Ratvans 'Rona Boredom Breaker [thread closed]

[Ratvan]

Just now, Snow_Phoenix said:

If it's paper-thin, skip it - even if it eats, it will most likely not make it. I bought a Yasha and the fish was almost two-dimensional. Tried my level best to feed it, and it ate sporadically, but eventually died. Extremely thin = could be internal parasites also. Not trying to deter you or discourage you, but it can be frustrating/difficult when you bring home something and it dies on you. 😞

 

(Basically it sucks, period)

 

The damsel might be a good buy, if it's very healthy. When's the Pictus slated to arrive? 

The pictus arrived at the LFS Thursday. It was too pale and skinny to collect hence me waiting another week. They did have some amazing nano and other Gobies in store though. Too expensive for my tastes

 

I did fall in love with this sailfin goby

 

Sigh, if only I had a 30G

 

Others

[Snow_Phoenix]

6 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

The pictus arrived at the LFS Thursday. It was too pale and skinny to collect hence me waiting another week. They did have some amazing nano and other Gobies in store though. Too expensive for my tastes

 

I did fall in love with this sailfin goby

 

Sigh, if only I had a 30G

 

Others

Ah - I was confused, sorry. The Pictus is actually a blenny, not a goby. I thought you were speaking of a different fish, something new that might have caught your eye.

 

The Leopard Sailfin blenny is very attractive, but grows very large and thick (like my Starry) and needs to eat coral polyps to survive (SPS ones, if I'm not mistaken). I don't think they're reefsafe, and they can be challenging to keep (best kept in large tank with mature SPS colonies) - you can read about them here:

 

https://seaunseen.com/leopard-blenny-2/

 

The first three gobies you listed are pico-sized, and a bit elusive. Especially the flaming prawn - beautiful, but you might not see it in your tank once it goes in. The 4th goby - the Dracula one is very pretty. Expensive too, but definitely nice.

 

Ever considered a Hi-Fin/pistol shrimp pair? 

[Ratvan]

3 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Ah - I was confused, sorry. The Pictus is actually a blenny, not a goby. I thought you were speaking of a different fish, something new that might have caught your eye.

 

The Leopard Sailfin blenny is very attractive, but grows very large and thick (like my Starry) and needs to eat coral polyps to survive (SPS ones, if I'm not mistaken). I don't think they're reefsafe, and they can be challenging to keep (best kept in large tank with mature SPS colonies) - you can read about them here:

 

https://seaunseen.com/leopard-blenny-2/

 

The first three gobies you listed are pico-sized, and a bit elusive. Especially the flaming prawn - beautiful, but you might not see it in your tank once it goes in. The 4th goby - the Dracula one is very pretty. Expensive too, but definitely nice.

 

Ever considered a Hi-Fin/pistol shrimp pair? 

Goby and Blenny seem to be interchangeable terms here in LFS at least 🤷‍♂️

 

Yeah he was a big boy, they have him in a RSM 130D with a pair of Clarkii Clowns. Literally add the Leopard or Yellow Coris Wrasse and that was my dream stocking. 

 

All the ones pictured are upwards of £100, a shrimp goby pair is upwards of £150 unless it's a watchman goby but meh on those. 

 

Pictus £20 if it lives another week

 

Damsel free as I paid £5 reservation fee on the Pictus

[Snow_Phoenix]

6 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

Goby and Blenny seem to be interchangeable terms here in LFS at least 🤷‍♂️

 

Yeah he was a big boy, they have him in a RSM 130D with a pair of Clarkii Clowns. Literally add the Leopard or Yellow Coris Wrasse and that was my dream stocking. 

 

All the ones pictured are upwards of £100, a shrimp goby pair is upwards of £150 unless it's a watchman goby but meh on those. 

 

Pictus £20 if it lives another week

 

Damsel free as I paid £5 reservation fee on the Pictus

My LFS was the same - they kept saying Mandarin goby and scooter blenny repeatedly until I slowly explained the difference between a dragonet and goby/blenny. Thankfully, they were open to hearing my explanation. Some folks hate to be corrected and will yell at you in return. Others don't mind the exchange of ideas or information, as long as they can gain more knowledge. 🙂

 

Wow! That's so expensive! 😮

 

I admit I paid RM 100 for my circus barred goby and was cringing because it was one of the most expensive fish I've ever bought (besides my Pink Streaked wrasse), and it was super tiny at <1" when I first got it. Plus, I used to never see it when I kept it in my 2.9G. Surprisingly, once I moved it to my 60G, I see it almost everyday during feeding time. It darts out quickly from under a ledge overhang to grab a few pellets and swims back into the darkness (all done upside-down, of course). 

 

It's still small, at ~2" now, but I've had him for a while and it's one of the more hardy fish in the tank. No regrets on buying him. 

