marvelousone
New member
Ok thanks I take your advice to heart.
10' Pond Build
- Thread starter moriarty
- Start date
moriarty
New member
Thanks! The pond will be a work in progress for a while yet, but it's a lot of fun to play around with! Won't be doing any sharks or rays as I wouldn't want to put them in jeopardy with the angels, puffers, and triggers.
moriarty
New member
I'm using a mag drive (2400 gph) for the main pump. Yep, exactly how I set it up along with a tee/ball valve that bypasses the can and goes directly to the refugium, back to the sump, and back into the pool.
Have you considered a dragonface pipefish or two? You might not see them too often, but it would be neat when you did. I'm sure you'll have more than enough pods for them, giving that most fish in there seem large enough to not be overly interested in copepods.
Or perhaps a mandy or two? I'm not sure if something would eat them...
Ooh, a sea moth! Basically a larger, more exotic-looking mandy.
Or perhaps a mandy or two? I'm not sure if something would eat them...
Ooh, a sea moth! Basically a larger, more exotic-looking mandy.
moriarty
New member
I appreciate the suggestions! I'll need to wait for my fuge to mature a bit, but definitely something to consider!
moriarty
New member
Thanks for the reinforcing info about running at a cooler temp in the winter. I'm slowly bringing my temps down (at 77.6 currently). 106 degree weather on a consistent basis would be concerning for sure! I kept track of the temps in my basement before building the pond (most of last winter - summer) to see if there would be a need to add a chiller or fan, and decided that I could get away without. Basement stays nice and cool in the summertime.
moriarty
New member
Lol! Thank you! Yes! Am planning to frame it in and give it a more finished look. Love the science project comment by the way!
nirvanaandtool
New member
Awesome build. Stuff most of us just dream of doing.
Also, love that you have a Snooty Maori (Cheilinus oxycephalus). I do as well and he's such an awesome fish. Ever give him a crayfish or two to eat? Two bites and they are done.
Have you thought about giving some of the larger Maori wrasses a try since you have all that room? A Tripletail or a Redbreast would be awesome in that tank. Heck a male Broomtail would be stunning in there if you could find one.
Lower temp is no problem at all. I've kept previous tanks at 74-76 year round with no issues on any fish. Currently I stick to around 76.
Also, love that you have a Snooty Maori (Cheilinus oxycephalus). I do as well and he's such an awesome fish. Ever give him a crayfish or two to eat? Two bites and they are done.
Have you thought about giving some of the larger Maori wrasses a try since you have all that room? A Tripletail or a Redbreast would be awesome in that tank. Heck a male Broomtail would be stunning in there if you could find one.
Lower temp is no problem at all. I've kept previous tanks at 74-76 year round with no issues on any fish. Currently I stick to around 76.
moriarty
New member
Thank you for the compliment! Also appreciate your insight on the temperature! Snooty Maori wrasse are great fish! How is yours in terms of hiding vs. staying out in the open? Mine spends about 90% of the day swimming the circumference of the pool - was concerned at first that this may be a stress reaction caused by more active tank mates, but he eats like a champ, and doesn't show any other cause for me to be concerned. I've never tried feeding crayfish but did get him to start eating in QT with live ghost shrimp. Cheilinus/Oxycheilinus are by far my favorite genus of wrasse, and I've been looking for a broomtail for some time. NYA has a really nice one in right now, but at 10" I think it might be too big for some of the other fish in my system (would hate to see my little assasi trig become a quick snack).
nirvanaandtool
New member
Mine is out in the open like 95% of the time. Rules my tank especially at feeding time. He spends most of his time in the upper regions of the tank occasionally venturing down towards the rockwork mostly to check on the other fish and what they are doing. Interestingly enough though, these guys are really suspectible to bullying. I had a little 3" Falco hawkfish (half the size of the snooty) put the snooty in his place and wouldn't let the snooty anywhere near any rockwork in the tank. Needless to say, the hawk got the boot. Is yours a total hog at feeding time? Mine will stuff his cheeks full of food and keep going back for more, spitting out old food as he tries to grab new stuff. Try feeding live crayfish to him (plus I'm sure the triggers would love them too).
