cornyfish

One of my tanks is currently a fish-only tank running at a S.G. of 1.017, as this is supposed to place less stress on the fishes as well as keep the parasites at bay. Just wondering if it is possible to add shrimps into the tank w/o raising the S.G.? Will they be able to acclimate to the lowered salinity (maybe by lowering the S.G. in the shipping water slowly over a period of 2 hours before releasing them into the tank)? Btw, is it true that inverts (such as shrimps and lobsters) must not be allowed to come into contact with atmospheric air (i.e. they must not be netted out of the shipping bag to transfer to the tank, but rather, released from the shipping bag underwater resulting in inevitable release of shipping water into the tank)?

It's dead liao... My dunno-how-many-attempt but zero success. Never had any problems keeping other fishes so far, in the same tank.

I used to keep a Picasso Trigger too... unfortunately it tore up a cleaner wrasse + a yellow goby and polished off a red lobster. That happened about 2-3 weeks after adding him to the tank. Picassos are nasty guys..

Anyone seen the Spiny Blue Lobster recently? Seems like LFSes here have stopped bringing them in... Anyone tried keeping them before?

Yup, according to some websites, that is... In addition to freshwater, they also advise adding some methylene blue into the freshwater dip before dipping the newly purchased fishes in, then leave them in the dip for 3-5min depending on the fish concerned to kill off ich and parasites. Was concerned about causing more harm than good to the fishes too, therefore i've never tried that. Also worried that transferring fishes and inverts by net (therefore bringing them out of water into air) will cause harm to the creature so i've resorted to pouring the creature into the tank together with the water in the bag.. not sure if this concern is warranted or not..

Just wondering what's the proper procedure to release newly purchased lifestock into the tank? What i'm doing now is: 1) Float the unopened bags in the water for ~20min 2) Open the bag 3) With bag still at the water surface, add some water from the aquarium into bag 4) After ~10min, tilt the bag and let the water and livestock out into the tank. So is it inevitable for water from the bag to enter the tank? Yet i'm worried that the water that came along with the LS may carry disease organisms (eg. ich) that may contaminate the tank's water. Or should i just net the critter out of the bag and release it in the tank? Btw, do you guys practice freshwater dip for all newly purchased marine fishes before letting them out into the tank? If so is it advisable to add methylene blue into the freshwater dip as advised in some websites? Thanks in advance!

Thanks everyone! Unfortunately the 2 fishes in the ich-affected tank have died after a period of self-imposed starvation, despite me lowering the S.G. to 1.016 and maintaining total blackout in the tank.. was trying to lower the salinity gradually via daily water changes but apparantly it wasn't enough or the ich strain was too virulent. btw, i'm wondering if the fishes can really tahan having the S.G. lowered to 1.009 for 4-6 weeks? And it is true that ich will not affect invertebrates right?

hiya, if only it is the common octopus instead... Blue Ring better not take the chance.

Well my tank has been running since July last year, which makes it 10 months old now... and the problem started after i added a porcupinefish to my FOWLR tank a few days ago. Since the organism is already everywhere in the tank i don't suppose freshwater dips will be very useful right?

Recently i realised my marine fishes had white spots on their fins and kept scratching against the substrate. They are also breathing very quickly and I believe they are suffering from ich. How can i get rid of the ich? Anyone has similar experience? Or will the disease resolve itself via the fishes immunity, given time? Thanks!

The western websites and forums always advocate giant tanks for fishes which are really not practical in Singapore where most fishkeepers do not have the luxury to keep big 1000 gallon tanks for a bamboo shark.

Just wondering what's the specific gravity (S.G.) that's recommended for a FOWLR tank without invertebrates?

That's unless you happen to stay nearby.. otherwise cycle very jialat.

It'll be interesting to see an Undulate and a Clown Trigger coexist in a tank... but my guess is that they'll rip each other apart within the first hour.

Pardon my ignorance, by 'true octopus' do you mean a species of coral or the invertebrate? Thanks!

Won't it be cheaper to get the fishes from JB? Besides will there be any problem bringing livestock across the malaysian customs? Short of smuggling, of course..

Orange-lined trigger? Do you mean the Undulate Trigger? Pic: If this is the trigger you have then i'm afraid you really can't keep anything else in it... unless you put a divider to divide your tank or something. Cos unless your trigger is a small juvenile, it will slowly and mercilessly tear the fins of any other fish apart. I'm speaking from personal experience.. Was keeping an Undulate Trigger then added a polka-dot (panthar) grouper that was even bigger than the trigger in a FOWLR tank. Thought the grouper would be able to fend for himself as groupers tend to be aggressive fishes themselves.. but i was wrong. Though the trigger was seemingly well-behaved in my presence, i found the fins and tail of my grouper badly bitten the next morning. Had to transfer away the grouper immediately. A really nasty fella.. don't be fooled by the fact that it looks like a shy fish, always hiding behind the rocks when the owner approaches the tank. In retrospect, i don't think this trigger is really worth keeping considering that it'll need the whole tank to itself... in which case a clown trigger would be a more attractive proposition.. Just my personal opinion lah.

I finally got my porcupinefish from Pasir Ris! Yippee! 3 more baby ones left, super cute.. i think just arrived today.

Dear Reefers, I just got a juvenile red coris wrasse last sunday, it's been 3 days but i noticed that most of the time it is lying on the sand on its side as though it is dead.. When it is not, it would be darting around in small circles at a corner of the tank. So far it has refused food and i'm starting to get worried, especially since i noticed it is always breathing very quickly (gill covers moving very fast). Wondering if this is normal behaviour for a new wrasse or is there something wrong with it?

Oh where's L35D? Is it one of those warehouse-like buildings along Pasir Ris Farmway 2? Thanks alot!

Errr.. that porcupinefish considered small ah.. I was hoping for an even smaller specimen to keep in my tank leh... dunno why they are always so very rare, at least whenever i go looking for them. Anyone knows of anywhere else selling porcupinefish? Small ones preferably..

Anyone knows of any LFS open today?

This might seem like a silly question but i'm wondering.. are the live rocks sold in the aquariums the same as those sometimes found washed up on the beaches? Those with barnacles and lotsa living creatures on them... they look just like those sold in the aquariums. I found lots of such rocks as well as live sea urchins yesterday at pasir ris beach, was wondering if i can add these into my marine tank.

Hi all! Been keeping some freshwater fishes in addition to my marine ones, wondering if anyone has come across any local (singapore) freshwater fish forums that are worth visiting? Thanks in advance!

wow.. i've never seen this species of lobster before.. nice.