My husband's new Predator tank

[Poseidon]

Looking great!!!
I really want a big pred tank now
That mural is stunning as well, would love to drop by sometime

 

[curiousphil]

I love this thread, thanks for the update!  Lionfish are so cool looking imo (my gf disagrees with me on that, however)... and the emperor angel is stunning.

 

[yveterinarian]

Looking great!!!
I really want a big pred tank now
That mural is stunning as well, would love to drop by sometime

Thanks Brandon, you are welcome to come by anytime.  I'd love your input!

 

[yveterinarian]

I love this thread, thanks for the update!  Lionfish are so cool looking imo (my gf disagrees with me on that, however)... and the emperor angel is stunning.

Thanks, I absolutely love the lionfish and he seems to have quite the knack of letting you know when he is hungry!  He comes and eats out of the tongs ( Dave would love to feed him by hand but we're a bit leery of that!)  The emperor grunts when it eats or if the other fish get too close.  I didn't know they could do that but it's really cool.  He sounds like a little pig grunting when he eats! Lots of fun

 

[sunnykita]

Wow ! looking great Yvette and Dave ! great update, thanks for sharing !

 

[curiousphil]

[quote author=curiousphil link=topic=4772.msg63894#msg63894 date=1381506758]
I love this thread, thanks for the update!  Lionfish are so cool looking imo (my gf disagrees with me on that, however)... and the emperor angel is stunning.

Thanks, I absolutely love the lionfish and he seems to have quite the knack of letting you know when he is hungry!  He comes and eats out of the tongs ( Dave would love to feed him by hand but we're a bit leery of that!)  The emperor grunts when it eats or if the other fish get too close.  I didn't know they could do that but it's really cool.  He sounds like a little pig grunting when he eats! Lots of fun
[/quote]

Haha it grunts?  And you can hear it through the glass?  Thats hilarious and adorable.

 

[yveterinarian]

Yes, it grunts.  I don't know if any other fish do that but it is a very interesting sound.  I know my seahorses make an audible snap-like sound when they eat but this is very different.  If another fish gets too close it makes a sound that warns the other fish away and when it eats it makes this sound with every mouthful it takes.  It really sounds like a pig grunting and can get quite loud at times. Maybe I'll try to get a video of it eating tonight and post it for you to hear.

Apparently, Emperor angels need a diet with sponge in it to help it continue it's full color change into adult coloring.  Would anyone know of a food (dry or frozen) that has sponge in it?

 

[Jewel]

Like any new addition, you've gotta give it some time. What other types of Fish are you going to put in with Fluffy?

 

[yveterinarian]

As I promised Brandon, here is an update for our FOWLR tank. Over the past few months we have lost a few fish and added some new so that it is not quite a predator tank anymore. Unfortunately we lost the Lionfish. It suddenly decided not to eat and nothing we gave it would tempt it. The Snowflake eel has grown well and now almost fills the 3" diameter tube that it uses as it's home. We have added a beautiful Cuban Hogfish but it is very hard to get a picture of. A friend of ours asked us to take his saddleback clowns as they had lost interest so they have found a new home in our FOWLR environment. Here are a few from around the tank...

 

[Poseidon]

look awesome yvett!
didnt you have a large emperor? what happened to him ?

 

[sunnykita]

looking good Yvette and Dave ! sorry for the losses

 

[yveterinarian]

look awesome yvett!
didnt you have a large emperor? what happened to him ?

Yes we did. Unfortunately he also died. Absolutely no warning and he had almost finished changing into his adult coloring . We are looking at getting another sometime soon.

 

[scubasteve]

looking good big difference from before when i saw it in person all i know is its a nice big tank unfortunately thats the name of saltwater seems alot of things happen without warning or signs of any kind just one day flop over pooched.... but at least you had an excuse to go get more and what are you feeding the snowflake again i got one a while ago still just a lil guy 12" and the thickness of a thumb but so far only got him to eat mysis and clam strips cut to smaller bits, wouldnt touch uncooked shrimp which i thaught would be a favorite

 

[yveterinarian]

We have been feeding it whole uncooked shrimp in the shell. He really took them well but Dave reports he hasn't eaten in a while so I hope he's not going to be the next to go. He looks fine and I do know they sometimes don't eat for a while but worrying all the same.

 

[jeffopentax]

My snowflake was about 24". Was fed exclusively table shrimp by first owner, so I did the same. Was fine for a couple months, then stopped eating. Was about 3-4 weeks (if i recall correctly) before he died. Not sure if diet was to blame, but found this while trying to figure out what was wrong with him.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/thiaminase.htm
Not an exciting read by any means, but important if you own an eel.

 

[yveterinarian]

My snowflake was about 24". Was fed exclusively table shrimp by first owner, so I did the same. Was fine for a couple months, then stopped eating. Was about 3-4 weeks (if i recall correctly) before he died. Not sure if diet was to blame, but found this while trying to figure out what was wrong with him.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/thiaminase.htm
Not an exciting read by any means, but important if you own an eel.

Excellent read! Thanks for posting. I will get my husband to read it as soon as he gets home.

 

[AdInfinitum]

FWIW I have always fed my eels a mix of green mussels on the half shell (incredibly entertaining to watch) and whole baby squid with just the ink sac removed. Both are easily found and inexpensive if a little messy to handle and prep.

 

[jeffopentax]

My zebra eel goes nuts for frozen clams. Ridiculous how strong his jaws are to be able to crack it open!

 

[yveterinarian]

Today we went for a drive to Kitchener and had to stop by Aquariums by Design. Of course it is always difficult to go into a fish store and not come out with anything! We found this wonderful Argus Grouper thanks to Jeff and couldn't resist. It is about 7-8 inches long already and has some beautiful colors. My camera doesn't do it justice but here he is:

We have the tank a little dark right now to help him acclimatize but the other fish have all been going up close to him to see what he is about. Jeff assured us that he only eats frozen so I'm hoping he's right. The smaller fish are prudently staying out of his way and the others are all trying to look as big as they can...

Finally got a halfway decent picture of the Cuban Hogfish today using the sports feature on the camera but he is still a little blurry. Maybe I can get a better one later.

Milling around over the Grouper

Staying out of the Grouper's way...

When the Grouper has settled in a bit better I'll try to get some clearer pictures with better lighting but couldn't wait to share!

 

[Sewerat]

Awesome