Rehype Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 This is good to hear! The chunk of silverside Mushu ate was about equal to that. Maybe I should offer him some smaller food. I have some of the jumbo mysis to give him variety. Do you use tongs or something to feed Qianlong or how do you feed him? Im sure Mushu would love some mysis...Qianlong will even go after the tiny hikari mysis! I had to use a feeding stick initially to train Qianlong but at this point I can simply drop food in front of him and he will snag it from the water column. Ive attempted hand feeding on occasion but they are just are a bit unpredictable at times and id rather not get tagged lol! 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Wow...that's surprises me. He looked so FAST and spunky!!!! Could the eel have gotten him? False alarm! The little coris is alive and well. Apparently he was just hiding last night which he never does. Had to give me a good scare. Now today he's back out and about and I'm trying to trap him. Im sure Mushu would love some mysis...Qianlong will even go after the tiny hikari mysis! I had to use a feeding stick initially to train Qianlong but at this point I can simply drop food in front of him and he will snag it from the water column. Ive attempted hand feeding on occasion but they are just are a bit unpredictable at times and id rather not get tagged lol! I'm going to feed again tomorrow, so I'll try some jumbo mysys tomorrow. I definitely won't risk hand feeding, so I've been using tongs. I'm going to work on making a feeding stick too since the tongs are kind of bulky for small shrimp. HUGE video and photo update coming soon! Just uploading everything now. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 First off, new tank video! I know its long, but there are lots of fun antics by the eel and lionfish. 5 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Ok its photo time! Let's start by showing off Mushu! He's such a gorgeous fish and he was being very sociable tonight. And some photos of the eel! He's pretty photogenic The eel was being a little overly friendly with the lionfish tonight. Luckily he didn't get stung! The blenny was also being really photogenic tonight. How about some coral shots? Micromussa Bowerbanki Fox Coral Purple sponge Duncan Frogspawn Clams 6 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Alright so now for an update on the tiny coris wrasse. He actually didn't get eaten, so that was a false alarm. He's always out and about in the evenings, but last night he was MIA so I assumed the worst. Now today he's out and about as usual. Glad he wasn't a snack. The breeder net I ordered on Amazon came today, so I was ready to try to trap the coris wrasse tonight because I'd have somewhere to put him until I can take him to the LFS. I decided to try the water bottle trap (I'll give credit to Eddie for this idea ), so I cut the top portion off a water bottle and flipped it upside down inside the bottle. Then I placed some mysis at the bottom of the bottle and set it in the tank. About an hour after putting the trap into the tank....I caught a fish! Unfortunately, it wasn't the fish I wanted to catch. So I released the blenny and re-deployed the trap. Less than half an hour later and I caught the coris! He's now safe and sound in the breeder net until I can take him to the LFS. So no need to worry about his cute, spunky self becoming a snack now 8 Quote Link to comment
yoshii Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Your fish are so photogenic!! Wow what a stunning lion! Cool to see the transition to a pred reef tank, not may people have these 1 Quote Link to comment
markalot Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Great news on the fish capture, and fantastic pics! 1 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I am happy you caught the cords wrasse. I have also successfully used the bottle trap in the past. Great video and pics but you are making me miss my eel and lionfish. :-( I will just have to come to your thread for my predator fix! :-) 2 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I love this tank. Its pretty much what I want to turn my 85 shallow into when we upgrade the reef to a 150 in a few years. Except I want a fuzzy dwarf and I'm torn on either a Jeweled or Snowflake moray (and if we're doing one or two eels). We are also looking at the non-reef safe wrasses, a small trigger (I forget the species that would fit, Burma I think?) and smaller puffers (I'm partial to the blue spot puffer) and using macro algae instead of coral. Then the macro algae can be put in the reef display when it needs to be trimmed and feed my herbivores in that tank while helping the water quality in the predator tank and not needing to buy new lights (we're assuming my Sols would have to be replaced at that point if we wanted to keep growing corals with them, but they'll be perfect for macro algae) It's a win-win! 1 Quote Link to comment
