Fish Survey: Panther Grouper

[Seafan]

If you currently keep this fish, please select the options starting with "current owner"; if you kept this fish in the past and no longer keep the same fish, please select options starting with "past owner". If you have kept this fish for more than 20 years, please post to let us know the exact year and the size of the fish.

If you could take some time and share your experience with this fish (Naso lituratus), please take the following survey. I will then put together a web page of this fish on my web site at Aquarist Report (http://www22.brinkster.com/seafan/default.html)

Thanks!

Jason

[Seafan]

The following is is a list of questions/topics about this fish species. If you would like to include them in your reply, click on the last icon of this post (Reply with Quote), and remove the [ QUOTE ] [ B ] tag in the beginning and the [/QUOTE][/B] at the end.<br /><br />SELECTION<br />Did you mail order this fish and would you recommend mail order this fish? Are there captive-raised/bred specimen available and where? <br />Any tips on how you picked a healthy specimen of this species from LFS? What do you think is the ideal size to get? <br />Are there any noticeable differences in body shape, pattern or color among the same species or between juvenile and adult of this species? <br />Is there a way to tell the sex of this fish? <br /><br />ACCLIMATION AND INTRODUCTION<br />Any special tips about the acclimation and introduction of this fish? <br />Any special needs for this fish or special considerations for young specimen? <br />Should this fish be the first or the last to introduce to a tank? <br /><br />COMPATIBILITY<br />What tankmates do you have with this fish?Is it a reef or FO tank? <br />Have you had more than one of this species in the same tank? If so, is there a certain male/female ratio or group number worked for you (to have a harem or pecking order)? Do they school? <br />Have you had other species of the same genus/family in the same tank? <br />What’s the stocking order (considering the above factors) that worked for you?<br />Did this fish hurt/eat any of other fish (or vice versa)? <br />Did this fish hurt/eat Cnidaria (corals, mushrooms or anemones)?<br />Did this fish hurt/eat ornamental crustaceans (shrimps, hermits, crabs)? <br />Did this fish hurt/eat Mollusks (snails, clams, oysters, mussels)?<br />Did this fish hurt/eat Echinoderms (sea cucumbers, sea stars, urchins)?<br />Did this fish hurt/eat Worms (feather dusters, flat worms, etc)?[/list]<br /><br />FEEDING <br />How did you get this fish to eat at first? <br />If this fish only accepted live food, how did you wean it over to prepared food? Does it eat dry food (flakes or pallets)? <br />What’s the diet? <br />How much and how often do you feed? <br />How does this fish eat?(grazers, active or sedentary predators, sand sifters, etc)<br />Does this fish eat any microalgae or macroalgae in your tank? If so what type of algae? <br /><br />GROWTH RATE AND LIFE SPAN<br />What is the initial size of your fish and maximum size it reached? How fast did it grow (how much growth over a given period of time)? <br />What size tank did this fish live in? (or how soon did this fish outgrow what size tank)? What do you think is the minimum tank size required for an adult specimen of this fish? <br />If this fish went through body pattern change from juvenile to adult, was the change complete? How long did it take? <br />How long have you kept this fish? If you no longer have this fish, what was the cause? <br />What is the longest lifespan and the maximum size of this fish in home aquarium and/or in the wild reported? <br /><br />DISEASE AND TREATMENT<br />What disease has this fish had? How did you treat it, for how long? What's the effect of the treatment? <br /><br />BEHAVIOR <br />Does this fish change body color under any circumstances? <br />Does this fish dig the substrate often? <br />How active is this fish? Is this fish shy? <br />How territorial or aggressive is this fish? How does this fish interact with tankmates? <br />Did this fish ever jump out of the tank? <br />How does this fish sleep?<br />Does this fish allow cleaners to clean? If so which cleaner and how often? <br />How does this fish interact with human? <br />Did the fish release toxic substance that killed other creatures in the tank? <br />Any other interesting observation of this fish? <br /><br />REPRODUCTION<br />If you have a mated pair, how did you get them to pair up? <br />Any information of spawning in captivity? <br /><br />SUMMARY<br />Your overall assessment of this species - <br />How sensitive is this fish to poor water quality on a scale of 1-5? <br />1 - very tolerant, may survive a cycle in a new tank<br />2 - quite tolerant, may survive accidental ammonia or nitrite spike<br />3 - not terribly sensitive to reasonable pH, salinity or temperature changes<br />4 - sensitive to any significant water chemistry changes, and may show stress during such changes<br />5 - very sensitive to water quality, may easily get stressed and get sick with any change in water chemistry<br />Do you think we should not keep this fish (for what reason)? <br />Would you recommend this fish to beginners? <br />Is this fish best kept in mature/established (6 months or older) tank? <br />Any other recommendations/comments? <br /><br />REFERENCES <br />Do you have any links to web sites, online articles or any other source of information about this species that you would recommend?<br /><br />If you have any picture(s) of this fish you took, please post it here and share with us!

[transman]

i have only had my panther about 4 months and he is getting big quick.i had a friend talk me into getting him and now i dont know what ill do with him in a year. he is a pig and eats anything that hits the water he has been fine with the other fish but is getting an attitude now that he is gettig a little bigger. now he pushes the lion out of the way to get to food but overall im happy with him just remember size as mine was only about 2" when i got him and now he is 6"-7" in just a few months

[MJC]

I purchased four in the past year, all from wholesale distributiors (I have a resellers license). They are kept in various sized tanks, 2x300, 200, and 150g.

I selected these based on a specimen having even coloration, healthy appetite, and having intact fins. They were all purchased in the 4 to 5" size.

Nothing special about introducing them. I've always introduced them as the last fish, but also with subsequent additions.

These have been housed with volitan lions, large and small puffers, yellow tangs, eels, maroon clowns, harlequin tusks, other groupers, sweetlips, and golden trevally's.

In one situation, I added a larger harlequin tusk (6-7") to a setup with a 5" panther. I had to remove the harlequin within 15 minutes and it died within the hour. The panther did a number to it, chased it throughout the tank, cornered it and constantly attacked it. In another instance, the same panther attacked and killed a saddleback grouper. However, the other panthers did not respond in similar fashion and got along with harlequins and a miniatus grouper. I have one tank with two panthers (12" and 6"), the larger panther did nip at the smaller but they've settled in being buddies.

No comment on eating or hurting invertebrates.

[captsgraves]

SELECTION
Did you mail order this fish and would you recommend mail order this fish? Are there captive-raised/bred specimen available and where?
Any tips on how you picked a healthy specimen of this species from LFS? What do you think is the ideal size to get?
Are there any noticeable differences in body shape, pattern or color among the same species or between juvenile and adult of this species?
Is there a way to tell the sex of this fish?

I have gotten this speices from both LFS and mail order. Both have done well. Look for consistent coloration and interest in food. These are not difficult fish to keep so being particular is important, but not as much as with other fish. Only way to go is to get a small fish <2" as they grow big and fast.

