sapling Posted December 22, 2018 Author Share Posted December 22, 2018 My rocks? Just dry reef saver rock from brs, have used it since the tank was set up Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Prob came in on a coral, MUCH more likely than some sort of larval fish in your phyto. Maybe hidden in the euphyllia branches. 1 Quote Link to comment
sapling Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 If it came with a euphyllia wouldn’t it have died during the quarantine process when I dip with coralrx? Ik my corals are pretty small with only 1 head Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Well, first youd have to prove coral rx even works. As much as I've ever found, its ingredients are "essential oils and extracts" like that says anything. 🧚♂️dust, IMO. I find FW dips to be far more effective. However, it is possible a fish could survive it. As long as it's not exposed too long. What find odd, though, is why did the fish stay on the coral? Dips dont usually kill. If they did, youd be killing your corals. They are inverts, just like the pests you are trying to remove. Dips irritate, which usually causes pests to try and escape. The more I think about this, the more unlikely I find every scenario. Are you sure a family member didnt get you a surprise fish for christmas? Quote Link to comment
sapling Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 26 minutes ago, RayWhisperer said: Well, first youd have to prove coral rx even works. As much as I've ever found, its ingredients are "essential oils and extracts" like that says anything. 🧚♂️dust, IMO. I find FW dips to be far more effective. However, it is possible a fish could survive it. As long as it's not exposed too long. What find odd, though, is why did the fish stay on the coral? Dips dont usually kill. If they did, youd be killing your corals. They are inverts, just like the pests you are trying to remove. Dips irritate, which usually causes pests to try and escape. The more I think about this, the more unlikely I find every scenario. Are you sure a family member didnt get you a surprise fish for christmas? If rx isn’t potent enough to kill a fish, surely it is enough of an irritant to cause some sort reaction from a fish to show itself if hidden? As for the last part I’m positive, they aren’t very aware of what a saltwater aquarium is. When they first saw my corals they called them plants. Their experiences with aquariums is plastic plants colorful pebbles and goldfish, I don’t think any of them would know where to find such a weird fish I couldn’t identify and the steps to add it without mortality. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tom@HaslettMI Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 I can’t find the name of the fish, but I recall hearing people occasionally get hitchhiker livebearing fish in their macroalgae. I would check with the retailer you got the macro from to see if they can shed some light on this mystery. 2 Quote Link to comment
sapling Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 I know I received my cleanup crew and macroalgae from reef cleaners. Maybe @johnmaloney can give some input if he has fish in the system? 1 Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 15 minutes ago, sapling said: If rx isn’t potent enough to kill a fish, surely it is enough of an irritant to cause some sort reaction from a fish to show itself if hidden? As for the last part I’m positive, they aren’t very aware of what a saltwater aquarium is. When they first saw my corals they called them plants. Their experiences with aquariums is plastic plants colorful pebbles and goldfish, I don’t think any of them would know where to find such a weird fish I couldn’t identify and the steps to add it without mortality. That was part of my post. I said it would likely try and escape. Cleanup crew was my next suggestion. I'm sure you didnt dip those. 🙂 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Feed some mysis, sit still and try to video it. Quote Link to comment
Ocellaris PDX Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 LOL, so strange. I can't wait to see where this goes. <_< 1 Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Well, I’m no expert, but there aren’t too many livebearers in saltwater that I know of. There are mollies, guppies and endless. However, even though they can live in salt, they are generally found in brackish. I suppose it could be one of those, but his description of a guppy swimming is pretty spot on. All those I just listed would swim the same. There are the black or yellow brotula. I’m afraid I don’t know much of anything about them beyond cryptic livebearer. Those are all the small, livebearing fish I can think of in saltwater. 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 @Snow_Phoenix had a yellow brotulid until recently...... maybe check her thread for info and pics. 1 Quote Link to comment
sapling Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 I saw it again, it was in a crevice/cave that is dark, I was able to see it. It looks transparent and has a dark line in the middle, it hovers and does not lay on the ground as soon as I brought the camera in it moved away from view in the dark. Here is a drawing. I specifically remember the line in the center, it was transparent in the white part while the bottom of it was dark. I remember how it’s tail shape looked as well 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Hi - I can't link my pics to your thread for some reason (airport wifi + mobile sucks). But I had pics of my brotulid on my tank journal thread. Vids too. The fins and movement of the fish are very distinctive - it undulates like a wave and the fish can swim backwards as well. In the short time I had it, I only saw it a handful of times because it's cryptic and nocturnal. Also, if you shine a light on its eyes at night, the eyes are reflective like a cat's. I never figured out what it did eat but mine was healthy until I treated it with Prazi for Ich and flukes. This fish can't handle meds very well - best to apply TTM if it's sick. (Thanks Christy for the ping). 2 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Just found this old photo of my yellow brotulid, Ghost. He died 36 hours into QT. Was a good fish even though I rarely saw him. Hope this helps you somehow. 1 Quote Link to comment
