Picos and Dinos

[mcarroll]

1 hour ago, Jakesaw said:

Sadly, I may have traumatized my clown in the process as somehow the net I caught him in hooked him in the process.

It's good to have a net around "just in case" but it is actually by far not the best way to transfer fish from one place to another for just the reason (and others).

 

1 hour ago, Jakesaw said:

I transferred him to tank in a cup for safety.

Your gut led you to a more correct choice!   Trust your gut in this hobby.

 

One of these might be even better: https://www.leesaqpet.com/index.php/shop/aquatic/specimen-container,-break-resistant,-small-detail

[Ratvan]

2 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

It's good to have a net around "just in case" but it is actually by far not the best way to transfer fish from one place to another for just the reason (and others).

 

Your gut led you to a more correct choice!   Trust your gut in this hobby.

 

One of these might be even better: https://www.leesaqpet.com/index.php/shop/aquatic/specimen-container,-break-resistant,-small-detail

I might have to keep my eye out for one of those, would make a great quick treatment tank. All i ever see are the mesh breeder nets or the plastic with vents to allow water movement which is why i use a janky tupperware and polybox contraption

[Jakesaw]

23 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

Pic or it didn't happen!   Half-kidding....juvenile Black Damselfish are often sold as Talbot's as the coloration is generally similar.

 

 

I posted 3 pics the other day and reached my 25MB limit.  NO PIC FOR YOU!

 

Fish has  a bright yellow stripe on it's head, and a purplish white body, with 2 x yellow belly fins, and a black spash on his top fin.

 

I was expecting a more whitish body, but it's a light purple more than white and looks better than white would.  Just looked up black damselfish and it's definitely NOT THAT. 

[Jakesaw]

34 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

 

IMO the smallest tank a noob reefer should start with is 20-30 gallons – and 20 gallons is REALLY small for saltwater.  (ie smaller is "nano")  To paraphrase about 10,000,000 Usenet posts from the 90's, "30-50 gallons would be better ideal starting range." 😉  (If you're talking about excluding fish and only doing corals and inverts, then smaller can become less problematic in a number of ways.  Still not "easier" than a bigger tank.)

Agree on all counts, but I had to toe dip into hobby if I was to ever start.  Just my nature.   I started with RO/DI water from LFS and a 13 year old salt bucket that had hardened into a brick in my closet.  A buck a gallon for water would have annoyed me.  Especially when I was having trouble mixing water early on b/c of old salt, and had my first unrinsed sand issue where I just flushed the entire tank water down the toilet to siphon out the cloudiness.  

 

Once I had gotten a RO/DI on sale, I wasn't as limited, and finally got a new bucket or Reef Crystals - Hallelujah!!!...  20L would have been a better starting point. But it forced me to learn some lessons I may not have had to otherwise. 

 

So far so good on the new scape.  The 2 fish wanted the big island mini-cave, but they are working it out.  It looks like Clowny gets the big island, and the Talbot will settle for the smaller one.  We'll see how the evening goes and if it holds. 

 

Kindof like watching 2 fish try on shoes to see what fits best, as they explore the tank, but they both want the same shoes and only one their size. 

 

 

[mcarroll]

This is a juvenile Black Damselfish – the intensity of the white, yellow and blue is not exaggerated in this photo, which is not mine:

 

This is a Talbot's:

[mcarroll]

The Black Damselfish will grow and morph into a 6" fish that looks a lot like this:

 

They're supposed to eat some soft coral in the wild....hoping mine will eat my mushrooms when he grows up. 😉 

[Jakesaw]

22 minutes ago, mcarroll said:

The Black Damselfish will grow and morph into a 6" fish that looks a lot like this:

 

That's crazy.

 

Good luck with that..

 

Mine's definitely a Talbot's.  After some bad experiences introducing fish, I do my research before anything goes into my tank.  I chose the Talbot's Damsel after doing a bit of research on the fish.

[mcarroll]

I'm ready for it.  He was a purposeful rescue on my part.  It's just him and a Yellow Tang in a 125 Gallon.  He's maybe 4" long including tail fins right now....still showing a fair amount of juvenile coloration, but sometimes for short periods almost-black.

 

Collectors, wholesalers and retailers often don't know the difference – I'm glad you did and got what you wanted!! 👍

[M. Tournesol]

11 hours ago, Jakesaw said:

I posted 3 pics the other day and reached my 25MB limit.  NO PIC FOR YOU!

It's 25mb for each post

[filefishfinatic]

talbots are a good choice because they are not as reliant on table coral 

[Jakesaw]

4 hours ago, M. Tournesol said:

It's 25mb for each post

didn't know that - thanks

 

The Talbot's Damsel is already cruising around the tank with lights off.  Gets to learn the lay of the land while clown is sleeping sideways by powerhead. 

 

Smart fish!

[filefishfinatic]

good job with taming the beast. one fish you could try if you wanted a 3rd could be some kind of dwarf scorpion like the rooster, the redfin, or the butterfly goby. they are not that predatory and they are out a lot. they can eat the pods in a year old tank. they are also venomus so the clown will not bother them 

[Jakesaw]

Old & New 

 

[Jakesaw]

Phone camera sucks, and I have dino on 3 walls. When my algae grows over Dino, I'll scrape the 2 side walls so it doesn't look so mucky

 

New fish definitely seems at happy though. Active and ate a half a dozen pellets this morning.