ACCLIMATION AND INTRODUCTION
Any special tips about the acclimation and introduction of this fish?
Any special needs for this fish or special considerations for young specimen?
Should this fish be the first or the last to introduce to a tank?

Normal acclimation procedures. They are pretty tough fish...can handle quite a bit. I've added them to very established tanks with good success. Never had one die on me.

COMPATIBILITY
What tankmates do you have with this fish?Is it a reef or FO tank?
Have you had more than one of this species in the same tank? If so, is there a certain male/female ratio or group number worked for you (to have a harem or pecking order)? Do they school?
Have you had other species of the same genus/family in the same tank?
What’s the stocking order (considering the above factors) that worked for you?
Did this fish hurt/eat any of other fish (or vice versa)?
Did this fish hurt/eat Cnidaria (corals, mushrooms or anemones)?
Did this fish hurt/eat ornamental crustaceans (shrimps, hermits, crabs)?
Did this fish hurt/eat Mollusks (snails, clams, oysters, mussels)?
Did this fish hurt/eat Echinoderms (sea cucumbers, sea stars, urchins)?
Did this fish hurt/eat Worms (feather dusters, flat worms, etc)?[/list]

Currently I have my panther in a 125 with a 3 angels, one small trigger, harlequin tusk, tomato clown, 3 tangs, one cuban hog, and one foxface. Grouper gives no one trouble, gets no trouble from any of them. It will however eat whatever it can fit in to it's mouth(or it thinks it can fit in its mouth)

FEEDING
How did you get this fish to eat at first?
If this fish only accepted live food, how did you wean it over to prepared food? Does it eat dry food (flakes or pallets)?
What’s the diet?
How much and how often do you feed?
How does this fish eat?(grazers, active or sedentary predators, sand sifters, etc)
Does this fish eat any microalgae or macroalgae in your tank? If so what type of algae?

I never feed any live food. Only frozen. Krill, mysis, and hunks of frozen fish left over from fishing here on the east coast. I freeze all fresh fish before feeding. Feeding is done by hand, with the grouper very tame and eats from my fingers. Interstingly, the grouper loves squash...as it cannot bite the squash it will hang out right above it and wait for another fish to bite the squash and let loose a small piece.

GROWTH RATE AND LIFE SPAN
What is the initial size of your fish and maximum size it reached? How fast did it grow (how much growth over a given period of time)?
What size tank did this fish live in? (or how soon did this fish outgrow what size tank)? What do you think is the minimum tank size required for an adult specimen of this fish?
If this fish went through body pattern change from juvenile to adult, was the change complete? How long did it take?
How long have you kept this fish? If you no longer have this fish, what was the cause?
What is the longest lifespan and the maximum size of this fish in home aquarium and/or in the wild reported?

They grow fast and big. Within a couple months fish can quadrople in size in a 125. Coloration remains the same as the fish matures with the exception of a slight darkening of the white background on the fish.

DISEASE AND TREATMENT
What disease has this fish had? How did you treat it, for how long? What's the effect of the treatment?

Never encountered disease with this fish.

BEHAVIOR
Does this fish change body color under any circumstances?
Does this fish dig the substrate often?
How active is this fish? Is this fish shy?
How territorial or aggressive is this fish? How does this fish interact with tankmates?
Did this fish ever jump out of the tank?
How does this fish sleep?
Does this fish allow cleaners to clean? If so which cleaner and how often?
How does this fish interact with human?
Did the fish release toxic substance that killed other creatures in the tank?
Any other interesting observation of this fish?

Hides often in the tank, especially with a full belly. When hungry they are out and about. Can be a very tame fish with a lot of personality often eating out of the owners hand.

REPRODUCTION
If you have a mated pair, how did you get them to pair up?
Any information of spawning in captivity?

No experience or known breading in captivity.

SUMMARY
Your overall assessment of this species -
How sensitive is this fish to poor water quality on a scale of 1-5?
1 - very tolerant, may survive a cycle in a new tank
2 - quite tolerant, may survive accidental ammonia or nitrite spike
3 - not terribly sensitive to reasonable pH, salinity or temperature changes
4 - sensitive to any significant water chemistry changes, and may show stress during such changes
5 - very sensitive to water quality, may easily get stressed and get sick with any change in water chemistry
Do you think we should not keep this fish (for what reason)?
Would you recommend this fish to beginners?
Is this fish best kept in mature/established (6 months or older) tank?
Any other recommendations/comments?

2- Only get this fish if you are prepared to feed special diet apart from other fish and are prepared for it to get big fast. A fun fish!

[reiple]

I have a panther grouper (2+ years), a humpback grouper (1+years), a checkered grouper (8+months), a blue argus (10+months).
In the same tank I have a Picasso Trigger (2+years), a Neon Damsel (BIG!-1+years) , a Starry Moray (1+years).
Tank crashed twice 6 and 14 months ago. Losses were a soldier fish, a squirel fish, two brown volitans, a queenniger triggerfish and my worst loss a miniatus grouper. Crash was caused by a drop in specific gravity (top off water went haywired) and power loss of 48 hours.
In it's history and during my start I lost due to stupidity a parrotfish (trigger killed it), several gobies (grouper ate them), a baby bamboo shark (bad specimen) and gave away an undulated trigger to the LFS (it attacked everyone).

Tank size: 100 gallons. Tank age 30 months still going.

Tank weirdness -- my DIY went bonkers since June and I have not finished setting it up (tank is in my parents house not mine). To date NO SKIMMER. Yup and all is well (water change @ 25% every 3 weeks)

Diet --- hmmmm...guppies 4x a week. chopped squid and silverslides 3x a week. granulated fish food for damsel.

(someday I wish to do a Born Free and ceremonially release the panther back to the sea. It's over 12" now! Big guy! If only my mom would let me though.)

[JNG567]

I had one for 3 years. These are MEAN fish it would be aggressive to other fish and was suprisingly mean to my large lion. It ultimately was killed due to its aggression by biting my dogpace puffer over fiid, which sent it into arrest and quickly died.

[ARDEN]

I have had this fish since it was very tiny and it lives in my reef still. I will have to move him when he becomes large enough to threaten my coruscations.

I bought him from my LFS.

I chose him because he was very active and in perfect condition.

Normal acclimation.

He lives with a pair of perculas, a coral hawk, a marine Betta. numerous inverts.

He is very curious but has show absolutely no aggression. however he would, no doubt, eat anything he could fit in his mouth.

He will eat most anything. He does not particularly like vegetable matter but he may eat it anyway.

I have rarely ever fed him live food.

He grows fast.

I have never encountered disease in this fish.

I have noticed this fish change color, becoming darker from time to time.

This fish is not shy he will let me touch him and often gets in the way when I
am trying to look closely at my tank.

I have never seen my blood shrimp clean him.

I am not certain I have ever seen him sleep. He will occasional wedge himself
between rocks with his pectorals.