sapling Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 @Snow_Phoenix that is a beautiful fish but idk if I saw the long fins like that, I only know I saw the tail fin for sure 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Just now, sapling said: @Snow_Phoenix that is a beautiful fish but idk if I saw the long fins like that, I only know I saw the tail fin for sure If you can, try to get a full body pic of it somehow. Especially the back half - it's fins are very distinctive from other marine fish. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
sapling Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 5 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said: If you can, try to get a full body pic of it somehow. Especially the back half - it's fins are very distinctive from other marine fish. It’s just so cryptic and when I saw it just now it wouldn’t leave the dark area, Even when I broadcast fed the tank 3 times today to try and lure it out. I only could make out the body shape cause it didn’t notice me when I saw it in a cave. I was able to try and draw it. When I try to bring the camera in it notices and then the camera acted up since it’s totally actinic and almost off for the day, on top of being in the dark. It’s frustrating but extremely exciting. 3 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 11 minutes ago, sapling said: It’s just so cryptic and when I saw it just now it wouldn’t leave the dark area, Even when I broadcast fed the tank 3 times today to try and lure it out. I only could make out the body shape cause it didn’t notice me when I saw it in a cave. I was able to try and draw it. When I try to bring the camera in it notices and then the camera acted up since it’s totally actinic and almost off for the day, on top of being in the dark. It’s frustrating but extremely exciting. Sounds like the possibilty of a very small brotulid. Behavior-wise, it seems like a match, but it could be a tiny goby or blenny too. 1 Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Now I may be way off. Like I said, I don’t know much about them. But I thought they were collected out of indo? That would kinda rule out the reefcleaners pickup possibility. I’m just reluctant to believe a tiny fish stayed in or on a coral through a dip. Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 1 minute ago, RayWhisperer said: Now I may be way off. Like I said, I don’t know much about them. But I thought they were collected out of indo? That would kinda rule out the reefcleaners pickup possibility. I’m just reluctant to believe a tiny fish stayed in or on a coral through a dip. Actually, one of the most 'common' fish hitchikers that I read online (besides gobies & blennies) tend to be dusky brotulids. Yes, they do tend to be from the Indo area, but I read one thread of someone from the US pulling out a hitchiker brotulid from his system. I'm not sure if he used Indo rock though (if I can find the link to that guy's thread again, I'll stick it here). There's nil info on keeping brotulids online, only because they're so secretive and no one likes a fish that hides all the time. I'm rereading through this thread - you said the fish survived through a coral dip? That is odd. Quote Link to comment
Joevember Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 How much rock do you have in there? You could take most of it out to get a good look at the fish if there isn't too much of it in there. 1 Quote Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 7 minutes ago, Joevember said: How much rock do you have in there? You could take most of it out to get a good look at the fish if there isn't too much of it in there. If it turns out to be a brotulid somehow, he'll probably need to remove everything. These guys move fast, and they can squeeze into really small rock crevices. Will be tough to extract it, especially a small one. Quote Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 16 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said: Actually, one of the most 'common' fish hitchikers that I read online (besides gobies & blennies) tend to be dusky brotulids. Yes, they do tend to be from the Indo area, but I read one thread of someone from the US pulling out a hitchiker brotulid from his system. I'm not sure if he used Indo rock though (if I can find the link to that guy's thread again, I'll stick it here). There's nil info on keeping brotulids online, only because they're so secretive and no one likes a fish that hides all the time. I'm rereading through this thread - you said the fish survived through a coral dip? That is odd. Basic rundown. Small system, dry rock, only livestock were sexy shrimp (removed), corals, and cleanup crew. Corals were dipped with coral rx. Coral rx isn’t going to kill a fish with brief exposure, but I can’t imagine one would stay still for it. Quote Link to comment
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