After having this guy, Cheilinus & Oxycheilinus have quickly become my favorite wrasses. My 90g however is a little small for most of the Maori's but I'm on the lookout for a Twospot Maori (Oxycheilinus bimaculatus) to add to it.
Oh ya, I saw that guy. A big ole Cheeklined Maori I think. I believe they are fish eaters though so I'd watch the tankmates around them. NYA also has a nice Redbreasted Maori (though the picture is of the cheeklined). It's listed at 4" and would not be a threat to your other fish at that size. DD also gets Tripletails and Redbreast in every now and then. Just had a nice juvi Tripletail that my buddy Joe (kaiboshi) on here picked up to pair with his current 8" Tripletail. I told him to chime in on this thread cause he's the one who originally got me into these wrasses and he's a nut about them.
kaiboshi
New member
I thought Ralph and I were about the only ones with any enthusiasm for the maori wrasses lol. Nice to see there's at least 3 crazy people out there =]
Is your snooty swimming really fast around the circumference or just covering a lot of ground? I've kept a few different species of Cheilinus and Oxycheilinus wrasse and once they settle in they seem to really enjoy hunting. They inquisitively look in/under/around every nook and cranny in the tank and with the relatively large area that you've provided him he may just be doing his thing at a quicker pace.
I agree with your caution regarding that broomtail @ nya. I currently have a tripletail that is a solid 7.5", pushing 8" and I've recently lost some fish to his apetite. It was a bit strange because the fish that he ate had been housed with him for quite some time and he showed a strong preference for crustacean & mollusk the entire time I've had him. In fact, when I've fed silversides he'd just look at them with what seemed like a perplexed look and reluctantly ate them whereas when I drop a clam or mussel into the tank it falls about 6" before he's got a hold of it regardless of where he was in the tank. This lead me to believe that tripletail's and the other closely related species (C. lunulata is the sister species of C. trilobatus, C. chlorourus and C. abudjubbe are also closely related) had a strong preference in food, similar to my experience with O. unifasciatus (piscivore) and C. chlorourus (same preference as C. trilobatus) but I was wrong. They may not take a larger fish and smash it to pieces like some of the others (or maybe they will...) but they'll eat anything they can fit in their mouths.
With a setup like yours it would be really cool to pair a goatfish (or a few) of an appropriate variety with one of the larger maori's to see their cooperative hunting technique. The snooty may do the same thing as the others however most of the photo's I've seen are of other species.
I've been following this build since the beginning. You've given me plenty of bad ideas lol. Good stuff, keep it up!
moriarty
New member
I may have posted earlier, but it has likely changed since. I figured I could safely increase the depth in the pool by a couple inches, so it's right around 1500 gallons including the sump and fuge.
moriarty
New member
Yeah, my guy definitely gets his share of food! When I feed LRS fish frenzy, he will grab a huge piece and disappear into the rocks with it, only to come out a few seconds later and grab another. That O. digramma on NYA was very cool, and definitely not a fish you see every day! If I was going to do a set up with a Maori and some goatfish, I think this is the one I would choose.
I would suspect that my current fish population would be seriously thinned out however! So your C. oxycephalus is about 6" then? Much bigger than my little guy! How long have you had him? If I happen to come across an O. bimaculatus available online, I'll be sure to send you a PM!
moriarty
New member
He swims the circumference fairly briskly. The inquisitive behavior that you described has been my experience with every other Cheilinus spp. that I have kept (C. abudjubbe - actually picked this one up at an LFS years ago just labeled "Maori wrasse" for $35 - C. chlorourus, and C. fasciatus). I've actually been debating moving him to my refugium which has lots of LR and Macro for him to hunt through. Because of my experiences with the others, I just get a feeling that something might be amiss. Would have relocated him a while ago if he wasn't eating as well has he does. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Great call on the goatfish pairing btw. As I said in my last post, I would love to try this with Oxycheilinus digramma, but think that C. trilobatus would be more realistic/appropriate for my system.