All in all I do not find this to be aggressive I think hungry would be a better
word. Certainly dangerous to small animals. I have found them to be very hardy
although I do not believe in putting any fish through a tank cycle. If a
beginner was well informed and had a large tank and budget I would perhaps recomend
it. They would have to be prepared for the commitment.

[FOWLR Hobby]

I love my Panther, Panther, Panther Grouper!

He is 1-2 years old, gotten at around 2" from LFS. He is in a 55 gallon FOWLR tank at the moment, until I get a bigger tank. He is with a Sailfin Tang, a Niger Trigger, and a new Miniatus Grouper. All is well so far.

He has never eaten live food, and is rather tame. He eats mostly Silversides and Krill a couple times a week. He originally tried to eat the Niger Trigger, but the Trigger was too quick and the Panther eventually got bored of chasing him and now leaves him alone.

They are wonderful fish, but get big quick! I can't think of parting with him, so I'll have to just get a larger tank. I'm thinking of a cheap upgrade to a 75 for the moment. All my accessories will work on the 75. Later on I would like to get a 120 or 180.

Would have loved to see him with a Cleaner Shrimp, but that would have had to be in the tank first, now it would be lunch!

One note, My Panther is afraid of my digital camera and freaks out if I try to take his picture. I don't want him to get hurt smashing into rocks, so I will keep him out if pictures for now.

Great fish!

[mkr]

http://binarywerks.dk/reef/apr04/panther_grouper.jpg

This is my little panther grouper. He will soon be moved into my new aggressive fish tank when it's established. Currently he is in my reef.

I was afraid he'd eat my tiny sexy aneemone shrimps, but so far he has not touched them.

He does not eat alot of the food offered, but actively hunts among live rock for prey.

[Oze Reefer]

My grouper will eat anything that moves, i trained it to eat floating cichlid pellets really easily. A great fish for predator tanks, with great personality

[Oze Reefer]

Just a quick pic of my grouper

[Oze Reefer]

And another

[pisces77]

If you buy small and add late, you should not have too many problems. Mine chase a few new entries for a day or two but then accepted them. If you add the grouper early, rearrange the rocks/decorum whenever you add new fish. All of the inhabitants will spend time finding new territories rather than attacking the new entry.

[Crazy-Algae-Eater]

I see a good trend here, I was having the same problem too.

[pisces77]

Another tip, if your panther will only accept live food, use ghost shrimp. Once it begins to anticipate feeding (waiting at the top of the tank) drop in a few pieces of thawed shrimp. It will hit them so hard, you should not have any more problems. By the way, shrimp and crabs (hermits are ok) that are small enough to gulp down are food not tankmates. Stars, urchins, sponges, anenomes, snails, clams, and scallops are usually ok as roommates. Though when scallops go clapping around the tank, the panther usually gets intrigued.

[TimD]

Gorgeous fish. It was a bad choice though, considering we gave no thought to compatibility with other fish. Definitely not a beginner fish in that respect, unless you're absolutely sure you want to keep large, aggressive fish, and do your research into what other fish you can have them cohabitate with.

[ReefWaters]

When I went off to college, I left my 110g reef to fend for itself with only an occasional feeding from my parents. This was wrong and topic for another day. When I finally took the tank back over, there was very little reef left, a lot of algae and some hardy softies. I decided to trade my LFS the few large colonies of mushrooms and other soft corals that had survived my neglect, along with about half of my rock, for an 8" Panther and a Snowflake moray. I knew that these fish were hungry animals but I did not know much else. Needless to say, I should have done my research on both of these species BEFORE I purchased them. Not because I would have decided against them, but because they are beautiful and amazing animals that deserve better treatment than I gave them. That said...

My Panther Grouper (affectionately named Sampson) was by far my favorite fish that I have ever kept.

Personality: He quickly learned that I was the one who fed him. If I were up and walking around the room, he would be swimming around the tank. If I was sitting on my couch (next to the tank) watching TV, he would lay in the corner of the tank closest to me and watch with me. At least he acted like he was watching TV. He was staring right at the screen. If I put my hand over the tank, he would come to the surface expecting food. If I lowered my hand into the water slowly enough, he would allow me to pet him. It was more like he would allow me to rub my fingers down his dorsal fin but I like to call it petting.
The fish seemed to be intelligent. At least very intelligent for a fish. He had different moods and emotions. He would look you in the eye. He did not like strangers. He got to know my close friends and would swim around when they were at my house but if someone he didn't know came over, he would hide.

Feeding: He ate like a pig. I only fed the tank live goldfish. I have since learned that this is a VERY unhealthy thing for any fish (PLEASE do your research before purchasing any fish and provide it with a healthy natural diet). He would eat his fill and retire to his cave to digest his meal for anywhere between a day and 3 days. He would not over eat.

Compatibility: I kept my Panther in a 110 long (72x18x18) with a snowflake moray eel. They got along great. The eel was too slow to compete for food so the panther always got his fill first. The eel would occasionally be seen roaming the tank and in the process would come upon a sleeping Panther Grouper. No matter how much the eel touched, or wrapped around the Panther, the Panther never showed any sign of aggression to the eel. He would just sit there.

I introduced a very small (3") Blue Spot Grouper a few months after the Panther. I made a plexi glass divider to keep the Panther away from the little Blue Spot. At first the Panther would make an occasional lunge at the plexi trying to get to the Blue Spot but eventually stopped trying after a week or two. I left the divider up for about a month and finally decided it was safe to remove it after watching both groupers carefully for any sign of aggression toward each other. Once I removed the divider, I had absolutely no problems. The two groupers didn't even know the other was there. The Blue Spot stayed on the left side in her little territory and the Panther roamed the right 2 thirds of the tank and never went after the Blue Spot.

Diseases: I introduced two native fish of the same species from off the coast of Georgia to the tank at one point. Again, this was moronic and will never be done again. Not to mention the fact that I believe it is illegal. So I wont say what type of fish either. What did happen though was that these native species brought some kind of parasite with them. After about 2 weeks with these foreign ocean fish, I discovered some nasty worms growing out of the sides of the Panther, right around the lateral line. The parasite's heads were buried with their tails sticking out of the skin. I immediately removed the little buggers, added a UV Sterilizer, and within a week or so, the Panther was back to his old self with no noticeable diseases or parasites.

Water Quality: I know that I was not good about my water quality when I kept this fish and he never showed any problems. This does not mean that these fish do not deserve to have the best care possible and that is, as with any fish, high water quality. The store where I got the fish, claimed that at one point before I took the fish, a very ignorant keeper actually placed the fish in fresh water for upwards of an hour. The store rescued the fish which by this time had almost completely lost its fins to the salinity change. They quarantined the Panther, dosed the tank with some kind of fin medicine, and the fish recovered completely. However, I was not a witness to this undertaking so I cannot claim this as truth or weather it actually happened the way I said. Either way, I would say that a MATURE Panther is a VERY hardy fish and VERY tolerant to a wide range of water qualities. Juveniles (specimen under 5") are probably much more finicky.

