Purple Pseudo = Assassin

new2salt1

new2salt1

Member
I just got some sand sifting snails and as soon as the one started moving, the pseudo grabbed him by his little tenticle and started shaking him. I tapped the tank and he dropped him, and the snail moved on.
Now, Im trying to find out if these guys are killers, cause my engineer goby spends his entire life in hiding under one of my corals after SOMEONE nipped his tail. I was going to take the goby back to the LFS because I felt bad for him, but the LFS didn't have enough tie to acclimate him, so I had to bring him back home. When I put him back in the tank, the pseudo went right after him, and the engineer went right back under his house coral.
So is this just a curious fish, or is the purple pseudochromis a killer?
Thanks
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Pseudo's can be exceedingly aggressive, in any size tank. I would be attacked by one frequently, in a 3500g tank...
So I put nothing past them. If you had said shrimp were missing I would say "absolutely" it is the pseudo. Ounce for ounce, IMO, one of the most aggressive fish you can get
Definitely have "little fish: syndrome!
 
new2salt1

new2salt1

Member
Wish the LFS had told me that. The last thing ANYONE needs in 14 gallons is a half-dead fish causing an ammonia spike and killing $500 worth of live stock.
 
dogstar

dogstar

Active Member
I take it they did not tell you how big an engineer goby gets either...
Just in case you dont know, around 12 inches....
 
grabbitt

grabbitt

Active Member
I also have a fridmani pseudochromis, but I don't have too much of an issue with it bullying. He can get a little nasty when something new comes around, but after a short while, he settles down and leaves the others to more appropriately acclimate themselves.
When I add a new frag or colony to the rock he has claimed as his, he will try to flip it off, but it's nothing my GSM doesn't do already..
And when I added a Sally Lightfoot to the tank, he attacked it a few times and stalked it for about half an hour, but now my fridmani doesn't even give Sally (yeah, I named the crab Sally... How original, right?) a second look

So if your situation is anything like mine, there's a chance he is just trying to establish some dominance that won't last too long.
However, just how long that may be could be the real killer (literally)...
 
grabbitt

grabbitt

Active Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
In a tank as small as that, the psuedo will claim it all, IMO.
Good point.. it for some reason did not register to me that it was only a 14 gallon.
 
new2salt1

new2salt1

Member
Ok so this morning's report:
I wake up to see my elegance closed up (like normal), but in her grip was 2 of my coral banded's (aka Bandit) tenticles. Then, in the corner, I find a spaghetti worm eating what looked like the Bandit's arms!! I thought Pseudo went nuts 'cause I couldn't see Bandit (which is rare in my tank). Here, the little shrimp shed, and the scavengers were eating what was left over.
So THEN, no longer than 2 minutes after the light was turned on, the pseudo grabs ANOTHER sand sifting snail, takes it under the LR, and shakes it uncontrollably!!! HE NEEDS TO GO!!! I often find him going after the clown. Which is ridiculous, because the clown is like a peaceful goldfish, haphazardly swimming his life away!
Im none too happy with this situation. Will this kill the snails?? I know for a fact he is not eating them. He is just grabbing and shaking them. But Im afraid the crabs are going to be finishing them off if they are hurt.
As far as the LFS goes, the tank that inspried me to do a BioCube had an 8" engineer goby. He was SO COOL. He looked like an eel cruising through the LR. I plan on a bigger tank if/when the goby outgrows it. At this point though, I dont even know how he is eating. He lives under a coral. He has a pretty sweet home because the coral has large curves on its underside that allowed the goby to excavate a big cave for himself. But he will eventually outgrow that. I just read last night they hide all day and scavenge at night, so maybe I am overthinking it? All I know is the pseudo is the odd man out. I dont want nipped-up fish and inverts everywhere. It stinks too because until yesterday, all he did was explore the tank. He also knows when I am around (he responds to me, unlike the clown who is oblivious to the world).
Oh well. I am going to have to clean house. Hey, how will a Yellow Watchman do in a 14gal?
 
new2salt1

new2salt1

Member
Here is "the crew" all together in a rare photo op! The Goby swam with the other 2 for a week before he went into hiding.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
IMO...that is A LOT of stuff for a 14g tank. Four fish, and one an engineer goby? I would reconsider that stocking. If you get the pseudo out, and you will need to, I would not replace it with another fish for sure.
 
new2salt1

new2salt1

Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
IMO...that is A LOT of stuff for a 14g tank. Four fish, and one an engineer goby? I would reconsider that stocking. If you get the pseudo out, and you will need to, I would not replace it with another fish for sure.
Last time I counted, a clown, a pseudo, and a goby = 3 fish.

I appreciate your concern, I really do. Believe me, if I thought the livelihood of these fish was in jeopardy, I would not keep them. If you saw my tank, you would see that there is no issue.
All of these fish are 1/2"=3/4". Like I said before, my LFS kept an 8" goby and a clown in a tank smaller than this one, and the tank was successful for almost 2 years before there was a fire at the store.
I check my parameters and do water changes weekly, and my water quality is very good. I am housing one of the most difficult corals known to man, and he has been growing like a weed in my "little tank with too many fish."

