Zante said:Looks like a shop here in London will be getting first pick of six blue velvet angels coming to the UK soon.
I've already put dibs on them
very nice!
Fingers crossed you succeed in getting them.
Lister's Paradise
- Thread starter Zante
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very nice!
Fingers crossed you succeed in getting them.
Yesterday evening two Fiji herald's angels and two mandarins have joined the family.
The female angel has been hiding in the rockwork but this evening I've spotted her getting serviced by one of the cleaner shrimps. She promptly disappeared in the reef as I approached the tank. The male (or at least the dominant one which will become male soon) is more settled in and while still timid, is more out and about.
The tomini tang is going through the usual routine of bullying the new fish for the first few days.
The mandarins have vanished. Not surprising to be honest, I don't expect to see them out for a few days yet, but I just about spotted the female foraging inside the reef, nicely coloured and active. I might have spotted the male too, I'm not too sure. No worries though, I am a bit impatient to see them out confidently roaming the rocks, but I can just sit and wait (not that I can do much else anyway).
Once they've settled in and are out and about I'll post a new video.
Last night I had quite a bad headache (stress from work I'm guessing) and I just could no longer sleep after three in the morning. I decided to inspect the rockwork with a torch, so I could look at the life crawling on the rocks, maybe spot something new.
I did spot some new critters: some tiny serpent stars, black and white. I could just about see the tentacles waving out of the rock in two or three places.
Also a nasty surprise: a while ago I managed to catch a crab that was crossing the sand at night. It looked a bit like an emerald crab, both in size and shape, maybe the carapace a bit thicker, dark brown in color and quite quick on its legs. Last night I spotted another. I wasn't able to even try and catch it as i had a MUCH weaker torch than the previous time and the light wasn't enough to pin it down. Also I saw it when it was quite close to the rocks and it dived right in.
I must say I've lost no fish to these crabs yet, but it has to go, I don't care. I don't want to take the risk.
The female angel has been hiding in the rockwork but this evening I've spotted her getting serviced by one of the cleaner shrimps. She promptly disappeared in the reef as I approached the tank. The male (or at least the dominant one which will become male soon) is more settled in and while still timid, is more out and about.
The tomini tang is going through the usual routine of bullying the new fish for the first few days.
The mandarins have vanished. Not surprising to be honest, I don't expect to see them out for a few days yet, but I just about spotted the female foraging inside the reef, nicely coloured and active. I might have spotted the male too, I'm not too sure. No worries though, I am a bit impatient to see them out confidently roaming the rocks, but I can just sit and wait (not that I can do much else anyway).
Once they've settled in and are out and about I'll post a new video.
Last night I had quite a bad headache (stress from work I'm guessing) and I just could no longer sleep after three in the morning. I decided to inspect the rockwork with a torch, so I could look at the life crawling on the rocks, maybe spot something new.
I did spot some new critters: some tiny serpent stars, black and white. I could just about see the tentacles waving out of the rock in two or three places.
Also a nasty surprise: a while ago I managed to catch a crab that was crossing the sand at night. It looked a bit like an emerald crab, both in size and shape, maybe the carapace a bit thicker, dark brown in color and quite quick on its legs. Last night I spotted another. I wasn't able to even try and catch it as i had a MUCH weaker torch than the previous time and the light wasn't enough to pin it down. Also I saw it when it was quite close to the rocks and it dived right in.
I must say I've lost no fish to these crabs yet, but it has to go, I don't care. I don't want to take the risk.
I am completely baffled at why I just keep killing herald's angels.
I just fished out the corpse of the female which was stuck under a rock, as if it has been jammed there, I've had to completely dismantle the rockwork to take it out. Silver lining: I like the new layout of the rocks much better, yippeee
The male has gone blind. It's now in a separate tank with a lower salinity and a bit of methylene blue. He's had a freshwater dip and seems to have settled in. He doesn't seem in any particular distress, except for being blind.
If he recovers I might consider getting another female, if he dies, that's the end of herald's angels, however much I like them.
Fortunately the mandarins seem to have settled in and are cruising the rockwork. I have finally spotted them both, but I get the feeling I scared them into hiding when I rearranged the rockwork to get the dead angel out. Not to worry, They are alive and well and I'm in no hurry to see them now that I know this.
They are not a pair yet, but I'm not aiming to breed them, so two individuals will do just fine for me. If they pair up: bonus.
I just fished out the corpse of the female which was stuck under a rock, as if it has been jammed there, I've had to completely dismantle the rockwork to take it out. Silver lining: I like the new layout of the rocks much better, yippeee
The male has gone blind. It's now in a separate tank with a lower salinity and a bit of methylene blue. He's had a freshwater dip and seems to have settled in. He doesn't seem in any particular distress, except for being blind.
If he recovers I might consider getting another female, if he dies, that's the end of herald's angels, however much I like them.
Fortunately the mandarins seem to have settled in and are cruising the rockwork. I have finally spotted them both, but I get the feeling I scared them into hiding when I rearranged the rockwork to get the dead angel out. Not to worry, They are alive and well and I'm in no hurry to see them now that I know this.