Summary: I absolutely LOVE Panther Groupers. I regretfully gave mine back to the LFS, along with the rest of his tank mates, due to the lack of a job and the ability to care for the fish properly at the time. I wish now that I had figured out some way to keep them as this was one of the most satisfying tanks I have ever kept. If you want an active, hardy, beautiful, fish with tons of personality, I highly recommend a Panther Grouper. They are not difficult to keep but they will desire (deserve) a large tank and lots of food to be happy and healthy. I recommend heavy skimming and a UV Sterilizer is a nice addition and a safeguard. Just do your research first, purchase the largest fish you can afford, and enjoy a fish that will become a true pet for years to come.

Good Luck

[racedraper]

i had my grouper for 7 months,about 13inches long and love it.He is with my snowflake eel. I love when my panther changes color to blend n with the rocks. I can tell when he is hungry , he or she will go to the top of the tank and splash around. I fed both of the 4 cubes of formula one half unfrozen. he can swollow a whole cube.When happy he will be very white and eradecent (pearl like). I just wish I could put differnt fish in there but I prob put a lion fish with him.
I wonder if I could put a cleaner wrasse with him ,since my eel is big enough that I can see her teeth.anyway I would recomind this fish. It is a blast to have.

[racedraper]

i would post a pic of my grouper but i fall . butt it is in my gallery

[aLittletank]

Originally posted by racedraper
i would post a pic of my grouper but i fall . butt it is in my gallery

here ya go
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/77050grouper.jpg

Allen

[EMG]

I don't own one but I bought one for my friend for his birthday last month.

He was about 2 inches when I bought him. I paid $15 for him at the LFS. He is one of 2 fish in a 55 gallon tank, the other being a 7 inch long Columbian Shark. They get along just fine although I thought the shark was going to eat him the fist 2 days.

We thought something was wrong with him when we threw him in the tank because he swims along the bottom with his head down and tail way up in the air? Anybody else's do this? He had a small piece of his right gill broken off but it wasn't that bad and hardly noticeable? Do gill cover grow back?, I never had that problem before.

He will eat anything but he is mostly fed frozen Mysis shrimp and blood worms. He eats until his belly is so full it looks like it will pop.

I hope he doesn't outgrow that 55 gallon tank to quickly because my friend doesn't really have the money to get a bigger one for a while.

[ReefWaters]

EMG, your a good friend. :)

As far as I know, these fish are much less hardy when that small. However, as a whole, they are very hardy fish. The fish that I had supposedly spent a few hours in a fresh water tank and in the process, all his fins rotted off and he developed tons of soars. The LFS owner was able to get him back in time and treat him. He came back better than new and was happy as a clam when I had him.

The swimming face down thing does not sound bad. Mine, though much larger, would hide behind the rocks face down, would swim face down a good bit, and would even lay on his side in the corner occasionally. Nothing was ever wrong with him. I just think they are smarter than most people realize.

He will definitely outgrow the 55. How soon is another question.

I would say this is the biggest problem with these fish. Most people (including myself) get these fish and are not prepared for how large they will get and how long they will live. Its almost like a dog. I plan on setting up a grouper tank again but I will not do so until I can set up a 300 gallon or larger tank and plan on leaving it with just the groupers for many, many, many years.

I'm sure you've read above, but just to reiterate, make sure your friend feeds a wide variety of foods and at a minimum skims the water heavily. I also ran a UV sterilizer to prevent parasites which I did have a problem with at one point.

Good luck with the little guy and I promise he will be one of your favorite fish from now on.

[unleashed13]

I purchased a panther grouper a few days ago.however I did not qt him b4 placing him into the main tank always add melafix to the tank when acclimating any new fish into my tank he and the other tank mates have shown no signs of stress or illness .I purchase all of my fish and LR from one LSF only and have never had a problem with any of them as far as ich or paresite problems or illness.
125 gal hes about 7-8 inches
he ate very well the first day placed into the tank that evening
I fed him krill and shrimp chunks
hes is housed with
vilotan lion
silverscat
magnifcant foxface
snowflake eel
2 damsels 3-4 striped
and a black brittle starfish
crushed coral substrate
with LR
he gets along well with everyone
for now the damsels wont fit in his mouth they will be moved to my 55 gal as he grows
hes very outgoing as with all of my others fish.he has learned very fast that I am his feeder.I do hand feed my fish to a point.I stick feed my eel but i hand drop bit at a time for the rest of the tank they all come right to me for feeding
as he grows larger i will have to get a larger tank for him min 180 gal.but he shows promise for some personality the other fish like to lay on his back including the lion he just kinda sits back and enjoys the hug

[unleashed13]

oh yeh almost forgot 1 engeneer goby 11 inches

[ReefWaters]

unleashed13, sounds like your providing him a nice home.
Good luck with him. I think you'll really enjoy the fish.

Your making me want another fish only again.

[unleashed13]

thanx Im going to do my best hes a cool fish I like the fact that hes not shy and already is hand feeding and seems to recognize me as his caretaker

[SHOW ANGELS]

panther groupers are nice and tasty fish. Ill take mine steamed.

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

show angels, your hilarious bro! we're not talking sushi,seafood,calamari or jumbo prawns here.....by the way some extra crispy lemon chicken sounds hella good right now:thumbsup: :lolspin:

[SHOW ANGELS]

HA HA HA HA , bro your laughs. DUDE your reef is phat!!! Dude where did you get that pimp avatar???

[camaro03]

Aggressive fish will eat small fish and harrass fish its own size

[gussy]

SELECTION
Did you mail order this fish and would you recommend mail order this fish? Are there captive-raised/bred specimen available and where? Selected from a local distributor
Any tips on how you picked a healthy specimen of this species from LFS? What do you think is the ideal size to get? 2"
Are there any noticeable differences in body shape, pattern or color among the same species or between juvenile and adult of this species? no idea
Is there a way to tell the sex of this fish? no idea

ACCLIMATION AND INTRODUCTION
Any special tips about the acclimation and introduction of this fish? same as other fish
Any special needs for this fish or special considerations for young specimen? none
Should this fish be the first or the last to introduce to a tank? depends on what the "other" fishes are

COMPATIBILITY
What tankmates do you have with this fish?Is it a reef or FO tank? Fish and some inverts. Mono, Niger Trigger, Figure 8 Puffer, planning to add eel, scat, and dwarf lionfish later
Have you had more than one of this species in the same tank? If so, is there a certain male/female ratio or group number worked for you (to have a harem or pecking order)? Do they school?I only have one, so no idea on more than one
Have you had other species of the same genus/family in the same tank? no
What’s the stocking order (considering the above factors) that worked for you?no idea
Did this fish hurt/eat any of other fish (or vice versa)? No because it is currently the smallest fish in the tank. The next smallest fish is the slightly larger Figure 8 Puffer. All the other fishes are at least 8x the size of the panther.
Did this fish hurt/eat Cnidaria (corals, mushrooms or anemones)?No
Did this fish hurt/eat ornamental crustaceans (shrimps, hermits, crabs)? No
Did this fish hurt/eat Mollusks (snails, clams, oysters, mussels)?No
Did this fish hurt/eat Echinoderms (sea cucumbers, sea stars, urchins)?No
Did this fish hurt/eat Worms (feather dusters, flat worms, etc)?Did not eat anything other than the food that I gave it

