Nobby's S-650

N

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Has anyone on here kept Garden eels before? I know they need a deep sand bed etc, so I am well aware of the requirements. I've seen them many times while diving and I just love the way they sway n the current. Beautiful looking fish as well. It's just my LFS has some in stock at the moment. I'm thinking of getting two or three, as just the one would be sad. Any thoughts?
garden-eel.png
 
N

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
You'll never guess where I went today! What, you already have? OK, it was my favourite LFS, and you'll never guess what, or who, came home with me! What, you already have? OK, I came home with a pair of Blue Throated Trigger fish. More info tomorrow but their initial behaviour is just weird!
 
N

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
My plan was to go the the LFS, have a peek at the fish, and if I see something I like I might buy it, plus I wanted to get another couple of coral frags. However, in only the second small display tank I looked at there they were. A pair of small, beautiful Blue Throated Triggers. I first saw them about six weeks ago, and I thought they'd be gone by now. There was no hesitation. With my back to the tank and my arms and legs spread wide I deployed my steely eyed Warrior of Death look to stop anyone else getting in before me. I demanded that the owner bag them up and sell them to me. I didn't really need to do that as there wasn't anyone else in the shop, but hey ho, best not take any chances eh !
I was so excited I didn't even bother looking at the corals, which means I just have to go back again soon.

Upon getting them home I went through the usual routine, and eventually they were released into the tank. There was not a sign of aggression towards them, nor from them. The first thirty minutes they both hid in the rocks, and then they came out to play, and what a display they put on !

First off, they started doing what I can only describe as a 'fan dance'. It was almost as if both of them wanted to chase the others ones tail. They were both spinning in fast circles. The next phases involved a cave. They were both in there, and they seemed to lean at an angle of about 45 degrees, and they just rested their 'cheeks' against each other. During this phase the Male would quite often spin through 360 degrees before returning to the cheek resting.

The next phase was during 'dusk'. It was about that time when the Wrasse are looking to bed down in the sand, and the Female just kept going for the Male. She just wouldn't leave him alone. At this point it looked as though he's had enough of her attentions and just wanted some peace. I now knew that they were indeed a married couple!
As it got darker she did calm down and resumed just swimming next to him. Eventually they found the best cave and evicted the previous occupants.

The pictures below are taken when they were in the Fish Trap just before being released into the tank.

Trigger1.jpg
Trigger2.jpg
 
SPR

SPR

Well-Known Member
Nobbygas said:
My plan was to go the the LFS, have a peek at the fish, and if I see something I like I might buy it, plus I wanted to get another couple of coral frags. However, in only the second small display tank I looked at there they were. A pair of small, beautiful Blue Throated Triggers. I first saw them about six weeks ago, and I thought they'd be gone by now. There was no hesitation. With my back to the tank and my arms and legs spread wide I deployed my steely eyed Warrior of Death look to stop anyone else getting in before me. I demanded that the owner bag them up and sell them to me. I didn't really need to do that as there wasn't anyone else in the shop, but hey ho, best not take any chances eh !
I was so excited I didn't even bother looking at the corals, which means I just have to go back again soon.

Upon getting them home I went through the usual routine, and eventually they were released into the tank. There was not a sign of aggression towards them, nor from them. The first thirty minutes they both hid in the rocks, and then they came out to play, and what a display they put on !

First off, they started doing what I can only describe as a 'fan dance'. It was almost as if both of them wanted to chase the others ones tail. They were both spinning in fast circles. The next phases involved a cave. They were both in there, and they seemed to lean at an angle of about 45 degrees, and they just rested their 'cheeks' against each other. During this phase the Male would quite often spin through 360 degrees before returning to the cheek resting.

The next phase was during 'dusk'. It was about that time when the Wrasse are looking to bed down in the sand, and the Female just kept going for the Male. She just wouldn't leave him alone. At this point it looked as though he's had enough of her attentions and just wanted some peace. I now knew that they were indeed a married couple!
As it got darker she did calm down and resumed just swimming next to him. Eventually they found the best cave and evicted the previous occupants.

The pictures below are taken when they were in the Fish Trap just before being released into the tank.

View attachment 48382
View attachment 48383
Click to expand...
Very nice indeed !