They are not a pair yet, but I'm not aiming to breed them, so two individuals will do just fine for me. If they pair up: bonus.
I found the male dead in the hospital tank this morning.
I have decided I'll drop the herald's angels for now and change my supplier, I wasn't too happy with the current shop anyway for several reasons.
If and when I decide to introduce a pair of them again I will go for a different supplier and have them hold on to them for three or four weeks (paying a little extra if necessary) to make sure they won't die one week after purchase like the other four did.
I suspect decompression issues as the fish were ordered special for me and the wholesaler had none in stock when I placed the order. I'll mention that to the new supplier and see what they say, but it's not really up to them, or even to the wholesaler, but to the collector.
I have plenty of time to think about it anyway, I might even consider a collection trip as a holiday, but... we'll see, it could be a bureocratic nightmare.
For the moment I want to concentrate on the new clam tank which has been just plumbed in the reef's sump, so they share the water volume, getting an anemone for my clowns and once those are done look at the upgrade for my discus.
I'll be thinking about yellow angels in late autumn at the earliest.
I have decided I'll drop the herald's angels for now and change my supplier, I wasn't too happy with the current shop anyway for several reasons.
If and when I decide to introduce a pair of them again I will go for a different supplier and have them hold on to them for three or four weeks (paying a little extra if necessary) to make sure they won't die one week after purchase like the other four did.
I suspect decompression issues as the fish were ordered special for me and the wholesaler had none in stock when I placed the order. I'll mention that to the new supplier and see what they say, but it's not really up to them, or even to the wholesaler, but to the collector.
I have plenty of time to think about it anyway, I might even consider a collection trip as a holiday, but... we'll see, it could be a bureocratic nightmare.
For the moment I want to concentrate on the new clam tank which has been just plumbed in the reef's sump, so they share the water volume, getting an anemone for my clowns and once those are done look at the upgrade for my discus.
I'll be thinking about yellow angels in late autumn at the earliest.
Thats a real shame that is happening.
I hope you find out the cause as to why the herald's angels keep passing away.
Good luck with yellow angels in autumn.
I hope you find out the cause as to why the herald's angels keep passing away.
Good luck with yellow angels in autumn.
I've sent an email to TMC asking for an explanation. It doesn't make sense that every other fish I bought from their stock is in rude health and these angels just cannot stay alive.
Let's see what they respond.
Let's see what they respond.
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGEI7FciKks
Lovely anemone!
Bummer!
I also had bad luck with clowns being excessively rough with anemones, although the ones I had eventually took it a step further and started eating an anemone they'd safely lived in for a while (although, bizarrely enough, that particular anemone somehow survived once the clowns were removed). The initial settling in period is somewhat critical for anemones and when things often get tipped over the edge stress-wise for them. If you didn't already do something like this, a trick I've heard/read and used myself is to keep the anemone in a basket for a while if it's attached a rock or keep the clowns in a basket while the anemone settles in so that the anemone can recover from the stress of the environmental shift without being bopped around by fish.
Two court jester gobies (Koumansetta rainfordi) and a possum wrasse (Wetmorella nigropinnata) joined the family.
The two gobies are out in the open just a couple of hours after being added. They have been hanging together, but occasionally splitting as they explore the tank. They seem quite nervous but not exactly afraid. I'm sure when they settle in they will be very active.
Funnily enough the butterfly seems to enjoy shepherding them to one end of the tank. He's now stopped, but he used to gently guide them to the far end of the tank: no aggression or anything, just guiding them by slowly swimming sideways towards them, one at a time until they were where he wanted them. He must have gotten bored with the game, but it was amusing to watch while it lasted.
The possum wrasse is hiding in the right reef. He did come out once and he seemed to be ok. He was very active in the shop tank, so I'm sure he'll be out and about once he's settled.
I'll let them settle in and the next weekend I'll see if I can do a video update. I also have another before and after slideshow for the corals.
I have also added a pink cucumber to the clean up crew. The previous pink cucumber vanished in the rockwork and the black one I got just stays in its corner on the front panel against the top brace of the tank.
I had to try VERY hard from jumping up and down with joy when, while I was at the shop, someone brought in a mated pair of Fiji yellow angels, the ones I have been having do much trouble with. They'd been living in this customer's tank for a year and were very well acclimatised to captivity.
Of course there had to be a reason why they were brought back, and I was devastated to find out it was because they'd started eating corals.
I had to get rid of the anemone. The clowns were being quite rough with it and were literally killing it. I still want to get an anemone and I want the clowns to host it, but I'm in no hurry. I'll just wait for the right one (bigger) to come along. Still unsure whether to get a carpet or a sebae, I'm leaning more towards the carpet for the moment.