FEEDING
How did you get this fish to eat at first? Just frozen cubes
If this fish only accepted live food, how did you wean it over to prepared food? Does it eat dry food (flakes or pallets)? Did not have to do live food.
What’s the diet? Nothing special
How much and how often do you feed? One a day and some times skipping a day.
How does this fish eat?(grazers, active or sedentary predators, sand sifters, etc)
Does this fish eat any microalgae or macroalgae in your tank? If so what type of algae? No

GROWTH RATE AND LIFE SPAN
What is the initial size of your fish and maximum size it reached? 2"How fast did it grow (how much growth over a given period of time)?
What size tank did this fish live in? 55G with 5G Sump(or how soon did this fish outgrow what size tank)? What do you think is the minimum tank size required for an adult specimen of this fish? At least 100 Gallons, bigger if there are other fishes in the tank.
If this fish went through body pattern change from juvenile to adult, was the change complete? How long did it take?
How long have you kept this fish? If you no longer have this fish, what was the cause?
What is the longest lifespan and the maximum size of this fish in home aquarium and/or in the wild reported? Check the books.

DISEASE AND TREATMENT
What disease has this fish had? How did you treat it, for how long? What's the effect of the treatment?

BEHAVIOR
Does this fish change body color under any circumstances?
Does this fish dig the substrate often? No
How active is this fish? Is this fish shy?
How territorial or aggressive is this fish? How does this fish interact with tankmates?
Did this fish ever jump out of the tank? No
How does this fish sleep?
Does this fish allow cleaners to clean? If so which cleaner and how often?
How does this fish interact with human?
Did the fish release toxic substance that killed other creatures in the tank? Of course not.
Any other interesting observation of this fish?

REPRODUCTION
If you have a mated pair, how did you get them to pair up?
Any information of spawning in captivity?

SUMMARY
Your overall assessment of this species -
How sensitive is this fish to poor water quality on a scale of 1-5? 3
1 - very tolerant, may survive a cycle in a new tank
2 - quite tolerant, may survive accidental ammonia or nitrite spike
3 - not terribly sensitive to reasonable pH, salinity or temperature changes
4 - sensitive to any significant water chemistry changes, and may show stress during such changes
5 - very sensitive to water quality, may easily get stressed and get sick with any change in water chemistry
Do you think we should not keep this fish (for what reason)?
Would you recommend this fish to beginners? No
Is this fish best kept in mature/established (6 months or older) tank?
Any other recommendations/comments?

REFERENCES
Do you have any links to web sites, online articles or any other source of information about this species that you would recommend?

If you have any picture(s) of this fish you took, please post it here and share with us!

This survey is too long and most of the answers other than personal experiences can be found in all the books.

[fishes2889]

ive had my panther for about 4 months now and hes bout 7 inches long and eats anything that will fit in its mouth. The panther is a fish that should be the last to go in an estblished tank , cuz its very hard to add fish after uve put in the mighty panther. He got his territory quickly and never gave it up very defensive when new fish are added and thiinks that they rare food but then he realizes that he cant fit them in his mouth. The last fish i put in this tank was a scopas tang and at first the panther kept on nipping at him the first day but then i feed the pnether and the scopas(silversides,bloodworms and for the tang sea weed even tho the tang ate the meat too) The panther just gave up and said this isnt food this is going to be a guy livibng with me. the tangf had a few nipped out of his fins but grew most of them back the next day. the panther is fun to watch he always stays over by where i feed him. evry time i enter the room hes over at the rightside of the tank swimming frantically. overal they r very hardy and a good selction to an aggressive but yet big enough community fish for an at least 100 gallon tank. i will eventually get a bigger tank then a 120 , so i will probably buy a 180 soon enough.but for the 120 i bought a uv sterilizer bout a month ago sice i noticed how much watse the grouper was porducing and i read that alot of people insisted on getting it with a grouper since the grouper can be prone to parasites. SO yes what i feed the grouper every day is a cube of copped up mysis shrimp, bloodworms, silversides and some krill. i had a princess parrot fish that i had bought but that didnt work out that well the panther had half of the parrot fish in his mouth but couklnt eat it so i took the parrot out and took it back to the LFS and everything was just peachy. So yea grouper are outstanding fish very intelligent and will live an extremely long life for a fish so be ready .

[ReefWaters]

I second the UV for a fish only and especially the groupers. My panther got a nasty parasite that looked like worms growing out of his side. The UV cleared it right up and was a small investment for the benefit IMO.

[RickD1]

Mine is great it eat out of my hand.:eek:

[lost1st manty:(]

igot him as a small baby and is in a 150 gallon tank with a huma trigger yellow tang porcupine puffer, green bird wrasse ( he hates him the most) hi fin snapper (him second most)(by the way my bird wrasse hates the hifin snapper, volitan lion they seem to be doing fine so far and have heard of problems developing, have fought over food a fews times but my volitan will grab food then turn upside down pointing his venomous spines at my panther which gets his attention to back off or die!!!! snowflake moray, humbug dasel i cant catch him neither can the grouper or anyone they are trying to eat him , i tore the whole tank apart trying to get him out spent hours until my arms were too tired and aslmost got stung by my volitan while not paying attention to where he was, yellow tang, panther is so far afraid if his razor on his tail fin but is getting more frisky around him especially when crossing territotires, my puffer and him get along th ebest and moray thoughi did see my panther pushing the moray into his lair recently, so essentially i could have a problem on my hand as i have been trying not to feed him as much as often as he is slowly becoming a bigger and bigger terror each day. oh yeah i have a blue velvet damsel about 3 inches and my panther is about 5 now my panther tired to swallow him the other day but spit him out i couldnt believ how big his mouth could open there are scracthes all over the damsel but i cant catch or trap him to get him out and afraid he and domino will be snacks real quick, as far as the huma is he getting nastier and nastier too the panther will not remotelyt mess with him or puffer, hope this helps you some, i have been keeopping fish 6 months:eek2: :eek2:

[kmckayak]

I received my panther as an adoption from the local Petco, believe it or not, along with a picasso trigger and a carpet eel blenny. They were all in one tank together and were buddies. They hang out under the same overhang, rub up against each other and get along great. The trigger is the definite pig but the panther now gets more aggressive for food and will sometimes take a chunk from the trigger. The panther's eating frozen shrimp, squid and anchovies but still gets most excited with a live goldfish. All three were big fish when I got them: panther-7 inches, trigger-6 inches, eel-10 inches. They are in a 125 gal tank.
My panther generally likes to hang out under an overhanging rock but will cruise the tank casually, especially when I come by for feeding time. He doesn't eat at night when I've slipped a fish or piece of shrimp in there to see their reaction. I've just put in another smaller picasso trigger and a snowflake eel into the tank and all are getting along fine. The larger trigger initially chased the smaller trigger but they're getting along well now. The panther is pretty unfazed by the other fish. He's a very mellow tankmate.

