Achilles Tang
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Posts posted by Achilles Tang
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A naturally bright yellow anemone? Never heard of one.
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All dwarf angels are coral nippers.
They are 'iffy' in a reef tank. They are still a risk.
My flame angel does nip at corals... occasionally. Out of habit I think.
Thank goodness he doesn't nip at my prized corals and affect them (yet).
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Still haven't started on them yet.
The 1" true union PVC ball valve is out of stock. Still waiting for the supplier to find it.
Unless Hon... can donate his first... heh!
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If you see bright yellow anemones... they are dyed. Yes, some unscrupulous dealers will inject them with colouring for people who don't know better to purchase them.
YOU HAVE BEENED CONNED!!!!
They will die in a matter of weeks.That is probably the cruelest thing ever done to marine livestock.
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Batfish are NOT suitable for captive life!
They are only safe in the hands of experts who can cater to their specific dietary needs. The diet of Batfish consists of invertebrates such as flatworms, small anemones, hydroids, and small crustaceans, juveniles feed on algae as well as jellyfish and other gelatinous zooplankton.
They are also notoriously bad shippers and will perish within a few days upon arrival.
They are extremely timid and should be kept in a species only tank and even that is no guarantee they can be made to eat. Requires at least 80 gallon tank.
They usually starve to death but once eating, will accept frozen brine shrimp, prawn & crab meat.
We are strongly discouraged from keeping this beautiful but fragile species. Note that they will also become uglier with age (if they even live long at all!)
Note: They are a few species of batfish, but the ones often sold in LFS are the black ones with orange trims called Pinnatus Batfish - Platax pinnatus
Also known as: Bali Pinnatus, Pinnate Platax, Redfin, Red-Stripe, Shaded, Dusky Batfish, Red-Rimmed Batfish.
This species is secretive in the wild, found hiding in wrecks and other dark spots, and should be left there. Requires experienced hobbyist. Keep water quality high (SG 1.020 - 1.025, pH 8.1 - 8.4, Temp. 72 - 78° F). The Pinnatus Batfish is commonly collected from the Indian Ocean.
The more common longfin batfish (Pinatus platax) are silverish in colour and are commonly seen around reefs when diving.
ORBICULARIS BATFISH OR ROUND BATFISH - Platax orbicularis resembles a dead leaf when young and will behave like one to escape predators. Adults are silver with two vertical bands across their head.
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Hi Clowntrigger,
Not safe:
Angelfish - loves corals
Polkadot groupers - will eat shrimp & small fishes once their mouths can fit them in. Small juveniles are ok but must be given up when older.
Safe:
Blue tang: algae eaters.
Foxface: Should be ok as they are algae eaters.
Uncertain:
That fish looks like it belongs in the grouper/wrasse family, if so.... not reef safe.
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True... damsels are terrors! Extremely territorial and the bigger they get, the uglier and meaner they get! When small, they have bright colours and clear markings... making them quite cute... haha...
I used to get attacked by damsels every time I put my hand inside the tank
even when I go snorkelling or scuba-diving! -
Yes... it will be black, with cutouts for the overflow teeth. And a hole in the middle for the closed loop outlet.
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You can go to:
Yeo Soon Hin Plastic Signcrafts
It's at blk 633, #01-130, Veerasamy Road (off Jalan Besar Rd) and diagonally opposite Kelantan Lane or Road.
Tel: 62912598.
I go there for my acrylic stuff.
The man there can be quite gruff. The lady is ok. They can get busy at times.
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Whose gonna be the tour guide?
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No offense taken bro!
Must thank you for the tip. Going with your logic... if the plugs won't catch fire... then the spray guard will not catch fire too! Hahahah! So why worry myself to death?
My father-in-law who is probably the most paranoid & kiasi man I know and yet the most skilled (he was a certified electrician before) 'ok'ed the whole thing.
He helps run a few multi-million dollar shipyard companies and solves problems for them when no one else can. So I guess if there is anyone I can trust, it is him!
He is the one who designed my metal stand!
A wooden stand would never be safe enough for him! -
The Exallias brevis, or Leopard Blenny or Leopard Rock Skipper or Coral Blenny.
DEFINITELY NOT REEF SAFE!
The Leopard Blenny has a fringe of cirri running across the nape and a branched tentacle above both eyes. They look very cute in fact.
This species is white with small spots on the head, body and fins. The spots are brown in females and juveniles. Males have brown spots on the head and abdomen but red spots on the rest of the body. The dorsal and caudal fins of males are usually red. It lays bright yellow eggs.
The Leopard Blenny grows to 14cm in length. It eats coral polyps. In fact it is an obligate feeders on live coral polyps!!! It lives among corals like Acropora, Pocillopora, Seriatopora, Porites, and Millepora which are its food.
It is found on coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific. In Australia it is recorded from the central coast of Western Australia around the tropical north of the country and south to southern Queensland.
E.brevis is the only species in the genus Exallias. This photo above is female. Males are reddish in colour.
The leopard blenny is the only blenny species that eat coral polyps and are therefore not reef-safe. They are doomed to starve to death in 6 weeks in reef tanks because there is no cheap way to provide them expensive corals to feed on.
I made the mistake of 'buy first and find out more later' as I was persuaded by the LFS that its a rare find and it was a good algae eater off liverock.
Luckily, I placed it in a floating cage and did my research. To my horror and relief, I am glad that I didn't release it in my tank.
I tried feeding it mysis shrimp and even nori but it didn't eat them. I returned him to the LFS and told the boss about it. He is a knowledgeable guy and I think he knows a little about this species habit and was initially denying that it eat coral polyps but he took it back anyway.
