though, he was out and about. He's still being a tad bit shy, and swims behind the rocks if I make a sudden movement in front of the tank, but he's obviously settling in already. I sat down on my couch to watch him and he stayed out in the open, in the middle of the water column, just swimming around and checking out the tank. He's such a pretty pop of pinkish-red with blue accents. Cool fish for sure! Link to comment
Zia Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 New fish, new corals, new tank, new direction You know how much i loved your last tank, but this one's shaping to up to be sooo much sweeter! Wow that video!! The new fish is a looker, but gotta say definitely taking a back seat to that bomb a@@ scape!! Your pix didn't do it justice, it's truly impressive! Love the =^..^= video bombing That was wildly unexpected I almost used that same song in my video last night to Link to comment
gena Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Looks like he is settling in nicely!!!!!! Link to comment
Felicia Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 New fish, new corals, new tank, new direction You know how much i loved your last tank, but this one's shaping to up to be sooo much sweeter! Wow that video!! The new fish is a looker, but gotta say definitely taking a back seat to that bomb a@@ scape!! Your pix didn't do it justice, it's truly impressive! Love the =^..^= video bombing That was wildly unexpected I almost used that same song in my video last night to Yeah, I'm excited to try new things. Makes it more like an upgrade/whole new tank than if I just replicated what I did before. Glad I decided to switch it up and try the wrasse instead of another angel. I'm glad you like where its going and that you like the scape so much. I really love how open it is now and the colorful live rock doesn't hurt any! Lily was just being too cute while I was shooting the video, so I had to film her too. Its a fun song Looks like he is settling in nicely!!!!!! He is! And now he's getting a friend... So, I was talking to Polar Collision over on her thread and she had found a couple articles that recommend keeping two male flasher wrasses of different species together if there are no females. That way they stay colorful and flash, but they shouldn't fight. Well...I ended up deciding to try a second one. When I was at the LFS picking up this first one, there were a bunch to choose from but they were all the same species except one oddball that we weren't sure what species it was. I came down between that one and the one I got yesterday, so I figured I'd go back and snatch that one up before it sold since it was the only one of a different species. I still had no idea what species it was until I got home just now and did some searching. I'm pretty sure its a Linespot flasher wrasse (Paracheilinus lineopunctatus). Its got gorgeous purple/red coloring. Hopefully these two get along! Its acclimating right now. Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 oh nice! I bet that coloring is beautiful. Link to comment
Felicia Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 oh nice! I bet that coloring is beautiful. Yep! He's very pretty colors! So excited to have these two super colorful new fish. Hopefully they get along ok The new one went straight into the rocks to hide and the original one didn't even notice it. I have a feeling it will hide overnight just like the first one did and then start to venture out. I turned the lights off for the night to minimize stress. I guess I won't see how they interact until tomorrow. Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Awesome! That fish is gorgeous and it was nice getting another look at your tank. Those rocks look even nicer than I thought. Your cat just took that video from awesome, to more..er..most awesome..er..est.. well you get the idea. Smiles. Link to comment
Felicia Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 Awesome! That fish is gorgeous and it was nice getting another look at your tank. Those rocks look even nicer than I thought. Your cat just took that video from awesome, to more..er..most awesome..er..est.. well you get the idea. Smiles. Thanks, Mr. M! I'm loving these flasher warsses! So colorful and so much personality. And yes, the rock is REALLY nice. I definitely recommend it and for the price, you can't beat it. Premium live rock around here goes for $8 a lb, whereas this rock came out to $5.60 a lb including the shipping. Yeah, Lily was wanting attention while I was filming, so I let her video-bomb I'm glad you enjoyed her cameo! The lights haven't come on on the tank yet, so no big updates, but the original wrasse is out and about already. The newer wrasse is still hunkered down in his rock cave where he was sleeping. Hopefully he'll venture out a bit once the lights are on. The original wrasse seems to have decided the right side of the tank is his territory. He sleeps up in the bonsai pillar and mostly swims around in that area. The newer wrasse is sleeping in the structure on the left side of the tank, so it seems like they may end up having their own territory of different ends of the tank. I went to a Prohibition themed birthday party last night and it was amazing how many people turned out in elaborate costumes. Costumes parties are just too much fun! I rocked my fringe-covered flapper dress and feather boa and even tried to style my long hair to look like a short bob hairdo. Here are some fun photos of me and my friends in costume http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/photo5-9.jpg.html'> (I'm on the right) http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/photo7-6.jpg.html'> http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/photo4-14.jpg.html'> Link to comment
1.0reef Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Nice brain coral! If you want I can give you a little frag of these (Got them from AC too!) Link to comment
Felicia Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 Nice brain coral! If you want I can give you a little frag of these (Got them from AC too!) Those are nice! Did you get them in the AC ebay auctions or did you go to their store? Unfortunately, my zoa/paly space is very limited in the new set-up, so I'm not trying to acquire any new ones right now. Thanks, though! Link to comment
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