gena Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 First off, new tank video! I know its long, but there are lots of fun antics by the eel and lionfish. [Youtube] I totally sat through the whole 5min. Your videos are the best . I want that lionfish to swim!!!! Do those mostly just perch on the sand? He's gorgeous. The eel is pretty too but reminds me too much of a snake . Very cool direction you've taken with the fish. I love this!!!! Plus this means you'll be posting more, right???? To keep us up-to-date on these new guys???? So happy you caught the wrasse too. What a relief . 1 Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 lol about the fish trap. That blenny looks like a real comedian. Great pics of it BTW. I just love their eyebrow things. That's one of the smallest corris' I've seen. Funfun! Your photos are awesome Felicia! Where'd you find that purple sponge? How long have you had it? 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Your fish are so photogenic!! Wow what a stunning lion! Cool to see the transition to a pred reef tank, not may people have these Thanks, Christina! I really lucked out finding that Fu Manchu. I decided I needed a change and was going to go the predator route, so I went to several of the stores to see what my options would be and Aquatic Collection had that beautiful guy already eating frozen so I couldn't resist. He really pops in the tank! And definitely inspires me to photograph the tank more because he's such an interesting subject. Yeah they seem to be few and far between. Makes me appreciate your leaf fish tank that much more! Great news on the fish capture, and fantastic pics! Thanks, Mark! I wasn't sure that bottle trap would work, but it worked like a charm. I think that will be my go-to way to catch fish in the future. Glad you enjoyed the photos. I haven't been that into photographing the tank, but the lion and eel are such interesting subjects that they got me excited about it again. I am happy you caught the cords wrasse. I have also successfully used the bottle trap in the past. Great video and pics but you are making me miss my eel and lionfish. :-( I will just have to come to your thread for my predator fix! :-) I was skeptical that the bottle trap would work, but it worked like a charm! Its ok because I go to your thread to get my seahorse fix. I miss mine but they were just too much work for me right now! Predators only eat twice a week which is way easier to manage if I want to travel. I love this tank. Its pretty much what I want to turn my 85 shallow into when we upgrade the reef to a 150 in a few years. Except I want a fuzzy dwarf and I'm torn on either a Jeweled or Snowflake moray (and if we're doing one or two eels). We are also looking at the non-reef safe wrasses, a small trigger (I forget the species that would fit, Burma I think?) and smaller puffers (I'm partial to the blue spot puffer) and using macro algae instead of coral. Then the macro algae can be put in the reef display when it needs to be trimmed and feed my herbivores in that tank while helping the water quality in the predator tank and not needing to buy new lights (we're assuming my Sols would have to be replaced at that point if we wanted to keep growing corals with them, but they'll be perfect for macro algae) It's a win-win! An 85 gallon would be amazing because it would be so much space! I'm going to get a dwarf fuzzy, just haven't located one yet. I had a local store request one from their wholesaler and their shipment comes in today at about noon, so I'll be calling later to see if the shipment included a fuzzy. I think two eels would be really cool! I'd love another one, but my tank is too small for that. I love blue spot toby puffers, but I'd be careful mixing those with lionfish. I was reading that tobies and other puffers tend to eat the fins of lionfish and really tear them up. The macro algae is a great plan! I totally sat through the whole 5min. Your videos are the best . I want that lionfish to swim!!!! Do those mostly just perch on the sand? He's gorgeous. The eel is pretty too but reminds me too much of a snake . Very cool direction you've taken with the fish. I love this!!!! Plus this means you'll be posting more, right???? To keep us up-to-date on these new guys???? So happy you caught the wrasse too. What a relief . Glad you made it through the long video. Glad you enjoyed it! It had been too long since I'd make one hadn't it? The Fu Manchu's are more perchers, but they're go up into the water column after food. Mine is still getting settled in and doesn't seem too brave yet about swimming or even going up on top of the rocks much. I think they're supposed to spend most of their time perched on the rocks sort of like a blenny, but mine is still getting his bearings in the tank and spends most of his time on the sand or upside down underneath the overhang of the bonsai pillar. Honestly, the way he moves around reminds me of a dragonet. He kind of hops and hovers around like a mandarin or scooter. I love watching his perching behavior, but I do need an open water swimmer, so that's why I want to get a fuzzy dwarf lionfish as well. That kind will swim more. You sound like my mom about the eel. She's always been like, "Please don't get one because they're like snakes and creep me out." She's coming to visit soon