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Fish

Mimic Tang	Goby's	Pajama Cardinal
Sixline Wrasse	Blue-Green Chromis	Oscellaris Clown
Saddled Toby (puffer)	Eels	Rusty Angelfish

Rusty Angelfish

by admin on Aug.25, 2009, under Fish

Centropyge ferrugatus/ferrugata

Family: Pomacanthidae
Range: Western Pacific; Japan to the Philippines
Size: Up to 4 inches
Diet: Omnivore
Tank Set-up: Marine: Coral or rock, plants
Reef Compatible: With caution
Tank Conditions: 72-78ºF; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4
Minimum Tank Capacity: 30 gallon
Light: High
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Swimming Level: No specific level
Care Level: Moderate
Reproduction: Egg Scatterer

The Rusty Angelfish is aptly named for its predominate red or amber coloration punctuated with black dots that decrease in size from dorsal to anal and pelvic fins. The anal fin is dark and both the dorsal and anal fins are rimmed in bright, sapphire-blue.

The Rusty Angelfish requires at least a 30-gallon tank with large amounts of live rock for hiding and grazing. Not a good reef dweller, the Rusty Angelfish is prone to nip at stony and soft corals (sessile invertebrates) and clam mantles. It is best kept as the only Dwarf Angelfish in the tank.

The diet of the Rusty Angelfish should include Spirulina, marine algae, high-quality angelfish preparations, mysid shrimp, and other meaty items.

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Saddled Toby (Puffer)

by admin on Jan.28, 2009, under Fish

Canthigaster valentini

Family: Tetraodontidae
Range: Indo-Pacific
Size: Up to 4 inches
Diet: Omnivore
Tank Set-up: Marine: Coral or rock, plants
Reef Compatible: No
Tank Conditions: 72-78ºF; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4
Minimum Tank Capacity: 30 gallon
Light: High
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Swimming Level: No specific level
Care Level: Moderate
Reproduction: Egg Scatterer

The Saddled Toby is also known as the Black Saddle Pufferfish, Blacksaddled Toby, Valentini Toby, or Saddle Valentini Puffer. Members of the Canthigaster genus are called Sharp-nosed Puffers or Tobies. The Saddled Toby is a bright and colorful fish with dark brown bands across the midsection, brownish-orange spotting on the lower half, yellow fins, and blue striping running along the back. It lacks pelvic fins, but has learned to use the pectoral fins to move about the aquarium.

A 30 gallon or larger, fish-only aquarium is suitable. It will fight with conspecifics such as the filefish, large finned fish, and other tobies. It may be aggressive at times, nipping the fins of tank mates, leaving a circular hole as its mark. It will also eat invertebrates found in a reef tank. Its teeth are actually a fused beak-like structure.

Parts of its flesh are poisonous. It has the ability, when threatened or alarmed, to inflate its body to almost twice its normal size. It becomes alarmed when netted, therefore, use a container to transfer it.

The Saddled Toby needs a varied diet of meaty foods including squid, krill, clams, and hard shelled shrimp to help wear down their ever growing teeth.

aquariablog’s take: This was one of my all-time favorite marine fish before I got into corals. So much personality..used to follow me across the room and run up to me like a puppy at feeding time. He was my lesson in covering hose intakes…got curious and well you know the rest. NOT reef safe.

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Snowflake Eel

by admin on Jan.28, 2009, under Fish

Echidna nebulosa

Family: Muraenidae
Range: Tropical Indo-Pacific and Red Sea
Size: Up to 24 inches
Diet: Carnivore
Tank Set-up: Marine: Coral or rock, plants
Reef Compatible: No
Tank Conditions: 72-78ºF; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4
Minimum Tank Capacity: 50 gallon
Light: Low
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Swimming Level: Bottom
Care Level: Easy
Reproduction: Egg Layer

The Snowflake Moray Eel, also known as the Snowflake Eel, Clouded Moray, or Starry Moray, inhabits caves and crevices throughout the Indo-Pacific reefs. In the wild, it can grow to 39 inches (1 m); most captive specimens will not exceed 24 inches (60 cm).

This is a very hardy eel, but an escape artist. The 50 gallon or larger tank to house an eel needs to be tightly sealed. Most of these eels that are lost in an aquarium are due to poorly sealed tanks. The Snowflake Moray Eel is safe to house with any fish it cannot easily swallow. It can be housed with some invertebrates, like anemones and corals, but not crustaceans.

The wild Snowflake Moray is a nocturnal predator, ambushing fish and crustaceans. In the tank, it will take frozen or freeze-dried krill, fish, shrimp, and most meaty foods. It can be taught to hand feed, although this should be done with caution, as it can inflict a painful bite.

aquariablog’s take: Really cool, easy to take care of eel. NOT reef safe. For FOWLR tanks only.

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Eel Profiles

by admin on Jan.28, 2009, under Fish

Snowflake Eel	Tiretrack Eel

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Goby

by admin on Jan.28, 2009, under Fish

Yellow Watchman Goby	Zebra Bar Goby

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Mimic Tang

by admin on Jan.05, 2009, under Fish

Acanthurus pyroferus

Family: Acanthuridae
Range: Eastern Indian Ocean and Western Pacific
Size: Up to 4 inches
Diet: Herbivore
Reef Compatible: Yes
Tank Conditions: 72-78ºF; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4
Minimum Tank Capacity: 40 gallon
Temperament: Peaceful
Care Level: Easy

The Eiblii Mimic Tang, also known as the Chocolate Surgeonfish or Mimic Lemon Peel Tang, has a yellow oval body when a juvenile. It has blue highlights around the eyes and gill covers, mimicking the Lemonpeel Angelfish (Centropyge flavissimus). When mature, the body color darkens towards tan with red highlights forming around the eyes and pectoral fins. The dorsal, anal, and caudal fins take on the hues of green but remain tipped with the tan body color. The Eiblii Mimic Tangs are characterised by having a forward facing spine on each side of the caudal peduncle. This spine, apart from terminating in a point, has angular edges that result in a scalpel-like sharpness along its length also. When alarmed, these tangs can erect the spines sideways and slash at their opponent with rapid sideways movements of the tail.

