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02/26/2015, 03:57 PM | #1 |
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Who done it? Ventralis anthias maimed.
Today I noticed that my prized male Ventralis was not out and about with the other fish. The two females were acting normal, but he was missing. I found him stuck in a very small cave with what appeared to be damage to his tail. I gently touched him to see if he was alive and he burst out -- I could see that his entire tail down to the caudal peduncle had been ripped off! He quickly moved into another crevice deeper in the reef structure where I cant see him. I'm not sure he will survive this. He is very fat but if he is too afraid to come out, I'm sure he is going to eventually die of starvation. Unless what bit off his tail kills him first! I need some help identifying the culprit since I have never seen any fish chase him more than a normal quick rush.
The only two real suspects in my mind are 2 small emerald crabs and a 5" B. opercularis. The other fish include a 4" A. femininus, three tangs, four small (3-5") angels, a few fairy wrasses and a pair of clowns. Am I right to suspect the crabs and the hogfish? I can imagine a crab sneaking up on him while he was sleeping tucked in the rock and I can also imagine the hungry hogfish getting a lucky hit. The hogfish is the boss of the tank but I have never seen him be that aggressive to any fish. I need to remove whatever did it.
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02/26/2015, 04:43 PM | #3 |
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My B. neopercularis is a demon and has killed fish I would have never thought it would notice.
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02/26/2015, 04:49 PM | #4 |
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Yeah, I'd be leaning towards the hogfish, or even one of the Tangs. You sure its damage as opposed to fin rot? Sucks though. Never kept ventralis - it's one of my holy-grail fish.
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Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs |
02/26/2015, 05:02 PM | #5 |
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Definitely damage, not fin rot. Fish was perfect just yesterday -- he's the first thing I look for when I walk up to my tank. Totally bummed about it.
I highly doubt its a tang. I have a Gem, a chocolate and a tomini. They don't even fight among themselves much. If it comes to a choice between my Ventralis and a beautiful but killer Bodianus, I know who's going!
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02/26/2015, 06:34 PM | #6 |
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Years ago Scott Fellman was breaking down one of his tanks and brought me his favorite peppermint hogfish. We popped the fish in my tank. No sooner did we pour it into the tank that it swam directly over to a yellow assesor and bit the fish in 1/2. It swam another 8" grabbed a second yellow assesor and smashed the fish into a rock tearing it in 2.
I was lucky and managed to catch him within 36 hours and rehome him. Scott had it in his tank for years without any issue. My tank in less than 15 seconds it was a mass murderer. Dave B
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560g Display. 1500g System Volume. (2) 180g Outdoor Frag Tanks. 340g Sump, 30g 2 story surge tank. Dasatco EXT 9. Bubble King Skimmer. Ozone. UV. 5' Fluidized Sand Filter. Avast Kalk Mixer. Current Tank Info: 560g SPS Dominant Reef / 1500g Total System |
02/26/2015, 07:10 PM | #7 |
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That's quite a story Dave! Mine is definitely not that kind of killer, but I will be watching him closely. If he is the culprit, he will be re-homed.
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02/26/2015, 10:06 PM | #8 |
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I had issues with my Opercularis as well. He was the last fish added, but he became extremely aggressive towards some of the other fish. I had to take him out.
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02/26/2015, 10:43 PM | #9 |
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Darn. That's too bad. Good luck
@dave, that's funny and horrific at same time. Sucks that it happened though |
02/26/2015, 11:17 PM | #10 |
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My personal experience would be the feminus as the villian here. only difference was tuka anthias not ventrallis
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02/27/2015, 07:23 AM | #11 |
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If it looks like rounded chunks out of the tail I would suspect one of the angels. Hard to tell, like other mentioned hogfish, wrasse, possibly a tang?
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Fish are not disposable commodities, but a worthwhile investment that can be maintained and enjoyed for many years, providing one is willing to take the time to understand their requirements and needs Current Tank Info: 625g, 220g sump, RD3 230w, Vectra L1 on a closed loop, 3 MP60s, MP40. Several QTs |
02/27/2015, 10:16 AM | #12 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
By the way, the ventralis has found a hole where I can check on him. He is still very alert.
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02/28/2015, 08:44 AM | #13 |
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Glad to hear he's still doing well, was kind of afraid to ask.
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Matt Current Tank Info: 50 Breeder Quarantine Tank, 240 Miracles Finally up and running, 29 Biocube - AI Nano |
02/28/2015, 10:28 AM | #14 |
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Sadly, he didn't make it.
[IMG][/IMG] The two females are behaving normally and have no fin damage. A one off? Or take out the B. Opercularis and the emerald crabs to be safe?
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02/28/2015, 04:35 PM | #15 | |
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Quote:
Darn!!!!!!
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02/28/2015, 11:49 PM | #16 |
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Definitely remove the emeralds.
I have a thought, though. That's an intake it's stuck to, correct? Is there any sort of machinery on the other side, close to the intake? Could the wrasse have been sleeping near an intake and had its tail pulled in and chopped off? Because that's a pretty major wound. If a fish did that, I'd think it would go back for seconds.
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03/01/2015, 12:36 AM | #17 |
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It floated to the intake after it died. And the intake does not have a strong auction. It leads to a manifold that supplied my closed loop pumps. You may be right about a fish going back for seconds. Unless it was a pure act of aggression. I will take out the emeralds. I've been trying to trap the hogfish all day, but he is a quick bugger.
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03/01/2015, 01:18 AM | #18 |
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That's sad. Sorry.
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03/01/2015, 07:05 AM | #19 |
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Sucks, really sorry to hear that.
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Matt Current Tank Info: 50 Breeder Quarantine Tank, 240 Miracles Finally up and running, 29 Biocube - AI Nano |
03/01/2015, 11:01 AM | #20 |
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Thanks. He was my fave.
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