and she's going to flip I'm pretty neutral on snakes, don't love them or hate them, but I've always been fascinated by eels. Honestly I think he's adorable Yep, trying to post more! Been in such a rut with the hobby lately to be honest. Just been too busy to get excited about it and its felt very same-old same-old lately. I think having these new and totally different creatures to watch, photograph, and post about will help. Yeah, I am so glad the wrasse didn't get eaten and I can sleep better now knowing he's safe in that breeder net. One of the guys in my local club actually asked to buy him, so he's going to a nice new home just down the street from me lol about the fish trap. That blenny looks like a real comedian. Great pics of it BTW. I just love their eyebrow things. That's one of the smallest corris' I've seen. Funfun! Your photos are awesome Felicia! Where'd you find that purple sponge? How long have you had it? The blenny is quite the character. Their eyebrow things are the best! Such comical fish with so much personality. Also, quite utilitarian since mine is a beast at eating algae. Yeah that coris is insanely tiny. I think he's actually already grown, so he was even tinier when I got him. A local store had in like 3-4 that size and I just couldn't resist. Cute baby fish are the best! Thank you! I'm really loving the iPhone camera lately since I'm too lazy to get out my Canon point and shoot. I got a frag of the purple sponge from a local reefer (actually the guy who wants the coris wrasse). It grows like a weed and he has to prune it pretty frequently, so he gives away pieces all the time. It was originally in my seahorse tank and grew into a big colony, but then I sold it when I took down the seahorse tank. There was a little blob stuck on the rock where I ripped it off, and by the time I finished taking that tank down, it had grown into a nice frag again so I moved it into the current tank. Its really taken off in there with the better lighting. It has such a cool growth pattern! I sent a frag to Eddie back when I got it and I think his is a nice little colony now too. Easiest sponge ever since its fully photosynthetic and doesn't have any problem with being exposed to air. 2 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I did not know that about puffers and lionfish. I will have to look into it more! Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 I did not know that about puffers and lionfish. I will have to look into it more! Yeah I never would have thought they'd be an issue together but stumbled across a lot of things saying not to put them together while I was reading about lionfish. Here's one of the threads about it on Lionfish Lair. http://forum.lionfishlair.com/*-lionfish/why-puffers-and-lions-are-bad-juju/ 1 Quote Link to comment
vlangel Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Hhmm, I had a porcupine puffer in my predator tank for years and they were ok. Do you think it is just a Toby puffer thing or maybe I was just fortunate? I did know puffers are coral nippers though. I hear you about the vacationing with seahorses. Now that my husband and I are free we are going on a motorcycle road trip through CO. It will be 9 days or so which is a long time away from the tanks and I am getting nervous thinking about it. The feeding I have figured out but I probably should have 2 10g water changes in that amount of time. My system is complicated with 2 tanks sharing a sump. My sister, (who is my fish sitter) is pretty smart though and I will have the water already made. It helps that she had seahorses in the early 90s. Still it's nerve wracking! 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Hhmm, I had a porcupine puffer in my predator tank for years and they were ok. Do you think it is just a Toby puffer thing or maybe I was just fortunate? I did know puffers are coral nippers though. I hear you about the vacationing with seahorses. Now that my husband and I are free we are going on a motorcycle road trip through CO. It will be 9 days or so which is a long time away from the tanks and I am getting nervous thinking about it. The feeding I have figured out but I probably should have 2 10g water changes in that amount of time. My system is complicated with 2 tanks sharing a sump. My sister, (who is my fish sitter) is pretty smart though and I will have the water already made. It helps that she had seahorses in the early 90s. Still it's nerve wracking! Honestly, I think its one of those things were its just each individual fish. I bet some are model citizens and some not so much. Probably like angels in reef tanks. There may be some species that are less prone to nipping though. Most of what I saw was about toby species, so maybe the porcupines aren't such an issue. Hey! At least you have your sister to help and she's had reef tanks before. I have never had someone do a water change while I'm away, so I like to have a system that can go 2 weeks without major issues. If a family lived nearby and could do it, it would be so much easier. I always feel bad asking friends to do too much, especially ones that have no interest in tanks. Alright, going to go pick up a dwarf fuzzy lionfish! They only got in 2 and one already got put on hold. I called as they were unpacking boxes so goodness that person was fast. The other is on hold for me now, but I don't know what it looks like. I hope its pretty. 