[Ratvan]

5 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

My LFS was the same - they kept saying Mandarin goby and scooter blenny repeatedly until I slowly explained the difference between a dragonet and goby/blenny. Thankfully, they were open to hearing my explanation. Some folks hate to be corrected and will yell at you in return. Others don't mind the exchange of ideas or information, as long as they can gain more knowledge. 🙂

 

Wow! That's so expensive! 😮

 

I admit I paid RM 100 for my circus barred goby and was cringing because it was one of the most expensive fish I've ever bought (besides my Pink Streaked wrasse), and it was super tiny at <1" when I first got it. Plus, I used to never see it when I kept it in my 2.9G. Surprisingly, once I moved it to my 60G, I see it almost everyday during feeding time. It darts out quickly from under a ledge overhang to grab a few pellets and swims back into the darkness (all done upside-down, of course). 

 

It's still small, at ~2" now, but I've had him for a while and it's one of the more hardy fish in the tank. No regrets on buying him. 

I've had enough arguments with staff to not bother anymore

 

Yeah you can see my issue, not keen on spending that much on fish for it to only last a year or two 

 

I'm going to keep looking, no rush

 

 

[A.m.P]

Those prices are nuts, things are weird right now, granted, but at that point just find some local killifish, guppy, or molly breeders and get some pretty algae eaters for dirt cheap (iirc certain rainbowfish can do salt as well).

 

Otherwise +1 to the sassy little fluff fish, eats pests, hides in rocks, and chitters to itself constantly - what's not to love.

[Ratvan]

16 minutes ago, Amphrites said:

Those prices are nuts, things are weird right now, granted, but at that point just find some local killifish, guppy, or molly breeders and get some pretty algae eaters for dirt cheap (iirc certain rainbowfish can do salt as well).

 

Otherwise +1 to the sassy little fluff fish, eats pests, hides in rocks, and chitters to itself constantly - what's not to love.

My issue with the guppies is that i dont think that they would tolerate the flow in the tank. Really love the idea and keep coming back to it

Enough rock for the Damsel in here?

 

Also forgot to mention that the reefers that I sent the mushrooms, Xenia, GSP and Colt Corals way back last year, are sending my some Appleberry Hysterix and some Seriatopa frags. Which is nice

 

 

[A.m.P]

I'd probably be more concerned with the volume, 5g may be a touch small for even a springer's (chrysiptera traceyii?) - a lid would also be a good idea.
Hard to say about flow and endlers, mixed opinions on the web.

Scratch the rex, I always get confused thinking it's 1 3/4", but it's actually 7cm lol.

[Ratvan]

Hitch hiker spotted today

 

[debbeach13]

Nice

[Ratvan]

10 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Nice

Thanks, named him Derek

[mcarroll]

Predatory snail?

[Ratvan]

18 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

Predatory snail?

No idea if I'm honest. 

Initial though was Dove Snail, after awwww it's tiny

[mcarroll]

9 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

No idea if I'm honest. 

Initial though was Dove Snail, after awwww it's tiny

I'm no snail expert, but I suspect he may be a snail eater.  There are apparently herbivores in the group, but none of the ones I could find positive ID for look like yours.

 

FWIW, "dove snail" doesn't help much as it seems to be a common name.  (Too common.)

 

I found one hobby site claiming "dove snails" to be algae eaters....not consistent with what else I've seen on the family (and they aren't built like an algae eater), but none of this is a lock until we're more sure of the ID.

 

It doesn't come out and say exactly what we need to know, but ceck out "Phylogenetic Analysis of the Columbellidae (Mollusca: Neogastropoda) and the Evolution of Herbivory from Carnivory" on JSTOR.org.....you can sign up for a free account and see the whole doc.  (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3226997)

 

 

[Sancho]

1 hour ago, Ratvan said:

Thanks, named him Derek

Derek I knew a Derek.....he wasn't a pleasant fellow

[debbeach13]

Ah yes Derek. He sure got things stirred up around here for awhile.

[Ratvan]

3 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Ah yes Derek. He sure got things stirred up around here for awhile.

I feel like i unearthed some former Drama here

[debbeach13]

36 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

I feel like i unearthed some former Drama here

Absolutely! Hot topic after Hot topic.

[Ratvan]

So both my acropora Efflo and porites have both gone completely white seemingly overnight. 

 

So I panicked and undertook a full water change, without testing parameters ooops

[Proxo]

small daily water changes is normally better, in reef world? so i heard.
- unless water parameters are an exact ofc.

[debbeach13]

I only ever match the SG for the weekly. If doing 50% or more then I might also check the temp. if I remember to.

[Ratvan]

I assume since this guy has been all over the two frags they are done for? 

 

 

 

 

[Tamberav]

I kept one of those predatory snails for YEARS... I grew attached to him. He also could be an algae one... who knows. The one predatory one I had did not cause any major issues... he didn't eat cuc fast enough to matter although the price of snails in on the rise now.... 

 

I have a pictus in my 5g and I love them... love love love.. they are hard to find in the US. I saw Snow's first and it turned into a MUST HAVE fish for me.

[Ratvan]

So today is Thursday? Makes it 5 days between glass scrapings

 

Need some more CuC, definately want some Cerith snails

[Matteo]

8 hours ago, Ratvan said:

So today is Thursday? Makes it 5 days between glass scrapings

 

Need some more CuC, definately want some Cerith snails

disgusting 🤢😜😘