So, currently the fish population of the tank is:
1 Falcula butterfly (Chaetodon falcula)
1 pair of percula clowns (Amphiprion percula)
1 tomini tang (Ctenochaetus tominiensis)
1 regal tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
1 scissortail dartfish (Pteleotris evides)
1 yellowtail anthias (Pseudanthias flavicauda)
2 mandarins (Synchiropus splendidus)
1 possum wrasse (Wetmorella nigropinnata)
2 court jester gobies (Koumansetta rainfordi)
1 filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus)
1 foxface (Siganus vulpinus)
2 orange spot gobies (Valenciennea puellaris)
I'm now looking at completing the population with
1 more scissortail dartfish (Pteleotris evides)
2 coral beauties (Centropyge bispinosa)
2 flame angels (Centropyge loricula)
2 fiji yellow angels (Centropyge heraldi)
1 yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens)
1 Two Spot Bristletooth Tang (Ctenochaetus binotatus)
2 firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica)
2 blue gudgeon dartfish (Ptereleotris heteroptera)
1 yellow wrasse (Halichoeres chrysus)
1 sixline wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
Not all of them, naturally, this is more of a wishlist I'm putting out for advice and comments.
The two gobies are out in the open just a couple of hours after being added. They have been hanging together, but occasionally splitting as they explore the tank. They seem quite nervous but not exactly afraid. I'm sure when they settle in they will be very active.
Funnily enough the butterfly seems to enjoy shepherding them to one end of the tank. He's now stopped, but he used to gently guide them to the far end of the tank: no aggression or anything, just guiding them by slowly swimming sideways towards them, one at a time until they were where he wanted them. He must have gotten bored with the game, but it was amusing to watch while it lasted.
The possum wrasse is hiding in the right reef. He did come out once and he seemed to be ok. He was very active in the shop tank, so I'm sure he'll be out and about once he's settled.
I'll let them settle in and the next weekend I'll see if I can do a video update. I also have another before and after slideshow for the corals.
I have also added a pink cucumber to the clean up crew. The previous pink cucumber vanished in the rockwork and the black one I got just stays in its corner on the front panel against the top brace of the tank.
I had to try VERY hard from jumping up and down with joy when, while I was at the shop, someone brought in a mated pair of Fiji yellow angels, the ones I have been having do much trouble with. They'd been living in this customer's tank for a year and were very well acclimatised to captivity.
Of course there had to be a reason why they were brought back, and I was devastated to find out it was because they'd started eating corals.
I had to get rid of the anemone. The clowns were being quite rough with it and were literally killing it. I still want to get an anemone and I want the clowns to host it, but I'm in no hurry. I'll just wait for the right one (bigger) to come along. Still unsure whether to get a carpet or a sebae, I'm leaning more towards the carpet for the moment.
So, currently the fish population of the tank is:
1 Falcula butterfly (Chaetodon falcula)
1 pair of percula clowns (Amphiprion percula)
1 tomini tang (Ctenochaetus tominiensis)
1 regal tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
1 scissortail dartfish (Pteleotris evides)
1 yellowtail anthias (Pseudanthias flavicauda)
2 mandarins (Synchiropus splendidus)
1 possum wrasse (Wetmorella nigropinnata)
2 court jester gobies (Koumansetta rainfordi)
1 filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus)
1 foxface (Siganus vulpinus)
2 orange spot gobies (Valenciennea puellaris)
I'm now looking at completing the population with
1 more scissortail dartfish (Pteleotris evides)
2 coral beauties (Centropyge bispinosa)
2 flame angels (Centropyge loricula)
2 fiji yellow angels (Centropyge heraldi)
1 yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens)
1 Two Spot Bristletooth Tang (Ctenochaetus binotatus)
2 firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica)
2 blue gudgeon dartfish (Ptereleotris heteroptera)
1 yellow wrasse (Halichoeres chrysus)
1 sixline wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
Not all of them, naturally, this is more of a wishlist I'm putting out for advice and comments.
I have woken up this morning to find the cyano and flatworm invasion starting to die down.
Yesterday I was seeing the cyano starting to creep on the corals, and this morning the rocks were pretty much clean, and the sand no longer had the reddish layer flapping in the current.
Also the flatworms seem to have disappeared.
The only thing I changed was reducing the feedings from 4 to 2 daily, and keeping the skimmer on round the clock, instead of 8 hours per day.
I'm not sure if that did the trick, but I am amazed how quickly things have changed.
Yesterday I was seeing the cyano starting to creep on the corals, and this morning the rocks were pretty much clean, and the sand no longer had the reddish layer flapping in the current.
Also the flatworms seem to have disappeared.
The only thing I changed was reducing the feedings from 4 to 2 daily, and keeping the skimmer on round the clock, instead of 8 hours per day.
I'm not sure if that did the trick, but I am amazed how quickly things have changed.
Ok, now I know there's something in my tank killing fish.
I have only one mandarin left, all the chromis are gone, the pyjama wrasse and the female coral beauty haven't shown up in days and the male coral beauty is dead, all of the cucumbers are dead and so are two of the cleaner shrimps.
First of all I must avoid replacing the dead fish.
In the meantime I need to keep an eye on the tank and see if there's a predator in there.
I have only one mandarin left, all the chromis are gone, the pyjama wrasse and the female coral beauty haven't shown up in days and the male coral beauty is dead, all of the cucumbers are dead and so are two of the cleaner shrimps.
First of all I must avoid replacing the dead fish.
In the meantime I need to keep an eye on the tank and see if there's a predator in there.
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