2 Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Honestly, I think its one of those things were its just each individual fish. I bet some are model citizens and some not so much. Probably like angels in reef tanks. There may be some species that are less prone to nipping though. Most of what I saw was about toby species, so maybe the porcupines aren't such an issue. For corals, yes, some puffers will nip more than others - the issue is with other fish. Larger puffers like porcupines aren't going to nip at fish's fins like a toby puffer will. A toby puffer will absolutely go to town on pretty much any other fish's fins, and if they're long and flowy then they're even more likely to. That's why they're not recommended with lionfish or really very many other fish 2 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Honestly, I think its one of those things were its just each individual fish. I bet some are model citizens and some not so much. Probably like angels in reef tanks. There may be some species that are less prone to nipping though. Most of what I saw was about toby species, so maybe the porcupines aren't such an issue. Hey! At least you have your sister to help and she's had reef tanks before. I have never had someone do a water change while I'm away, so I like to have a system that can go 2 weeks without major issues. If a family lived nearby and could do it, it would be so much easier. I always feel bad asking friends to do too much, especially ones that have no interest in tanks. Alright, going to go pick up a dwarf fuzzy lionfish! They only got in 2 and one already got put on hold. I called as they were unpacking boxes so goodness that person was fast. The other is on hold for me now, but I don't know what it looks like. I hope its pretty. Cant wait for pictures! 1 Quote Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Love the way Mushu's gills move on top and how he shuffles around. 1 Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 For corals, yes, some puffers will nip more than others - the issue is with other fish. Larger puffers like porcupines aren't going to nip at fish's fins like a toby puffer will. A toby puffer will absolutely go to town on pretty much any other fish's fins, and if they're long and flowy then they're even more likely to. That's why they're not recommended with lionfish or really very many other fish Good info, Ben! Glad to know porcupine's aren't as bad. Those are way cuter anyway Cant wait for pictures! Your wish is my command! Love the way Mushu's gills move on top and how he shuffles around. I know! I love how he moves those dorsal spines. They're hypnotizing. I got another lionfish!!! I asked one of my LFS to request a dwarf fuzzy lionfish from their wholesaler. The order came in today and they got in two lionfish, so I drove there to pick one up. Well I get there and they were dwarf zebra lionfish instead of dwarf fuzzy lionfish. I had been on the fence between those two species anyway and when I saw it in person, I decided I just had to snatch it up. Very beautiful fish and he even ate in the acclimation container they had him in since he'd just arrived from the wholesaler. I got him before he even went into the store's tank. He's only eating live food right now, but that's normal for lionfish. Its rare to find one already eating frozen, but they're supposed to be relatively easy to wean onto frozen. Plus they eat live ghost shrimp which are super easy to get locally and I can keep them in my FW planted betta tank. I got 9 ghost shrimp who are now living in my betta tank. Anyways, here's the new fish! He had a staredown with one of my ruby mithrix crabs, but decided he didn't look tasty. Mushu didn't want to be shown up! 8 Quote Link to comment
Chris! Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Girl u crazy... lionfish, predator.... whaaaaaattttt???? That is a sweet lionfish tho lol Goodluck I'll try to catch up another day! Quote Link to comment
Felicia Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 And a quick video for you guys! Girl u crazy... lionfish, predator.... whaaaaaattttt???? That is a sweet lionfish tho lol Goodluck I'll try to catch up another day! Not crazy! Needed new awesome fish! 4 Quote Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 That lionfish looks great in there! Randomly, I'm going to a talk next week on how to fish for, kill, fillet, and eat lionfish 3 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Congrats! Beautiful! I love the idea of keeping ghost shrimp on the betta tank. Except I would have to get rid of my betta... he eats ghost shrimp... lol. He is not "community friendly". He loves his Amano shrimp but everyone else is like ringing a dinner bell. Lol FYI you are making it real tempting to throw all my money at a 40B set up until the 150 upgrade lol 1 Quote Link to comment
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