I doubt if he would dissuade the next buyer from putting it in his reef tank.
Now you know.
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Hi everyone,
Sometimes we may buy fishes that are seldom seen in LFS. Or they looked so interesting that we MUST have them. Or perhaps their colours will complement your favourite Acropora.
Well, if you didn't do any research on it or know absolutely nothing about that particular species, you may be spending a lot of time dismantling your rockwork to get the offending species out or worse still, end up having your corals or other livestock destroyed or eaten up before you finally catch the bugger!
Of course, any species which are not hardy shouldn't be kept in any marine tank, reef or FOWLR, such as batfish or cleaner fish.
So let's share our knowledge about such species here!
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Woah! I learnt something new today too! I saw it at the LFS... but I was highly suspicious about it too... it's not commonly put on sale... and from past experience about seeing something rare... and quickly buying it with any homework done... you will end up regretting.
I will share with you guys more about my experiences!
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Photo! Photo! Photo!
A picture tells a thousand words!
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For this treatment, I used fresh garlic and squeezed the juice out.
For my normal feeding supplement, I used Kyolic liquid from a health store.
I will do a product review on it soon!
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Happy to say that 80% of my fishes are almost rid of the marine velvet.
Feeding them garlic soaked food and pouring a bit of garlic juice direct in the water helped.
I was a bit skeptical about the garlic juice in water part, but overseas aquarists have reported success.
The only bad reaction happened to my protein skimmer... which went bonkers... lots of skimmate this morning.
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Now that is one AMAZING colour morph!!
I have one in my tank but it bleached and turned pale due to a very long spell of overheated water due to a chiller 'accident' when I was out of town.
It couldn't hold a candle to yours... your is like WOW!!!
I do have rare corals... scolymia (meat corals) which are bright red and another which is flourescent green.
You can see it in my main tank... http://www.sgreefclub.com/forums/index.php...8e5dd5e1a610450
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Oh... i am installing a smoke detector alarm and water sprinkler/halon gas discharge system into the fish room.....NOT!!!!
Gee... If there is any overloading... the house circuit breaker will trip. If there is any leakage, the ELCB will trip. Hopefully these should stop any sparking from happening.
If there is any melting & burning of power points... I am sure there will be a small fire anyway and everything around it will catch fire. How can you ever stop that?
Unless I put a packet containing foam above the plastic box and it will melt and cover the fire... I don't see any way anyone can stop fires from happening and extinguishing it automatically, splash cover or not.
Anyway, if there is an overloading... it's usually not the plug, it's the appliance itself that catches fire! How do you protect your lighthood from catching fire?
Cedric, are commercial spray covers really fire-proof?
Sorry... I seem to have no real solutions for this, even though I did attend a fire-fighting course while in the Navy.
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Welcome to the hobby!
I hope you have read as much material or reference books as you can on starting a marine tank.
Remember, patience is the most important key to success and that is where many people fail.
Don't rush into things. READ and learn, THINK before ACTING. Good things happen slowly, bad things happen quickly.
Read about compatible species of fish for a reef tank. About corals or invertebrates' food/lighting requirements. Avoid sensitive or poisonous species. Stock up SLOWLY.
If in doubt, pls ask.
We are more than willing to help but you will need a open mind.
Buy the best you can afford. Don't skimp on good equipment. You will save a lot of money later because you will end up upgrading your stuff when you realize how inadequate they were.
Good luck!
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Yeah but how many have we all tried? And how many have survived?
Just imagine.. they import at least a few hundred or even a thousand cleaner wrasses a year and how many live a long long life like other fish do eg. 8 years and above?
Buying hard-to-survive livestock will increase demand. Stop buying them and they stop catching them.
Why fuel the market? These fish are better left in the sea, where their role in the ecosystem is very important. Reefs where cleaner fish are absent will see less fish visiting it and thus affecting the balance. It's a proven fact.
Not condemning you but I hope you will understand what conscientious reef-keeping is all about.
It's difficult and takes a lot of self-control to say no. But it can be done. And must start with you and I.
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Finally the feature wall is up this morning!!
Over the tank is a panel which gives access from the front of the tank.
The feature wall is still unfinished, still needs varnishing and touching up... the hinges are not in yet. I am looking for a hydraulic one that will auto latch once it opens fully and when released, won't slam the panel down but will have enough resistance to slow down the falling weight of the panel.
Wood is solid ply. Siliconed around all edges so water will be unable to seep through. Even between the glass and the wood has been siliconed.
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Err... if that is a compliment... wo bu gan! I am just a little hardcore that is all... wife will disagree though! Hahaha!
I seek knowledge and try to pass on what I know, it benefits the hobby, especially one as expensive, beautiful, fragile and yet brutal.
I am sure there are lots of advanced aquarist around, just crouching lionfish, hidden dragonwrasse... haha.. feeling corny today!
Oh... another tip: if you neglect cleaning/replacing the filter wool, your water will become dirty again, as the trapped organic matter will decompose and leach back into the water.
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Actually, I have read on other overseas forums that you should get timers for high amps equipment like MHs, chillers etc. Not ordinary ones.
Where to get Clip for seaweed/nori?
in DIY Forum
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Yellow Tang, Zebrasoma Flavescens.
Purple Tangs, Zebrasoma Zanthurum.
My tangs have been together for two years and they get along fine.
Sadly, I intend to keep only 1 yellow and 1 purple. The other two will be sold away. *sob sob*
I am replacing them with an Achilles Tang and a Powder Blue Tang. Both are the hardest tangs to keep but I intend to succeed with careful feeding and tank conditions.
I have upgraded my tank to such a size for this very purpose as they need the space to feel comfortable.