What they will do is explore your caves and then when they find one to their liking they will probably dig out the sand so don’t be surprised if your water goes cloudy sometimes while they settle in. You did put your rocks directly on the glass bottom didn’t you!?

You will love them, and as you’ve found their dances and spinning around is magical especially as the lights go down in the evening...

Enjoy...
 
N

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
SPR said:
Very nice indeed !

What they will do is explore your caves and then when they find one to their liking they will probably dig out the sand so don’t be surprised if your water goes cloudy sometimes while they settle in. You did put your rocks directly on the glass bottom didn’t you!?

You will love them, and as you’ve found their dances and spinning around is magical especially as the lights go down in the evening...

Enjoy...
Click to expand...
Yes, when I set the tank up I first just put a fine layer of sand down under the rocks, basically just to stop the rocks slipping as I did the aquascaping. I have a Diamond Goby. He's dug various holes all around the tank ! The Triggers can go digging to their hearts content.

I picked the right day to buy them. She Who Casts No Shadow had to go to a work function, where she picked up a 500 euro Prize/Bonus for some work she did, so she came home really happy and didn't bat an eyelid when Mini Me MKII revealed we had "Two Gun Fish", "No, they're Trigger Fish not Gun Fish", I replied. It's a strange world I live in. Strange people too.
 
N

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Well, last night it happened!
I've read about this, heard stories about this, but I've never experienced it before. One of the Triggers spat some water out of the tank at me ! I couldn't believe it. I was just stood in front of the tank, quite close, having a look at things, when the Female swam near the surface and then squirted water at me ! Hit me right on the cheek :)
 
SPR

SPR

Well-Known Member
Nobbygas said:
Well, last night it happened!
I've read about this, heard stories about this, but I've never experienced it before. One of the Triggers spat some water out of the tank at me ! I couldn't believe it. I was just stood in front of the tank, quite close, having a look at things, when the Female swam near the surface and then squirted water at me ! Hit me right on the cheek :)
Click to expand...
Do you not know what it generally means when a female spits in your face ?! Lol

Mine don’t spit at me because they love me...... they just grunt a lot!
 
N

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
I am watching my tank like a hawk.
Trouble is up with the Blue Chromis. Normally, I have seven swimming around. One of them, who I call the runt, is still the size of a baby. She just hasn't grown with the others at all. In the last couple of weeks she has taken to hiding and only coming out for food. The reason being is that someone/something took a huge bite out of her back !
Now, I only have four swimming around. The little one is still there, hiding and coming out for food. One has disappeared completely, and I've found another one that is hiding in the rocks. She did come out very briefly, and it looks like she had a bad Saturday night in the local pub ! Her fins were a right mess.
I don't know if it just an example of Chromis aggression, or something else.
I don't see any bullying, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
All of the other fish are looking fine. No worries there.
 
Pat24601

Pat24601

Well-Known Member
Nobbygas said:
Well, last night it happened!
I've read about this, heard stories about this, but I've never experienced it before. One of the Triggers spat some water out of the tank at me ! I couldn't believe it. I was just stood in front of the tank, quite close, having a look at things, when the Female swam near the surface and then squirted water at me ! Hit me right on the cheek :)
Click to expand...

That’s kind of cool. :)
 
N

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
I had a few hours to spare on Saturday, so I thought it was a good time to give the Skimmer a damn good clean. So, first off I removed it from the tank. What I normally do then, is to run the skimmer for an hour in a bucket of white vinegar/water (see below). I find this helps to remove a lot of the crap and makes taking it apart a lot easier. It was easy to disassemble and put back together again. When I re-installed it there weren't any problems.....until about three hours later when it erupted like Mt Vesuvius on a bad day ! I was turning screws and tubes like a crack addict on, well, crack ! Nothing I did calmed it down, so I just let it run itself out. A couple of hours later it had calmed down, so now I can start to dial it back in again.

skimmer.jpg
 
N

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Keep your eyes peeled and yer ears open over the next couple of days! It's the Interzoo Exhibition in Germany, and this is where a lot of the big beasts in the aquarium trade announce new products. The word on the street is that Red Sea will be coming out with something special. "Connected Devices" seems to be the main words here !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top