[saltyESQ]

if I bought a 5 inch panther grouper, how long would it take to outgrow m 90g. I was thinking of mixing it with a humu trigger and a stars and stripes puffer.

[ReefWaters]

A year...Two Max

[gussy]

Seem to grow pretty fast. It's been close to a year and my panther is now 3x it's orginal size. It used to be the smallest fish in the tank but now it's the second largest at 6". In contrast, my Niger Trigger has barely grown...probably 1/2" in a year.

[bluerug]

Here is my baby from a few months ago. No longer with me, i am afraid he got to big.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/blue_carpet/ace020.jpg
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j281/blue_carpet/ace029.jpg

[Galilean]

I got a panther grouper dumped on me by a guy whose tank it outgrew. It was recieved at a size of about 5 inches and barely fit in the tupperware container he brought it in. I kept it in a 55 gal by itself for about 6 months feeding it feeder goldfish. It was fun to try to see it eat, but it was to fast. It would just drift up to the goldfish very slowly and then make a slight rapid sucking motion and there would only be gold scales floating in the water. When it got to big for me it went to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo where it lived for at least 3 more years and grew to about 3 feet long in the 2000 gallon fish only tank there. I have moved away and don't know how long it may have lived.

[aZnDooDe]

can you keep a grouper with a dwarf lion in a 40 gallon fowlr with some angels

[ReefWaters]

For about 2 months. Then he will outgrow the tank.

I would think the dwarf would as well.

Depends on the species of angels our thinking of keeping.

Most groupers need a HUGE tank to reach full adult size and stay healthy. Something no smaller than a 300 gallon. The bigger the better.

[aZnDooDe]

dam it
i love groupers and lions and i dont know if moorish idol is a angelt. this is my first time to set up a fowler.

[ReefWaters]

A Moorish Idol is definately NOT an angel and I would suggest staying away from them for a long time. Even VERY experienced hobbyists have a hard time keeping them alive.

I don't know much about Lions but I see you're already on the sticky lion thread.

Your doing the right thing by researching before buying. Please keep that practice up and don't buy a fish just b/c your LFS says you can. 99.9% of the time, they don't care if the fish dies, they just want to make the sale and get you to buy more.

My gut feeling is that you need to start out with some much smaller and more docile fish before moving to a grouper or lion.

Good luck!

[aZnDooDe]

i know the so well that they would give me a huge discount and i mean huge and for the skimmer i gonna get one for one hundred

[ReefWaters]

?

[aZnDooDe]

never mind

[speedo2wet]

Oh love my Panther Grouper!! I have had my panter for 5-6 months now and he has grown 3X the size when I received him. He is know 12-13 inches in length and seems to be in good health. I just recently introduced a miniatus grouper; they did a little fighting at first but now they live happy. Although the miniatus has like a black ich which I am treating him for now.

Feeding: I once in a while feed live shrimp for the local bait and tackle shop which they love. Otherwise i do a combination of frozen shrimp, clams, squid which is soaked in garlic and vitamins. They gobble that stuff up like crazy.

[ram74]

Here are a couple pics of my panther grouper in my 180.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r8/audiko4/aquarium/P1000292.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r8/audiko4/aquarium/P1000296.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r8/audiko4/aquarium/P1000297.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r8/audiko4/aquarium/P1000294.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r8/audiko4/aquarium/P1000286.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r8/audiko4/aquarium/P1000298.jpg

[morayeelsrule]

so i just joined today cause i saw this article and thought it was awesome. i have had a lot of expierience with panther grouper i have had two in the past four years one i still have the other was a little too small when i introduced it into the tankl and my moray got a hold of it. :( i also worked in a fish shop for five years and thats where i got the most interaction with them. i enjoy there velvety appeance when there smaller i wish they kept it oh well

[morayeelsrule]

wow thats a really nice setup you should look into some stingrays those would look great and maybe add some color

[TheSaltwaterGuy]

Stingrays get too big for a 180, even the smallest of them.

As for Panther Groupers, I plan to get one in the future for my shark pond.

[boogie10]

My panther is around 1.5 years and is very large around a foot long. He is the most timid fish in my tank of 800 to 900 gallons. I would not be surprised if he were to die before any of my other fish. I have 4 sharks - bottom dwellers, 8 eels, 4 tangs and he is the scaredy cat of all of them, it's surprising. Does anyone else have a large scaredy cat panther out there????

[mikko]

I have 2 panther groupers, 1 is about 4 inches, the other is about 2 inches.. and they are doing great with my bursa trigger, starry trigger, red faced moray eal, bariene tang, blue spine unicorn tang and orbi batfish, they are in my agressive tank.. they are excellent

[ReefWaters]

mikko - How long have the two panthers been in the tank together? I would be willing to bet that the two panthers will start to become very territorial towards each other very quickly. Especially in a 50 gallon tank. If you begin to see ANY aggression between the two panthers you will want to remove one immediately. Once it starts, it wont be long before one is killed.

Are all of those fish in a 50 together? That is a lot of large fish for that size tank. Your panthers are also extremely young. They will become the size of salad plates within a year or so if fed properly. A 50 will work well for a year or so but a panther is going to need a lot more room as it gets bigger.

[mikko]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14957722#post14957722 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefWaters
mikko - How long have the two panthers been in the tank together? I would be willing to bet that the two panthers will start to become very territorial towards each other very quickly. Especially in a 50 gallon tank. If you begin to see ANY aggression between the two panthers you will want to remove one immediately. Once it starts, it wont be long before one is killed.

Are all of those fish in a 50 together? That is a lot of large fish for that size tank. Your panthers are also extremely young. They will become the size of salad plates within a year or so if fed properly. A 50 will work well for a year or so but a panther is going to need a lot more room as it gets bigger.

i disposed my panther groupers, because they are getting big in my tank.. i swapped it with a flagfin angel and a regal angel in the LFS.. i am upgrading to a 150 gal or 200 gal this month, because my fishes are getting big, a 50 gal is to small..:D

[fisho125]

I don't own one of these "groupers" or barramundi cod as they are called over here in Australia and they do grow to a very large size in the wild. I do have an eastern wirrah cod (Acanthistius ocellatus) which is no "panther grouper" but still in the same family of fishes and a great little fish.

[AlaskanPredator]

I have a very pretty panther grouper that was given to my from a family friend who is moving to hawaii. so jealous ... but still i got his panther and his niger trigger so im going to try and keep that with my magnifecent Foxface and my engineer goby

[ReefWaters]

AlaskanPredator, how big is your tank? How big is the panther right now? They are full of personalitly and great fish to keep.

