A sad day for my tank

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bigtankbigfish

Guest
My little picasso was finally eaten today by my grouper. Ive had him for 2 years and he was easily the most interesting fish Ive ever had. He and grouper co-existed or about 3 months peacefully until today. Dont know what made him do it he was well fed.
Do you think i could house a large volitan with this grouper. Hes about 11-12 inches and mean. I have a 220.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by BigTankBigFish
http:///forum/post/2676678
My little picasso was finally eaten today by my grouper. Ive had him for 2 years and he was easily the most interesting fish Ive ever had. He and grouper co-existed or about 3 months peacefully until today. Dont know what made him do it he was well fed.
Do you think i could house a large volitan with this grouper. Hes about 11-12 inches and mean. I have a 220.
Groupers can be pretty good tankmates for lions. Both usually won't bother anything they can't swallow and as you found out, they can swallow a surprisingly big mouthful. Groupers can often be downright nasty & territorial, however. Also, big groupers can be such pigs that its hard to feed the lion. There are always potential problems with fish this big, but you may well get this to work.
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
How big was the Trigger? Those are 2 fish I'd think could coexist, but maybe you need a bigger Trigger rather then a Junvi if that was the case.
 
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bigtankbigfish

Guest
the trigger was only about 2-3 inches long. His growth rate was far to slow to keep up with his larger tankmate. He probably grew 1/2 an inch in a few years. I just dont know why they seemed like best friends for so long and then suddenly he became a snack.
what would happen if the lion fish stabs the grouper in self defense?
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by BigTankBigFish
http:///forum/post/2677276
the trigger was only about 2-3 inches long. His growth rate was far to slow to keep up with his larger tankmate. He probably grew 1/2 an inch in a few years. I just dont know why they seemed like best friends for so long and then suddenly he became a snack.
what would happen if the lion fish stabs the grouper in self defense?
The grouper would probably learn to leave him alone; which he should instinctively know anyway. I doubt your trigger & grouper were "friends"; (if thats even possible among fish) the grouper just hadn't figured out that he was now big enough to eat the trigger.
 
hammerhed7

hammerhed7

Active Member
Originally Posted by Clown4Life
http:///forum/post/2678259
If that happend to me I would be the one with the full belly I would get that grouper and throw him on the grill.

unfortunately one of the only cures for a large mean grouper. If you are going to add a tank mate try it soon before the grouper stakes it out for himself. Try a large sized puffer or trigger, possibly a lunar wrasse. What kind of grouper do you have?
 
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bigtankbigfish

Guest
well, i added the volitan last night. I got the largest one they had obviously to make it a challenge for the grouper to eat. As soon as the bag hit the water to acclimate the grouper came up fast and nailed the bag 3 or 4 times and the volitan quilled up and charged him. They had a stare down through the bag for a hour or so before I released him. As of this morning they are completely ignoring eachother. I think it may work after all.
One challenge will be feeding as someone on here mentioned. The grouper tends to feed fast and agressively as soon as the food hits the water where as the lion prefers to stalk. I dumped 3 dozen ghost shrimp in this morning, i'd say the feeding was 85% grouper 15% lion. I will have pics very soon. I
The grouper is a powder blue grouper.
 
