Novahobbies official 110g rebuild thread

[novahobbies]

Sure did. No photos, though. She's been through a rough transport, so I just turned the lights off and let her alone.
We'll see how she does. But here was sand in the holding tank where I got her, and I had them add a little sand to the bag to dig in to. She's just chilling out now. I didn't see any issues with her jaw (something that can happen with this species if they try to "burrow" into the plastic transport containers) so I'm hopeful. We'll see how she's doing tomorrow night.

 

[novahobbies]

Woke up this morning to a healthy-looking fish. She was up, alert, and exploring her new digs. Turned on the light, and she dove under the sand bed. Heh. I expect it will be a few days before she adjusts to this time zone and the light schedule.

 

[siptang]

Awesome to hear that you have finally got your prized fish Rick!! I saw the sparkle in your eyes when you saw that fish at the raffle before lol.
oh we are also going to have another awesome guest speaker next week if you want to make a trip down. Let me know Rick.

 

[novahobbies]

Yup. Figures that most of the fish we’re looking for are “hard-to-find” animals….at least down here they are. The Potter’s angel is one of those fish that seems to have been very common until a few months ago, the African Leopard wrasse is always hard to get due to the importation of fish around the coast, and the tiger goby….well, I’ve only ever actually seen them once, and I wasn’t really in a position to buy the fish at the time. I’m certain they’ll come around again sometime soon, but I wish I could have jumped on one when I saw them.
I added the leopard wrasse in with the McCosker’s, because there’s something else in the other QT tank. I don’t want to say what, because I haven’t had great luck with QT fish right now. When I release him….you’ll know. In the meantime, I’m down to just these two QT systems, and I’m not setting up a third ever again. Three was just too many to keep track of.
So, my updated stock list is as follows:
2 Bartlett’s Anthias
1 Dispar Anthias
1 Mystery Wrasse
1 McCosker’s Flasher Wrasse
1 Potter’s Angel
1 Midas Blenny
1 Leopard Wrasse
1 Mandarin
1 Tiger Goby
1 Dragonface Pipefish (2?)
1 Powder Blue Tang
1 Sapphire Damsel (sigh….)
In Question:
1 Red Firefish
1 Chalk Basslet
1 Sunburst Anthias
1 Schooling Bannerfish Butterfly (Heniochus diphreutes)
I’ve always liked the Heniochus butterflyfish, but I don’t really know if it’s a good idea with a PBT in a 110. Michelle likes that as well. If we chose to get that fish, I would probably axe the firefish, basslet, and the Sunburst Anthias….or at least the basslet, anthias, and try to get the durned Damsel off the “permanent” list.
Oh, yes. The McCosker’s is still doing fine. That poor fish has been through the ringer since he came home. He’s jumped out of my hand and spent 60 seconds amid the dustbunnies under the bookshelf while I scrambled to move a few hundred pounds to get at him, he’s been attached and beaten up by a belligerent blenny, he’s survived hot-tub conditions…..when he makes it into the DT he’ll probably think he’s died and gone to heaven.

 

[reefr]

^
you will need AN INSANE amount of copepods, since mandarins, dragonface pipes, and leopard wrasses ALL eat them. This will be VERY hard in a 110 gallon. The flasher and mystery wrasse will also eat pods, but they will do it for a snack, not a meal.

 

[smallreef]

in a 110g it would be EASY to have enough pods with a refugium... I dont think he will have a problem but yes all of those do dominantly eat pods but could also be transitioned to frozen after they get acclimated/accustomed to their surroundings

 

[novahobbies]

Quote:
Originally Posted by REEFR http:///t/391428/novahobbies-official-110g-rebuild-thread/760#post_3501229
^
you will need AN INSANE amount of copepods, since mandarins, dragonface pipes, and leopard wrasses ALL eat them. This will be VERY hard in a 110 gallon. The flasher and mystery wrasse will also eat pods, but they will do it for a snack, not a meal.
100+ pounds of live rock, a 29g fuge with rock and chaeto, and cryptic zones via the PVC framework of the rock columns themselves.....no, I'm not concerned about the pod population. The Mandarin, the pipe, and the Leopard will go for pods, but the mystery wrasse....have you ever seen a Mystery wrasse's mouth? It's more of a beak. He ignores pods, and I mean that literally. I've seen him glide right by a large amphipod with no interest whatsoever. He's a shrimp hunter (which is why I doubt you'll ever see a shrimp in this tank) plain and simple. The flasher may occasionally peck at amphipods, but they're not usually a copepod hunter....too small a prey for them.
Just got home. The flasher is out swimming around, the leopard is buried and asleep. Considering it's midnight "her" time right now, there's no surprise there...or why she was so alert at 6am this morning.