Here is a pic pic. You can see these guys have plenty of room to roam.


 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by New2Salt1
Last time I counted, a clown, a pseudo, and a goby = 3 fish.

.
Sorry, in the pick I did not register that as the engineer goby as most tend to be larger and hang under rocks.
It is still overstocked, IMO, because the engineer will be huge, and I believe in stocking based on the adult size of fish. JMO though.
 
new2salt1

new2salt1

Member
BTW, I am settling on my house Dec 1st, and that's when I go from having an 800sq ft apartment to a 2500sq ft home. Rest assured I will have at least a 2nd tank. I might get a second engineer and do a fowlr in a looong tank. That is, of course, if the engineer thrives after I take the pseudo out. If he continues to hide under the coral and DOESN'T GROW, then he will go back to the LFS.
 
new2salt1

new2salt1

Member
Originally Posted by ophiura
Sorry, in the pick I did not register that as the engineer goby as most tend to be larger and hang under rocks.
It is still overstocked, IMO, because the engineer will be huge, and I believe in stocking based on the adult size of fish. JMO though.
Let's be honest, you couldn't even I.D. the fish you are so opinionated about. I mean seriously...
************************************
So let's look at the "facts":
1. Marine Center says it needs a minimum of 10 gallons
2. My LFS (who does the reef tanks for MTV's Real World) had an 8" adult in a 10 gallon cube
3. The fish has PLENTY of room
4. There is a total of 3 fish at 2.5" TOTAL in 14 gallons with plenty of rocks and corals to hide in, including 3 different "caves"
5. NONE of the fish are aggressive now that I swapped the pseudo for a watchman (who is already hosting the elegance, strangely enough)
So to be honest, I dont find any value in you saying the tank is overstocked. If you are going to take the time to post this kind of stuff, next time, PLEASE be capable of identifying the fish you are so concerned about.
Anyway, I could buy a 180 gal system right now, I just dont have the ROOM until Dec-Jan when I move into my new house.
And btw, when does a captive fish EVER live its entire life in one tank? Why do you need to have it in a tank based on its adult size??? That makes no sense. Thats like saying a baby shouldn't be in a crib, it should be in a king size bed because it will eventually outgrow the crib.
My fiance and I treat our pets like kids. I rescued a dying map turtle from an online shelter, and my Boston Terrier required $1700 for brachycephelic airway surgery BEFORE I could adopt him.
So please don't tell me about the needs of my pets.
Thanks
 
new2salt1

new2salt1

Member
Just to put this in perspctive, here i the new watchman who looks VERY uncomfortable!

For scale, Im adding a full tank shot. Keep in mind, the engineer is SMALLER than this watchman, and the clown is a tiny bit bigger.


 
1boatnut

1boatnut

Member
So is the pseudo gone ?
I have a purple pseudochromis in a 29gal with a Yellow Belly Blue Hippo Tang,an Ocelerous Clown and 2 small Green Chromis.
The pseud will swim with tha Tang and the Clown. He does however terrorize the Chromis,but they are too fast(so far) for it.
My plan was to move all these to the 75 gal,but I am now re-thinking . I just got a purple-firefish and it's in my qt tank. I am not sure i want to risk the pseudo and the firefish together.
When you look up the pseudo it does state monitor with shrimp,so the snails are probabily at risk too.
I do have to admit the little guy has lots of personality though.
Good luck
 
grabbitt

grabbitt

Active Member
Originally Posted by 1boatnut
So is the pseudo gone ?
I have a purple pseudochromis in a 29gal with a Yellow Belly Blue Hippo Tang,an Ocelerous Clown and 2 small Green Chromis.
The pseud will swim with tha Tang and the Clown. He does however terrorize the Chromis,but they are too fast(so far) for it.
My plan was to move all these to the 75 gal,but I am now re-thinking . I just got a purple-firefish and it's in my qt tank. I am not sure i want to risk the pseudo and the firefish together.
When you look up the pseudo it does state monitor with shrimp,so the snails are probabily at risk too.
I do have to admit the little guy has lots of personality though.
Good luck

Do you have any pics of your yellow-bellied hippo? I loooove them. However, I'm sure you are fully aware that it cannot stay in a tank that small for very long...
 
new2salt1

new2salt1

Member
The purple pseudo was VERY cool. When I was netting him, I put a piece of shrimp in a net. He came out of a cave, swam up and bit the shrimp through the net, and then he would dart back to the cave, and look up at the net to see if anything happened! He kept looking up at the net like, "Is that after ME?"
I was sad to take him back, but I would be much more sad if he was left in there to kill the goby, clown, or the inverts. In a bigger reef everything could have their own territories and STILL avoid him, but not in this tank. Funny thing is, this behavior just started about a week ago, so I guess he started getting gutsy. Hopefully he ends up in a great reef with tons of snails to eat!
 
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