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bigtankbigfish

Guest
Originally Posted by Hammerhed7
http:///forum/post/2678421
unfortunately one of the only cures for a large mean grouper. If you are going to add a tank mate try it soon before the grouper stakes it out for himself. Try a large sized puffer or trigger, possibly a lunar wrasse. What kind of grouper do you have?
i have already owned nearly every species of trigger ever. Id like to try a wrasse but i can never find any over 5 inches or so. I need like 8 or 9 minimum to stand a chance. my grouper has gotta be 12 inches.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by BigTankBigFish
http:///forum/post/2678817
i have already owned nearly every species of trigger ever. Id like to try a wrasse but i can never find any over 5 inches or so. I need like 8 or 9 minimum to stand a chance. my grouper has gotta be 12 inches.
I'd set up a QT before adding more fish, a mandatory piece of equipment, IMO. It helps new fish to start eating in a peaceful atmosphere and minimizes the chances of infecting your DT with disease/parasites; which are easy to treat in a QT, a nightmare in your DT. A very minimal expense, if you do it on the "cheap". I sure wouldn't add any trigger with the lion. When you're ready (several weeks minimum, IMO); a large, Australian harlequin tusk (wrasse) would be a great addition to your tank, IMO. There are lots of big ones on the market now. Magnificent and peaceful fish; but pricey. These are big, robust fish that a 12" grouper can't eat.
 
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bigtankbigfish

Guest
when i make a QT, what exactly are we talking about doing. What do i need to do? Just add fresh saltwater to a say a 50 gallon backup tank and let it sit? Do i need to add live rock? Do i need a lot of filtration? Does it need a heater? I'd love to have one "on the cheap" in case something happens.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by BigTankBigFish
http:///forum/post/2679188
when i make a QT, what exactly are we talking about doing. What do i need to do? Just add fresh saltwater to a say a 50 gallon backup tank and let it sit? Do i need to add live rock? Do i need a lot of filtration? Does it need a heater? I'd love to have one "on the cheap" in case something happens.
A Qt can be just a tank ( say 20 gal), water (close to the params of your DT) heater, some pieces of PVC (or other safe stuff)) for shelter, and a filter of some sort (no substrate). A HOT filter works great; keep an extra filter pad or sponge somewhere in your main system and put in your QT when needed--instant cycle. I just toss mine after use. Craigs list is a great place to find what you need.
 
slackjawed

slackjawed

Member
Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/2679133
I'd set up a QT before adding more fish, a mandatory piece of equipment, IMO. It helps new fish to start eating in a peaceful atmosphere and minimizes the chances of infecting your DT with disease/parasites; which are easy to treat in a QT, a nightmare in your DT. A very minimal expense, if you do it on the "cheap". I sure wouldn't add any trigger with the lion. When you're ready (several weeks minimum, IMO); a large, Australian harlequin tusk (wrasse) would be a great addition to your tank, IMO. There are lots of big ones on the market now. Magnificent and peaceful fish; but pricey. These are big, robust fish that a 12" grouper can't eat.
just fresh water dip all new fish
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by slackjawed
http:///forum/post/2679348
just fresh water dip all new fish
Let me think. 1.),Bob Fenner, arguably the most respected authority on marine fishkeeping says in "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" : "you need a second (quarantine) aquarium if you want to keep your fish healthy". 2.)Slackjawed, noted cyno-bacteria farmer and heavy feeder of "minnowz"says "just fresh water dip all new fish". Really, not much of a choice on whose advice I'd follow; but, hey, that's just me.
 
slackjawed

slackjawed

Member
Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/2679431
Let me think. 1.),Bob Fenner, arguably the most respected authority on marine fishkeeping says in "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" : "you need a second (quarantine) aquarium if you want to keep your fish healthy". 2.)Slackjawed, noted cyno-bacteria farmer and heavy feeder of "minnowz"says "just fresh water dip all new fish". Really, not much of a choice on whose advice I'd follow; but, hey, that's just me.
just got a qt tank this 1 just puttin fish in it too
i no i have such bad luck with fish
 
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bigtankbigfish

Guest
Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/2679320
A Qt can be just a tank ( say 20 gal), water (close to the params of your DT) heater, some pieces of PVC (or other safe stuff)) for shelter, and a filter of some sort (no substrate). A HOT filter works great; keep an extra filter pad or sponge somewhere in your main system and put in your QT when needed--instant cycle. I just toss mine after use. Craigs list is a great place to find what you need.
i have a 20 gallon tank, i have a POS topfinHOT, and an extra heater. So now i have a QT tank for introducing new fish. thanks.
 
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