[justinc0708]

hey you guys i have a question.i was wanting a panther grouper i have a 75 gallon.i was wanting to keep him with one of the smaller lions.my question is how big do they get and does it take long to get that big?thanks

[ReefWaters]

Justinc0708 - Panthers are great fish but it will outgrow a 75 gallon in only a few years. In the wild this fish will get to more than two feet in length. It is unlikely that it will get that large in captivity in anything other than the largest of aquariums. However it will quickly reach a foot or more in length. I would personally not keep this fish in anything less than about 200 gallons and many people would probably say even larger. This is a VERY popular fish at fish stores and this fish is often kept in aquariums that are too small for it to thrive. It will do fine for a few years but you need to have a plan on what to do with this fish when it outgrows your current 75. Good luck and keep us posted.

[justinc0708]

yea thanks maybe i will get it and just upgrade in the future.

[Jerm77]

SELECTION
Did you mail order this fish and would you recommend mail order this fish?
Local Fish Store, taken directly from whole seller shipment, Atlantis Aquarium. atlantisaquarium.net



COMPATIBILITY
What tankmates do you have with this fish?Is it a reef or FO tank? FO tank.

Niger Trigger, porcupine puffer, humu humu trigger, white tail trigger, clown trigger, blue jaw trigger, dragon wrasse,red coris wrasse(juvinile), Blue tang, Sailfin Tang, fox face rabitfish.


FEEDING
How did you get this fish to eat at first? Frozen Mysis and brine shrimp, also ate small live damsels.
Does it eat dry food (flakes or pallets)? No
What’s the diet? mysis and silver sides, frozen

How much and how often do you feed? once a day - every 3 days. mysis shrimp and silversides


GROWTH RATE AND LIFE SPAN
What is the initial size of your fish and maximum size it reached? How fast did it grow (how much growth over a given period of time)? inital size was 2-3" with in 2 months this fish was about 6-8". @ 6 months this fish is about 9"

What do you think is the minimum tank size required for an adult specimen of this fish? I would say 75-100g, but would eventually out grow.


DISEASE AND TREATMENT
What disease has this fish had? How did you treat it, for how long? What's the effect of the treatment? a fugal and cryt parasite. treated with malachite green and copper.

BEHAVIOR
Does this fish change body color under any circumstances? yes

Does this fish dig the substrate often? not often, maybe only when establishing its cave territory

How active is this fish? Is this fish shy? shy when first introduced, swims around alot looking for food.

How territorial or aggressive is this fish? How does this fish interact with
tankmates? very quick to eat food falling into tank. loves to eat small damsels. has probably eaten 15 damsels, larger domino damsels are a challenge for him. he is in the tank with a small huma huma trigger (lessthan 2").

Did this fish ever jump out of the tank? No

How does this fish sleep? Hidden in cave area.

How does this fish interact with human? somewhat timid, not a single aggressive event so far.


SUMMARY
Your overall assessment of this species -

How sensitive is this fish to poor water quality on a scale of 1-5?
2 - quite tolerant, may survive accidental ammonia or nitrite spike

Do you think we should not keep this fish (for what reason)?
Would you recommend this fish to beginners? Yes, I think most beginners could care for this fish as long as they are eating before you buy one.

Is this fish best kept in mature/established (6 months or older) tank?
Any other recommendations/comments? I added this fish to a tank that was moved, it was cycling, ammonia was low at the time. He has survived a few ammonia spikes over the months.

[Captain Cayle]

I'm a "current" and "past" panther grouper supporter. I won't consider myself an owner because as anyone can attest that has had one, they actually own you.

My first I got when I had a 55 gal aquarium and the second I just got about 2 months ago when I got back into the hobby with my 72 gallon.

The new one is about 3" now. He's grown about an inch in the 2 months I've had him. He is in the tank with a false perc, a pink skunk clown, a 6 line wrasse, yellow tang (saved from a friend) and a bangai cardinal. He's headed for the larger predator tank when it's done being built.

They're great fish. Probably my favorite. I don't think I'll have a tank without one. Like others have stated, mine clearly recognizes me and follows me around. He lets me pet him. He eats from my hand. He's spoiled rotten because I'm a fishing charter captain and I work in a bait shop so he eats like a king. Fresh shrimp, fresh minnows, blue crab meat, stone crab meat. He'll kill you for fresh amberjack chunks. I feed him one small chunk of fresh amberjack and he'll sit at the top of the tank with his mouth out of the water waiting for the next piece.

He changes color once in a while, getting darker when he's upset or territorial which isn't often. He seems to get lighter when he sees me and wants fed. He has about 100 lbs of live rock (with more to come) and loves picking out his favorite holes.

He doesn't bother any of the other fish or shrimp I have in my tank. In fact, the only time I've ever had a problem was with my first panther. He ate my false perc but the little clownfish was on his last leg. He was over 8 years old from a friends tank and I had him for 2 years before he started swimming funny and the grouper sucked him down. They shared the tank for a year without issue but at the first sign of weakness, BAM, the clown was a goner.

My grouper could eat my current false perc, my pink skunk and my 6 line wrasse if he wanted to but he doesn't bother them and they don't bother him.

The only trait the current panther shows that is different from my other panther is that this one is a digger. I have one rock in the corner of my tank that he has dug a hole out from under in the substrate. I don't know why, he never goes in there, he just digs the hole. I fill in the hole, he digs it out.

[fishyman12]

This fish died after about two months. It had parasites and gave up on me

[jameskb]

I've had the privilege of owning two of these fish during my time in the hobby, I had to trade in the first when I moving necessitated taking my tank down for about a year and I traded in the second at my LFS when my Puffer died and I decided to become a reef aquarist instead. The second fish is now a fat and well fed happy resident of their display tank.

It always amused me how this fish would find one other in the aquarium to choose as its "buddy" and would follow this other fish around, laying on it whenever it got the chance. My panther groupers have both done this, the first with a lionfish, the second with a pufferfish. Both times the groupers would follow the other fish around staying close to it and when the "buddy" would lay on the tank substrate say after feeding, etc. the grouper would swim slowly up along side it then literally lay its body sideways leaning on the "buddy" fish. They always did this, they never fought with the other fish or nipped at them, they just wanted to cuddle

[jcmjoe]

I had one for about a year, it was about 2 inches when I bought it for 30 dollars. It ate anything I would put in the tank. In the first month it ate two of its tank mates which were blue green Chromis, Then about a month later it killed my Dragon Wrasse, and It then stayed in the tank which was a 56 Gallon with a Picasso Trigger. It grew to about 5-6 inches when I got rid of it and it would eat about 8 rosies a day if I would let it. Beautiful fish though!

[chryssmt]

I've had a panther grouper in my tank for at least two years now. It has grown very quickly. Right now I'd say it's about 9-10 inches. He was housed with a large Volitan Lion. Up until recently, no real problems (about a 200 gallon tank).

