Choridactylus multibarbus... Stingfish

[seahorsedreams]

Well, I guess my new guy deserves a new thread. Meet C. multibarbarbus.... Stingfish. He's not so happy but I love him already. Of course he snowed up the water and went right for a corner where I can't get get good pics.... but here he is.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/stingfish900.jpg

[regina574]

Very cool! How big is he?

[Coyle]

never seen one of those before..what is it eating and where did you get it if you don't mind my asking..

[seahorsedreams]

I got it from Diver's Den and they said it was eating frozen mysis and brineshrimp.... he can definitely eat bigger food items than that.

[Coyle]

very cool!

[Recty]

That's a very nice looking fish, great coloration.

[Mentat]

Awesome! That's one highly textured work of art!

[LisaD]

beautiful, Renee.

[seahorsedreams]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/stingfish900b.jpg

[LisaD]

okay, now you've done it. I got so jealous I had to run over to DD and buy a leopard toby and a leaf fish. :) I still want one of those, though.

[seahorsedreams]

How the heck did they feed him frozen mysis and brineshrimp??

[FMarini]

Ok Renee--
rub it in,
just as i mentioned they dig in and have the coolest little pec fingers...
also their common name- "bearded ghoul" is totally rockin

feel free to send those two photos and any others as well :^) to my email addy
Thanks

[Mentat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14871924#post14871924 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LisaD
okay, now you've done it. I got so jealous I had to run over to DD and buy a leopard toby and a leaf fish. :) I still want one of those, though.
Was looking at the Leopard Toby last night, so cute, but controlled myself LOL. Glad you got it!

[seahorsedreams]

Well, look at that big honkin' typo in my title... that would be multibarbus.

[seahorsedreams]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14873116#post14873116 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FMarini
Ok Renee--
rub it in,
just as i mentioned they dig in and have the coolest little pec fingers...
also their common name- "bearded ghoul" is totally rockin

feel free to send those two photos and any others as well :^) to my email addy
Thanks

The camera is in front of the tank....

This is now our second favorite fish. The frondosa still has to be #1. When he dug in the sand I chuckled out loud. And then when he started walking around... OMG! those fingers are just crazy cool.

The other awesome thing for me is my husband is just as into the scorps as I am..... he has many years on my measly decade. It just adds SO much to the experience. We spend our nights running around to the many (too many) tanks yelling "OMG! Come look at this!"

Any feeding tips? Did yours eat in the day?

Any behaviours I should find particularly alarming or foreboding?

This guy is a pretty good size at 3-1/2 -4"standard length.

[DamnPepShrimp]

Thats such a cool fish! Has it eaten yet?

[seahorsedreams]

I haven't tried yet. Scorps eat on Mon., Wed., Friday. Tonight I will juggling seafood like a Beni Hanna's chef.

[FMarini]

Renee-
My guess is the ghoul will only eat live ghost shrimp at first. I was able to get my ghouls weaned over to PE mysis w/in a few months. If you have a number of fish that eat prepared foods, fed it to them in front of the ghoul, fish learn that the non moving stuff is food by watching others as well.
I think they prefer to eat at dusk, however I usually fed later afternoon, they didnt seem to mind

reminder for more picts please, can you get a shot of his flashers?(the back of his pec fins)

[seahorsedreams]

The ghost shrimp were right up his alley. I don't work tonight so the camera will be flashing. He's afraid of the plastic stick and he did a full display.... I'll try to do a re-enactment tonight with some help.

[FMarini]

great news on the feeding- If i were you i'd keep ghost shrimp handy-- they were a godsend when i first establish all my scorps

it will take a while for the ghoul to feed on prepared foods, but mine did--
so keep the patience and persistence

[seahorsedreams]

I always have ghosties..... the leaf and the ambon are still on live. Grrr!

I'm erasing my 8gb card now in preparation.... :-)

[Ooulophilia]

Awesome fish and great pictures - I have seen many of these over the years but never spent the time to actually look at one closely - these are the guys that flash the orange on the back of their pectorals right?

(if you can't tell from my other thread I have oddball fish on the brain! Thinking about setting up a tank :))

[seahorsedreams]

Yes, that's the ones.

What fish are you considering?

I'm looking around at 12 of my tanks and am realizing that only one has fish that stay in the water column.... a blotched anthias trio... and even they tend to perch.

[namxas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14885324#post14885324 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by seahorsedreams

I'm looking around at 12 of my tanks and am realizing that only one has fish that stay in the water column.... a blotched anthias trio... and even they tend to perch.

we still need an Inimicus...:D

[seahorsedreams]

I startled him.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/ghoulflash.jpg

[kenqc]

this fish is proof of evolution, how fish learned to walk and become reptiles and amphibians. What a great fish. I am considering a wartskin angler and a fish like this, if I can find one. I will build the whole tank around this concept. How big of a tank for a guy like this?

[FMarini]

the stingfish don't get very big, Both inimicus and choridacytlus range around 6-8" long, not very stocky). They spend 80% of their day half buried in the substrate, so you'll need a few inches of substrate as well.

I'm not sure these fish are the missing link between walking and swimming, however their modified pec ray "fingers" certainly are useful for dragging across the bottom, as well as digging up tasty worms

[FMarini]

Renee-- Great image. I gotta send you my photos of my choridactylus and inimicus, becuase I definately have a different species than yours.
...more than anything else, how are you getting this much light onto your subjects? my scorpionfish photos look dim compared to yours. Are you using accessory lighting or do you have reef-type lighting on this tank

[namxas]

hi Frank,

IIRC, we're running 110W of PC (55W 10k and 55W 03 actinic). the lamps are set on separate timers for a dawn/dusk effect.

BTW, i appreciate all the tips you've given Renee and the rest of us on scorps. i've always loved them, and as you can tell, Renee is now thoroughly hooked on them as well.

i'd LOVE to see pix of your fish!

OT: what kind of music do you play?

[FMarini]

Hi greg-
Your welcome on the tips, My pleasure. I've been a weird fish lover >25yrs.
I sent you guys a few photos of 2 choridactylus, but i have alot more.
Your right thou, we need a Inimicus photo in this thread to make it legit.

in regards to music, my love is jazz & funk, but paid the bills playing in a cover band for a few yrs, its was a great gig, but i have a real job that is just as much fun, and a more steady paycheck.

[namxas]

nice fish, Frank!

Renee and i really have our eyes peeled for a yellow-spotted (Sebastapistes cyanostigma), but i'd still love to keep a goblin (Inimicus didactylus) someday.

i used to play music for a living too, but i know what ya mean about the steady paycheck. ;)

did a bari gig w/my bro's big band last PM, but i have some R&R/R&B gigs coming up.

[FMarini]

OKAY--- which one of you guys bought the japanese Paracentropogons
Paracentropogon rubripinnis

I'm hoping these are from southern japan (ie tropical not temperate)

remember that these are Tetrarogidae(Wasp fishes), not scorpionfish (not that it matter much- they look like, act like and eat like a scorpionfish)- just the fish taxonomy nerds cant seem to find a reason to include them in the scorpionfish family

[seahorsedreams]

I don't know what you are talking about.

O.O

Okay,.... so... what kind of tank would be best for these guys. We can give them whatever their preferred environment is. Aren't the rubripinnis warm water? Or are you concerned because even though they are listed as the warmer water species, they may be mistaken.

You know..... the pictures looked different so that we were wondering if one could be male and one could be female. Or if the difference could have been that one was so much smaller and maybe hadn't grown into their shape....or 2 different species.

[namxas]

OKAY--- which one of you guys bought the japanese Paracentropogons?

why on EARTH would you ask that question in THIS thread, Frank? ;)

we actually tend keep our tanx on the cooler side (76-ish), except for the SH which we keep even a bit cooler. that being said, we could always crank one down a bit if need be.

stay tuned...i guarantee you that come Friday, there will be "first pix"...

[seahorsedreams]

Here they are.... I was actually gonna keep these quiet.... LOL. The one with the white is small... just how I like them. It's really noticeable when you but the pics side by side and look at the substrate. The white guy is about an inch.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/lg-0428091-191.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/lg_0427091-236.jpg

[ironmics]

I saw that someone bought both of those. They look amazing!

[FMarini]

interesting possibility-dont know about male/female. There is very little data on these fish.
Since these guys show up so infrequently, i suspect they were collected together or at least in the same general vicinity. i dig the rooster like 2-3-4th dorsal rays on the bottom fish.

It will be interesting to see if the bottom fish returns to a more base color after he settles in and that maybe these colors are his "I'm stressed or I'm attracting a mate- outfit".
Anyway these guys will be ghost shrimp eaters for a while.

I hope to see two or more wonderful photos on this thread (and maybe appearing in someones mailbox as well)

- i don't cover Paracentropogons in the you know what- because as I mentioned they are not considered a scorpionfish, however i have a small section on Tetrarogidae because they do look like and act like scorps.
Cant wait.....
frank

[seahorsedreams]

We were referring to Scott Michael's Reef Fishes book before we bought them and thought maybe it could be a male/female thing because his book states a close relative the P. longispinus are sexually dimorphic. "...in males, the dorsal spines are long (shorter in females) and the membrane between them is deeply incised (not deeply incised in females).

We threw it into the pot of possibilities.....

[OceanLover2]

All three fish are pretty awesome. I have not seen a stingfish before and he is one outrageous looking specimen!

Do they eat their tankmates like the anglers? Or can you keep them with other fish?

Do you still have your Midas Blenny? (Or am I confused. . . . . again?)

[seahorsedreams]

No midas here....

No, their not like anglers in that regard. They know what size they can digest.

Are they able to go in the 65 scorp tank with the others or no?

[FMarini]

i suspect a yes, as long as everyone is well fed.

I cant tell from the photos, how small the longspine wasps are maybe 1-2", if so- you might consider some form of a net or protection just to make sure they get fed adequately
Can you remind me again whos in what, what are the other scorps?
ambon lion- no problem, leaf fish- no problem, ghoul- depends on how big, your small red scorp- no problem, NO rhinopias, or larger scorps thou

[seahorsedreams]

This thread lists what we have or are looking at.

65g Scorp Tank (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1626944)

Ya, he's 1-1/4 inch. He'll be in an "intank tank".

[seahorsedreams]

These are Frank's Ghouls....

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/ghoul4.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/ghoul2.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/shortfaced_seagoblin14.jpg

[seahorsedreams]

I love how he tucks himself in the sand.

His permanent home will have a sand substate.


http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/ghoullazy900.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/ghoulhead.jpg

[seahorsedreams]

My word... the new guy is the size of a Chiclet.

[seahorsedreams]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/smallwasp900.jpg

[FMarini]

i hope you have access to microsized ghost shrimp....

[seahorsedreams]

Yes I do....

I ended up putting him in a HOB external CPR fuge.

[seahorsedreams]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/hobwasp.jpg

[seahorsedreams]

They take frozen mysis...both of them. They need to learn a new delivery method, but they definitely ate up their share. I'm going to buy some PE mysis today to get the bigger one stick trained. They both went around picking the mysis up off the substrate! That was easy!

[seahorsedreams]

The pic looks really pixelated but it's actually all the tiny dots on him.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/chiclet700.jpg

[seahorsedreams]

Full belly and happy.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/ghoulhiding900.jpg

[seahorsedreams]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/waspmale2900.jpg

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/waspmale900.jpg

We moved the tank.... I should be getting more pictures of this guy. I really need to clean the glass though.

[Mentat]

Thanks for update Renee! Love the last 2 pics with dorsal "combed".... then not!

[Bonta]

Nice pictures.

[FMarini]

as always--great photos. looks like the redfins are growing a bit

[seahorsedreams]

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/waspfishpretty700.jpg

Man, this camera pics up colour so much different.

[flameangel88]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14871467#post14871467 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Recty
That's a very nice looking fish, great coloration.

+1

Thanks for sharing and please keep the pictures coming. :)

[Juggler]

What is the toxicity on these guys? or are they nonvenemous? i never really looked twice at these crazy fish!

[seahorsedreams]

They are pretty venomous as far as scorps go. He's a waspfish and share some common DNA with the stonefish.

Super friendly and not shy at all anymore.

[FMarini]

Renee-
Great color saturation- are you pushing the oranges in that last photo.
I do like the amount in minute details your new camera picks up. very nice. is this an official macro or one of those wide ranged lenses.

An interesting thing about waspfish- they aren't scorpionfish. They do possess physical features that you'd think should include them in the scorpaenidae family, however- there are too many differences. For example; a dorsal fin that originates above, and in front of its eyes, in contrast to scorpionfish in which the dorsal fins originate well behind the eyes. Waspfish have a contiguous appearing dorsal, caudal, and anal fin, where as scorpionfish has three separate fins. Next, waspfish possess small scales embedded into its skin. Given these differences, taxonomists recognize waspfish, as Tetrarogidae - its own family

I cant say how toxic waspfish are- fortunately have never been tagged by one, but i would assume they pack a good punch- and they do possess venom glands.
Just on shear impact, look how pointy his first 5 dorsal rays are..... hypodermic needles anyone

[seahorsedreams]

I don't know what I'm doing. I didn't do anything with the orange or the white would pick it up. What does it look like on your screen? Once upon a time, custom white balance was essential, this camera just pumps out the colour. . His fins are really red/orange though. The camera misses the blue in their eyes though. It's going to take a bit of practice to learn this one.

Here's a little video and all their colours are washed out.

Fish (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g6pQ5T5fQM)

Very bold little fish. The second little one is finally growing.

[namxas]

as Renee has mentioned, while the large of the "red-fins" was pretty cryptic at first, it is now an "in your face, where's the food?" kind of fish, and altho the c.ockatoo was always a great stick feeder, the red-fins have taught it that free-floating mysis are a treat and it now joins in with relish.

it's quite comical to see it trying to maintain a spot in the water column to chase mysis...they definitely don't swim well.