The Eiblii Mimic Tang is usually placid community fish, forming large groups or shoals, although fiercely territorial against other tangs or similar shaped or coloured fish in a typical aquarium setting. Great care must be exercised by aquarists when handling these fishes. An encounter with even a small, frightened tang can result in stitches. Due mainly to their calm nature, such attacks on humans are rare. Aggression in Eiblii Mimic Tang is usually confined to presenting their tails to a would be predator or attacker and is usually minimal against conspecifics. Most aggression however is due to territory disputes.

The Eiblii Mimic Tangs are also very sensitive to disease in the home aquarium. It is usually necessary to quarantine the animals using copper sulfate or formalin for a period of around 2 weeks.

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Pajama Cardinal

by admin on Jan.04, 2009, under Fish

Sphaeramia nematoptera

Family: Apogonidae
Range: Indo-Pacific
Size: Up to 3 inches
Diet: Carnivore
Tank Set-up: Marine: Coral or rock, plants
Reef Compatible: Yes
Tank Conditions: 72-78ºF; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4
Minimum Tank Capacity: 30 gallon
Light: Medium
Temperament: Peaceful
Swimming Level: Bottom
Care Level: Easy
Reproduction: Mouth Breeder

The Pajama Cardinalfish, also known as Polka-dot Cardinalfish or Spotted Cardinalfish, has a greenish-yellow face with orange eyes. The midsection is silver with bold, black scalar margins and the posterior section of the body is silver with orange polka-dots.

A 30 gallon or larger aquarium with a cave and peaceful tank mates is suitable for this slow and methodical swimmer. It tends to hide in sea grass or other plants, or may use long spined urchins for camouflage. If a larger aquarium is available, it will handle a small group of this species. As a group, they will establish a strict hierarchy without aggressiveness.

The Pajama Cardinalfish requires a well balanced diet of meaty foods such as feeder shrimp, flaked foods, pellet foods, marine flesh, bloodworms, and depending on its size, live feeder fish.

aquariablog’s take: Not the most beautiful or interesting of fish but one of my favorites. I’ve had mind since the beginning and he just kind of hovers and does “his thing.”

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Sixline Wrasse

by admin on Jan.04, 2009, under Fish

Pseudocheilinus hexataenia

Family: Labridae
Range: Indo-Pacific
Size: Up to 3 inches
Diet: Carnivore
Tank Set-up: Marine: Gravel or sand
Reef Compatible: Yes
Tank Conditions: 72-78ºF; sg 1.020-1.025; pH 8.1-8.4
Minimum Tank Capacity: 20 gallon
Light: High
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Swimming Level: No specific level
Care Level: Easy
Reproduction: Egg Layer

The Sixline Wrasse is also referred to as the Six Line Wrasse or Sixstripe Wrasse. It has six, horizontal distinctive blue lines lying against an orange background. When courting, the male will display an increased color intensity.

It requires a 20 gallon or larger aquarium with a generous supply of hiding places and live rock in which to forage for food. It will act aggressively towards peaceful Wrasses and other fish that are easily intimidated. A single male can be kept with a group of females that are introduced prior to or at the same time as the male. It will search for live foods in the form of small crustaceans such as pyramidellid snails (clam parasites), urchins, and commensal flatworms. It may even try to attack small ornamental shrimp.

The diet should consist of finely chopped meaty foods and occasionally vitamin-enriched frozen preparations.

aquariablog’s take: Great looking fish, very active and beneficial as they reportedly take care of some pests. Mine is a bully though.

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Tiretrack Eel (Freshwater)

by admin on Jan.02, 2009, under Fish

Mastacemelus armatus

Family: Mastacembelidae
Range: China, Sumatra, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand
Size: Up to 24 inches
Diet: Carnivore
Tank Set-up: Freshwater: Plants, driftwood, sand substrate
Tank Conditions: 75-82°F; pH 6.8-7.2; dH 10-15
Minimum Tank Capacity: 50 gallon
Light: Medium
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Swimming Level: Bottom
Care Level: Moderate
Reproduction: Egg Layer

The Tiretrack Eel is a nocturnal predator and a member of the Mastacembelidae family, also referred to as the Spiny Eel family. Members of this family are not true eels. They are elongated, tropical, freshwater fish that have numerous spines preceding the dorsal fin.

Best suited for a larger species aquarium, a soft substrate is necessary for this fish. The Fire Eel will often dig in the substrate and bury itself; this may uproot plants and rearrange decorations. A tight lid should be used for any long, slender fish, as they will often try to escape from the aquarium. It will not tolerate tank mates of its own species.

Unfortunately, the breeding habits of the Fire Eel have not been documented.

A carnivore, live foods such as earthworms and black worms should be fed to the Fire Eel. Prepared tablet foods as well as krill and ocean plankton may eventually be accepted.

Ideal tank mates include: Similar sized fish (miscellaneous fish) with similar care level and aggression.

aquariablog’s take: Had to find this guy a new home when I decided not to maintain planted, freshwater anymore. My wife really misses him. Very inquisitive and fearless. He used to literally eat out of my hand.