I attempted to add a large blue tang to the mix, which, I assumed, went into hiding the day he entered the tank. The Grouper showed no interest when I released it. It appears as though the Grouper ate the tang, and later I found my Lion dried up behind the tank (very large lion). The local store said the grouper, after eating the tang, was probably harrassing the lion.

I hate to get rid of the grouper, but would like something else in the tank. I have quite a bit of live rock in the tank, but don't know what I could safely add that could hold its own with the grouper. I thought about a very large Yellow Tang, as I know they tend to be aggressive. Any suggestions?

[wingless piglet]

I've panthers in my predators tanks and large fish tanks - nearly in each tank large enough for them. IMHO, 400 - 500l is a minimum-optimum. This fish, when young, will successfully set even in the 100 - 200l, but in a few months it will overgrow... It's not a pleasant sight - 20cm grouper in a 150l tank :(
IMHO, this grouper is one of the most compatible with other fish - together with Variola louti, they're two of the most peaceful large groupers. Others, like Cephalopholis, Epinephelus etc - are enormously agressive, territorial and in a very short time will kill every other fish, even triggers and small sharks. Pogonoperca, Diploprion, Grammistes etc are not so "clever" and "sociable", and also may be very shy.
And, essentially, average size of tankmates must be corresponding - no less than about 1\2 of the length of a grouper for high-bodied fishes (e.g., Platax) and no less than 2\3 for others. In fact, no fish of such predatory origin can sucessfully coexist with small "reef" fishes - they're just do not consider them to be FISH :spin1: - nothing but feeders :eek1:
And one more moment - IMHO, the best way to settle successfully such territorial predator in a tank is to put him there in the last turn, after all other fishes had settled and recovered. This may be not so essential for concrete (calm and peaceful) specimen, but is very useful in general.
As for Cromileptis itself - it is one of the most thankful, peaceful and sociable fishes, becoming fully tame in a few months. It's very easy and nearly completely safe (! - can occasionally bite one's finger, but only occasionally!) to feed this fish by hand. Sometimes they like even to be palmed by the owner, or like to rest for a while on a palm.

[kl ben]

http://adult
http://juvenile
Juvenile panther grouper is waiting for food..

[CarrieA]

I am a new aquarist with a Panther Grouper. He is adorable and I never thought I would say that about a FISH. At this point I have far more questions than answers.

About us, My partner and I named the fish Floyd (band groupie, floating pig, etc) He has no tank mates at this time but are thinking of a Red Knobbed starfish and perhaps a Snowflake eel.
Is there a way to tell the sex of this fish?



will this fish hurt/eat Echinoderms (sea cucumbers, sea stars, urchins)?

FEEDING
How did you get this fish to eat at first? Feeding him is not really the issue, but how do you get him to NOT BEG?
If this fish only accepted live food, how did you wean it over to prepared food? He eats gold fish(live), Krill, silversides, mysis worms, and looks fondly at any small things that are used near his tank that might resemble food, so we put Nothing is his tank he is not to eat Does it eat dry food (flakes or pallets)? Haven't tried
What’s the diet? fed a variable diet every other day
How much and how often do you feed? we try to keep the amount to the equivalent of 3 or so goldfish. Grouper is about 7 inch long

How does this fish eat?
Does this fish eat any microalgae or macroalgae in your tank? If so what type of algae?

What is the longest lifespan and the maximum size of this fish in home aquarium and/or in the wild reported?




Does this fish dig the substrate often? He has been digging in the substrate. Mostly in his cave. Yesterday I had cleaned the tank and vacuumed the gravel there. I had to skootch him out of the way to be able to clean there.
Is the digging territorial? I have seen him digging at other times, in other parts of the tank, but he has made a special effort in his cave today.
How active is this fish? He is very active. Is this fish shy? rarely

Did this fish ever jump out of the tank? I certainly hope not.
How does this fish sleep? Apparently with his eyes open and while in motion.

How does this fish interact with human? Like a puppy. Darndest thing I have ever seen.

Any other interesting observation of this fish? He also does the coolest flounder impression. Swims across the bottom of the tank on his side from one end to the other. I have never seen a fish swim in so many directions. He swims backwards into his cave when he doesn't somersault into it. With this info, any ideas about the digging behavior?


REPRODUCTION
If you have a mated pair, how did you get them to pair up?
Any information of spawning in captivity?

SUMMARY
Your overall assessment of this species -
How sensitive is this fish to poor water quality on a scale of 1-5?
1 - very tolerant, may survive a cycle in a new tank
2 - quite tolerant, may survive accidental ammonia or nitrite spike
3 - not terribly sensitive to reasonable pH, salinity or temperature changes
4 - sensitive to any significant water chemistry changes, and may show stress during such changes
5 - very sensitive to water quality, may easily get stressed and get sick with any change in water chemistry
Do you think we should not keep this fish (for what reason)?
Would you recommend this fish to beginners?
Is this fish best kept in mature/established (6 months or older) tank?
Any other recommendations/comments?

[CarrieA]

I am a new aquarist with a Panther Grouper. He is adorable and I never thought I would say that about a FISH. At this point I have far more questions than answers.

About us, My partner and I named the fish Floyd (band groupie, floating pig, etc) He has no tank mates at this time but are thinking of a Red Knobbed starfish and perhaps a Snowflake eel.
Is there a way to tell the sex of this fish?



will this fish hurt/eat Echinoderms (sea cucumbers, sea stars, urchins)?

FEEDING
How did you get this fish to eat at first? Feeding him is not really the issue, but how do you get him to NOT BEG?
If this fish only accepted live food, how did you wean it over to prepared food? He eats gold fish(live), Krill, silversides, mysis worms, and looks fondly at any small things that are used near his tank that might resemble food, so we put Nothing is his tank he is not to eat Does it eat dry food (flakes or pallets)? Haven't tried
What’s the diet? fed a variable diet every other day
How much and how often do you feed? we try to keep the amount to the equivalent of 3 or so goldfish. Grouper is about 7 inch long

How does this fish eat?

What is the longest lifespan and the maximum size of this fish in home aquarium and/or in the wild reported?

Does this fish dig the substrate often? He has been digging in the substrate. Mostly in his cave. Yesterday I had cleaned the tank and vacuumed the gravel there. I had to skootch him out of the way to be able to clean there.
Is the digging territorial? I have seen him digging at other times, in other parts of the tank, but he has made a special effort in his cave today.
How active is this fish? He is very active. Is this fish shy? rarely

Did this fish ever jump out of the tank? I certainly hope not.
How does this fish sleep? Apparently with his eyes open and while in motion.

How does this fish interact with human? Like a puppy. Darndest thing I have ever seen.

Any other interesting observation of this fish? He also does the coolest flounder impression. Swims across the bottom of the tank on his side from one end to the other. I have never seen a fish swim in so many directions. He swims backwards into his cave when he doesn't somersault into it. With this info, any ideas about the digging behavior?


:hmm1:

[Bikermike]

I love my panther.

[Jay Hester]

mine swims that way to he or she is about 2 inches long