Frank,

the "rubies" are indeed getting some size on them...as you well know, it's all about nutrition, and besides the mysis treats i give them as i feed the other fish, Renee does the stick feeding, and is on a "mission" to keep these fish healthy. her weaning patience is commendable.

[seahorsedreams]

Frank, I don't think he's seen this month's issue yet! Or he did... and isn't happy about it.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/growly900.jpg

[Mentat]

Last photo is awesome and should grace a magazine cover!

[E.intheC]

whoa.. these look the tie-died hippy stepchildren of The Predator... LOL..

and they're beautiful. I want one :D

[seahorsedreams]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15671082#post15671082 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by E.intheC
I want one :D

Go get one... and then we can compare notes.

He's right under the actinics.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/glow900.jpg

[FMarini]

Renee-
your camera skills keep getting better and better- does this new camera do an auto white balance? I'd assume w/ the amount of blue in your photos that you'd have a shift towards the blue or purple in your images.
So unless your tweaking them, this new camera (and you skill of course) is absolutely stunning

Great shots and what a great looking fish-
see why I like these guys- so full of personality, and yes he most likely read this month issue of Reeflife and wasnt happy w/ the way we was presented

[seahorsedreams]

I'm using auto white balance. I use to mostly use a custom but the whites are so nice and crisp in auto... guess it's the better sensor.

He actually has changed colour as well. He had the orange and purple but he was kind of a brick colour as well. He's now purple... my tanks make purple fish. It's crazy in the volitan tank because everything, all the gravel and shells and everything is becoming purple... you can see it happening in the ghoul tank too. Too much is not a good thing... it kills my macros.

[BrianD]

Those are incredible pictures. Thank you for sharing.

[Mental1]

I love these guys! Is a ghoul big enough to go in with the Rhinopias? I am still trying to decide on tankmates for him. He is all alone ... except for a few crabs. How fine does the sand need to be for the ghouls? My sand in that tank is on the larger side.

Renee, when you said the two of you run around looking at your 12 tanks -- together. Well, I just wish my husband was as into it. He thinks it is cool but doesn't get all jazzed up like I do. I come home with stuff -- call my kids out -- look what I got. SIgh -- no one quite has my enthusiasm!

[namxas]

that's a good question, Sherri...to be honest, i dunno if a Rhino would try a ghoul or not. we thought we had a pretty good idea of the Rhinos' mouth sizes, but the Eschmeyers yawned super wide just recently and Renee said its mouth size surprised her.

the ghoul is one of my fave fish...how can you keep something a weird and whacky as that and not be thrilled? it's like that with all of our scorps...they each have their own special appeal.

as for the enthusiasm...Renee and i would be in REAL trouble if we hadn't been bitten by the same bug.

[seahorsedreams]

The fact we do this together is EVERYTHING.

[Mental1]

In my tiny mind it would take a team to take care of 12 tanks! I mean I have 7 tanks but only 2 are DT -- the rest are all part of the system. I cannot imagine taking care of 12 tanks full of critters on my own. What a great bond you have ....

[seahorsedreams]

Something I've been meaning to ask.... when he's eating his PE mysis he also consumes a booty load of substrate. He seems to siphon it out pretty well and I've always assumed that was alright where he was "made" to eat off the seabed. Is there a certain substrate that is better than the others? There is a new round pellet argonite out there that's suppose to be easy on sand sifter. Worth looking into or not? Is it even a concern?

[namxas]

i should add that the current substrate is #3 aragonite...think "special reef grade" in size. also, you can see the grain size in the pix (look on the partially-burried fish for a true representation).

[lostintheocean]

that is an awsome fish. I have been wanting to set up a species tank with a leaf fish or something similar. That guy in now in the running. It looks like he has a thick coating of coraline, awsome pics.

[namxas]

it's actually not coralline, but it matches perfectly. the tank is a very purple tank and the fish simply blended in. a very cool fish as long as you don't expect any swimming... ;)

[Exiledonmainstr]

He is a brilliant looking fish. I have never seen one up for sale at a LFS but have seen them on the reef. I hope he acclimates well for you. Best of luck.

[namxas]

thanx, we've had this fish several months now...it's well-settled, eating frozen, and posing for pix. altho we have quite a few scorps, it's one of my faves simply because it's so "different".

besides "walking" on their dactyls (fingers), this fish also uses them to scratch at the substrate hoping to scare up a snack. our specimen displays this behavior when it eats. it walks up to the pile of thawed PE mysis, and scratches at them as if unearthing them before it eats. it does this for every bite of food...trippy.

[seahorsedreams]

The larger redfin wasp fish is turning out to be a meany!