 

[reefr]

Quote:
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///t/391428/novahobbies-official-110g-rebuild-thread/760#post_3501236
100+ pounds of live rock, a 29g fuge with rock and chaeto, and cryptic zones via the PVC framework of the rock columns themselves.....no, I'm not concerned about the pod population. The Mandarin, the pipe, and the Leopard will go for pods, but the mystery wrasse....have you ever seen a Mystery wrasse's mouth? It's more of a beak. He ignores pods, and I mean that literally. I've seen him glide right by a large amphipod with no interest whatsoever. He's a shrimp hunter (which is why I doubt you'll ever see a shrimp in this tank) plain and simple. The flasher may occasionally peck at amphipods, but they're not usually a copepod hunter....too small a prey for them.
Just got home. The flasher is out swimming around, the leopard is buried and asleep. Considering it's midnight "her" time right now, there's no surprise there...or why she was so alert at 6am this morning.
it depends how mature the LR is, not how many pounds you have.
a healthy mandarin will kill a copepod every five seconds...do the math.
I thought I was ok for a mandy also. My 200+ lbs of LR was 2-3 years old, and the tank was setup for around 8 months, and I had added 10+ bottles of pods, to my tank, and I had a 30 gallon fuge w/chaeto, LR, and a light substrate. I feed phyto 1-2x a week. Got a mandarin. Week later, he's dead. Shows you how difficult they are to keep.

 

[siptang]

I can't wait to come and visit you soon Rick. I still want your famous chilli!!

 

[snakeblitz33]

REEFR,
That doesn't sound like starving to death. Usually, a fish takes anywhere from 30 to 60 days to starve. That sounds to me like he was either sick when you purchased him or something went wrong during acclimation... it certainly doesn't sound like starvation. I'm sorry you seem to have a hard time keeping one... maybe look into it again soon and see if you can get a better quality specimen.

 

[novahobbies]

Yes, this sounds like cyanide poisoning to me. Sadly, many Mandarins are still collected with this practice. The overdose of cyanide takes a week or two to take effect. There is some evidence that Methylene Blue helps as a treatment for potential cyanide overdoses, and some folks recommend a M.B. bath before placing a fish in quarantine to help increase survival rates.
Long time ago, but the first Mandarin I bought died in QT after 3 days due to what I believe was cyanide.
Richard, are you doing anything on the weekend of Dec 1st?

 

[siptang]

Weekends aren't really that good for me lol. Maybe Sunday evening would be better.

 

[novahobbies]

thursdays? Nov 29th?

 

[siptang]

Thursday sounds perfect!!

 

[novahobbies]

Done deal. Thurs the 29th. The Chilli will be hot, the breeze cool, and the aquarium clean. You'll get to see my mystery fish (she'll still be in QT)....

 

[novahobbies]

Here's the clearest photo I could get of this girl:

She's still on a funny time zone. Wide awake this AM when I got up again, and I'm sure she'll be under the sand by this evening when I get home.

 

[osprey440]

Amazing looking fish

 

[novahobbies]

Thanks! Keep your fingers crossed. They're very challenging to acclimate, but in general if they make it past the first month, they're pretty hardy.

 

[siptang]

Fingers already crossed for you buddy.
and it's a done deal!!

 

[novahobbies]

Same drill. Woke up at 6am (on a Saturday!!! WTF?!) and checked the fish. Sure enough, she was up and at 'em. I fed her some live brine with some frozen mixed in and she ate the frozen as well as the live. Got to get her on some mysis, but I think I'll need to get smaller mysis for her and the other fish. I shot a few pics and a video that's uploading now: