It's going to be tuff to beat out the cuttle gang...
I think they get double points awarded on the cute factor alone.
Brett
I think they get double points awarded on the cute factor alone.
Brett
An unforseen fork in the road
- Thread starter Putawaywet
- Start date
OK, this wasn’t exactly the update I had originally intended, but for some unknown reason the God’s have decided to bestow favor upon me and I am near bursting at the seams with excitement. Of course, it certainly would have been nice to have had them on my side from the get-go, but hey, I ain’t looking no gift horse in the mouth here!
Not when you just find yourself with the unexpected opportunity to add one of these to your tank.
Of course for anyone who can’t immediately pick this little guy out of a lineup of the usual suspects, it’s none other than Holacanthus clarionensis. A fish, who not unlike so many of those Hollywood glam types hoping to distance themselves from their rank and file peers by adopting a solitary moniker, is often times referred to simply as a Clarion!
Needless to say, I am still fending off the residual effects of what comes with the culmination of this roller-coaster ride that I have been on for the past several months. Wonderful ups and downs like promises from the wholesaler of availability that came and went. The estimated ship dates that quietly passed without fanfare. All the way to last Wednesday’s promised shipment that didn’t actually ship until…. Thursday. It all wore on me heavy and hard like a child being teased by a chocolate bar that he’ll never get to enjoy. And then it happened, and everything was turned completely upside down in a mad sprint to bring it home.
Of course no story would be complete without sharing a bit of how I even got to this point. You see, it all started many years prior to this writing, the exact date and time I find myself somewhat hard pressed to remember. A time in my life that predates my recent marriage. A time that predates even the beginnings of our early courtship. A time deep seeded in perpetual bachelorhood when I whiled away my spare time as a charter volunteer assigned to the husbandry department down at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. It was a week that saw the arrival of a very large shipment of these incredible beauties at the hands of some federal regulatory types looking for a home for a confiscated shipment that had just recently hit the Port of Los Angeles. I won’t go into all the sordid details of the matter… the story is out there if you are so inclined, I will merely say that Fish & Game came, they left, and the fine folks at the aquarium moved forward with the animals entrusted to their care. Sad to say however, that many of those fish did not make it due to reasons beyond the staff’s control. And so, ultimately, the aquarium was left with just two. But what a wonderful two they were.
One was housed in holding up on the 3rd floor and no matter how many times I might pass by throughout the day, he never failed to keep me under cautious observation. If I stopped, he immediately came up to the surface, no doubt begging for another yummy handout. We visited often.
The other, well that had an even better outcome, as he ultimately wound up in an exhibit that I routinely fed and cleaned. And month after month, year after year, I was not only afforded the opportunity to watch him grow and prosper, and to watch as he changed into his adult coloration, but to actually see his trust grow to the point that he would literally eat of my hand. It was a grand experience.
So it was during these informative years that the hook was set and I began to long for the day that I could someday have one of my own.
And here we are…
However, I would be seriously lacking if I didn’t give props to Ali at Amazing Aquarium’s and Reefs in Orange, Ca., for it was he, one afternoon back in the early part of this year, who casually mentioned that he was slated to get a Clarion. My ears perked. “A Clarion you say? Legally imported? From whom? When? How much?â€Â
This is when I first learned of Steve Robinson at Cortez Marine and his many years of time and money that he invested obtaining the proper permits to make legal collection a reality.
So I tossed my hat in the ring and told Ali it was game on. Get me a good price and I’ll sing your praises.
And so the wait began. An original estimate of a month became two. Then came word that they would be shipping in a couple weeks. Then an additional two-week delay. Then another. And still another. All the while I waited, reading messages of others who had long since received their shipments. And just when I had all but given up hope, the call came. It was shipping Wednesday and would be here the following day.
And so the race began.
A 15-hour night shift at work that ended at noon on Wednesday was followed by a 4-hour nap so I might be able to finish my holding/quarantine that I had managed to drag my feet on getting done. Followed by the call first thing on Thursday from Ali with the dreaded news that the wholesaler wasn’t able to ship and would be shipping Thursday for a Friday delivery. This was a serious problem. I was wrought with frustration as I was returning to work on Friday and would scarcely have time to pick up the fish and get him settled before I would have to again head out for the first of 3, 12-hour shifts.
But what choice did I have? Especially when the call came on Friday that the Clarion had landed. And the report was in: he not only looked great, but was even eating Spectrum pellets while still in his shipping bag. Holy enchilada Batman it doesn’t get any better than this! So off I raced. And home he came.
Now at this point I could go into a long dissertation (god only knows how I love to ramble) on quarantine protocols and under what circumstances many of them should or should not be employed. Suffice to say, standing in my living room; with somewhere in the neighborhood of sixty minutes of acclimation behind us, and a little more than two hours before I had to rush out the door to work, I made one of those on the spot judgment type calls. The kind of decision that we at times find ourselves making, that, good or bad, you live with for the rest of your life.
In the tank he went! And two hours later out the door I went for the night.
But not without an enormous amount of cardiac inducing stress.
You see, gentle readers… that 5†Majestic Angel that I had long worried would be a source of contention, the one with the somewhat similar coloration, the one who by it’s own scientific classification, is but a mere kissing cousin to the new arrival… well, he barely tossed a sideways glance at the Clarion as he settled into his new surroundings. No, not the Majestic, not by any stretch of the imagination.
Que Mr. Regal Angel. It’s time for his close-up!
Yes, it was the “other†white meat. That other recent arrival from just a few short months ago. And look at how he’s following the Clarion around. Isn’t that sooo cute. And look how he just bit him, and bit him again. Simply delightful! Yes indeed the fight was on. And you know, who could blame them because when you get your eye real close to the acrylic, and you squint just right, you start seeing a couple similarities. Yellow angel with vertical blue stripes vs. yellow angel with vertical blue stripes. Ahhhhh check… Missed that one. I see it now. Isn’t that just swell!
Ok, no worries, time to switch to plan B.
Except for one small problem. There wasn’t a plan B.
So I watched, I waited, I even prayed…. to every deity I could think of along with a Greek and Roman god or two just for good measure.
At some point I hoped the Regal would tire and move along. I tried bribing him with some food, chasing him with the tongs. I even went so far as to scold him with strongly worded warnings â€"œ punctuating them with colorful four letter words just to make sure he understood I meant business. But alas, it did no good. On and on they went, the Clarion trying to move to somewhere, anywhere the Regal wasn’t. But that wasn’t an easy task given the Regal’s current mission at that moment was to be wherever the Clarion was. Shot after shot, bite after bite, the battle raged on. Yet, through the entire ordeal, and much to his credit, the Clarion never once gave up and retreated into the rockwork. He held his own, taking the abuse, like a prize fighter backing his way towards the ropes, bound and determined he was going to own at least a small portion of the reef.
But I had had enough. I could take no more and I finally surrendered to the darkness. I shut down the lights and began readying myself for work. And then I left. And for the next twelve hours I pondered what I would find in the morning. Or worse, what I wouldn’t find. It was a long night at work indeed.
And then I was home. Starring longingly into the darkness with my trusty flashlight. Hoping, praying. And after a few moments of searching, there he was - hunkered down in a nice safe spot looking back at me with curious eyes, and, as far as I could tell, all of his body parts still intact.
So I took a chance, and tuned the lights back on. And I waited. But he wouldn’t come. He stayed in his bunker.
But suddenly there was the Regal, cruising the length of the tank. And what was this? What were those marks? Why they look like… and his tail… there’s a small piece missing. Could it be? Why yes I believe it is. It appears that Mr. Fancy Pants might just have gotten his clocked cleaned at some point during the night.
Now, I am the first to admit that I take no joy in seeing one fish being beat up by another, especially when both of those fish in question currently reside in one of my tanks. But let me make one thing perfectly clear here, I double dog dare anyone who just wrote a check for the most expensive fish in their 20+ years in the hobby to say with a straight face that they don’t gleam just a tiny bit of satisfaction in knowing that said fish came out on the winning end of the punch fest.
So there you have it folks. Am I out of the woods yet? Not quite. I dare not temp fate by saying yes. But knock on wood I believe I’m a far cry from where I was yesterday. And while the Clarion is near blemish free, my Regal really is carrying a couple of pretty good battle scars. So the thought of bacterial infection is still dancing in and out of my consciousness. But there was no shortage of smiles tonight as I noticed everyone was out and about swimming, grazing and generally making nice. Even better, both Clarion and Regal were side-by-side snagging pellets from the water column.
So there’s a chance this might just work out. Maybe.
I have a couple days off again beginning of this week and I intend to try to get some shots of both of these guys inside the tank. Until then, I will leave you with some pics of a couple of Africanus Angels that Ali picked up with the Clarion. I have no idea if these guys are already spoken for, but at half the price of the Clarion they’re a steal so a reefer can afford to buy them both.
And make sure you don’t miss out on next week’s installment when I return with the “let’s see how much carnage 3 angels can wreak on a reef tank in one sitting,†report. Because things are bound to only get more interesting from here!
Brett
Not when you just find yourself with the unexpected opportunity to add one of these to your tank.
Of course for anyone who can’t immediately pick this little guy out of a lineup of the usual suspects, it’s none other than Holacanthus clarionensis. A fish, who not unlike so many of those Hollywood glam types hoping to distance themselves from their rank and file peers by adopting a solitary moniker, is often times referred to simply as a Clarion!
Needless to say, I am still fending off the residual effects of what comes with the culmination of this roller-coaster ride that I have been on for the past several months. Wonderful ups and downs like promises from the wholesaler of availability that came and went. The estimated ship dates that quietly passed without fanfare. All the way to last Wednesday’s promised shipment that didn’t actually ship until…. Thursday. It all wore on me heavy and hard like a child being teased by a chocolate bar that he’ll never get to enjoy. And then it happened, and everything was turned completely upside down in a mad sprint to bring it home.
Of course no story would be complete without sharing a bit of how I even got to this point. You see, it all started many years prior to this writing, the exact date and time I find myself somewhat hard pressed to remember. A time in my life that predates my recent marriage. A time that predates even the beginnings of our early courtship. A time deep seeded in perpetual bachelorhood when I whiled away my spare time as a charter volunteer assigned to the husbandry department down at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. It was a week that saw the arrival of a very large shipment of these incredible beauties at the hands of some federal regulatory types looking for a home for a confiscated shipment that had just recently hit the Port of Los Angeles. I won’t go into all the sordid details of the matter… the story is out there if you are so inclined, I will merely say that Fish & Game came, they left, and the fine folks at the aquarium moved forward with the animals entrusted to their care. Sad to say however, that many of those fish did not make it due to reasons beyond the staff’s control. And so, ultimately, the aquarium was left with just two. But what a wonderful two they were.
One was housed in holding up on the 3rd floor and no matter how many times I might pass by throughout the day, he never failed to keep me under cautious observation. If I stopped, he immediately came up to the surface, no doubt begging for another yummy handout. We visited often.
The other, well that had an even better outcome, as he ultimately wound up in an exhibit that I routinely fed and cleaned. And month after month, year after year, I was not only afforded the opportunity to watch him grow and prosper, and to watch as he changed into his adult coloration, but to actually see his trust grow to the point that he would literally eat of my hand. It was a grand experience.
So it was during these informative years that the hook was set and I began to long for the day that I could someday have one of my own.
And here we are…
However, I would be seriously lacking if I didn’t give props to Ali at Amazing Aquarium’s and Reefs in Orange, Ca., for it was he, one afternoon back in the early part of this year, who casually mentioned that he was slated to get a Clarion. My ears perked. “A Clarion you say? Legally imported? From whom? When? How much?â€Â
This is when I first learned of Steve Robinson at Cortez Marine and his many years of time and money that he invested obtaining the proper permits to make legal collection a reality.
So I tossed my hat in the ring and told Ali it was game on. Get me a good price and I’ll sing your praises.
And so the wait began. An original estimate of a month became two. Then came word that they would be shipping in a couple weeks. Then an additional two-week delay. Then another. And still another. All the while I waited, reading messages of others who had long since received their shipments. And just when I had all but given up hope, the call came. It was shipping Wednesday and would be here the following day.
And so the race began.
A 15-hour night shift at work that ended at noon on Wednesday was followed by a 4-hour nap so I might be able to finish my holding/quarantine that I had managed to drag my feet on getting done. Followed by the call first thing on Thursday from Ali with the dreaded news that the wholesaler wasn’t able to ship and would be shipping Thursday for a Friday delivery. This was a serious problem. I was wrought with frustration as I was returning to work on Friday and would scarcely have time to pick up the fish and get him settled before I would have to again head out for the first of 3, 12-hour shifts.
But what choice did I have? Especially when the call came on Friday that the Clarion had landed. And the report was in: he not only looked great, but was even eating Spectrum pellets while still in his shipping bag. Holy enchilada Batman it doesn’t get any better than this! So off I raced. And home he came.
Now at this point I could go into a long dissertation (god only knows how I love to ramble) on quarantine protocols and under what circumstances many of them should or should not be employed. Suffice to say, standing in my living room; with somewhere in the neighborhood of sixty minutes of acclimation behind us, and a little more than two hours before I had to rush out the door to work, I made one of those on the spot judgment type calls. The kind of decision that we at times find ourselves making, that, good or bad, you live with for the rest of your life.
In the tank he went! And two hours later out the door I went for the night.
But not without an enormous amount of cardiac inducing stress.
You see, gentle readers… that 5†Majestic Angel that I had long worried would be a source of contention, the one with the somewhat similar coloration, the one who by it’s own scientific classification, is but a mere kissing cousin to the new arrival… well, he barely tossed a sideways glance at the Clarion as he settled into his new surroundings. No, not the Majestic, not by any stretch of the imagination.
Que Mr. Regal Angel. It’s time for his close-up!
Yes, it was the “other†white meat. That other recent arrival from just a few short months ago. And look at how he’s following the Clarion around. Isn’t that sooo cute. And look how he just bit him, and bit him again. Simply delightful! Yes indeed the fight was on. And you know, who could blame them because when you get your eye real close to the acrylic, and you squint just right, you start seeing a couple similarities. Yellow angel with vertical blue stripes vs. yellow angel with vertical blue stripes. Ahhhhh check… Missed that one. I see it now. Isn’t that just swell!
Ok, no worries, time to switch to plan B.
Except for one small problem. There wasn’t a plan B.
So I watched, I waited, I even prayed…. to every deity I could think of along with a Greek and Roman god or two just for good measure.
At some point I hoped the Regal would tire and move along. I tried bribing him with some food, chasing him with the tongs. I even went so far as to scold him with strongly worded warnings â€"œ punctuating them with colorful four letter words just to make sure he understood I meant business. But alas, it did no good. On and on they went, the Clarion trying to move to somewhere, anywhere the Regal wasn’t. But that wasn’t an easy task given the Regal’s current mission at that moment was to be wherever the Clarion was. Shot after shot, bite after bite, the battle raged on. Yet, through the entire ordeal, and much to his credit, the Clarion never once gave up and retreated into the rockwork. He held his own, taking the abuse, like a prize fighter backing his way towards the ropes, bound and determined he was going to own at least a small portion of the reef.
But I had had enough. I could take no more and I finally surrendered to the darkness. I shut down the lights and began readying myself for work. And then I left. And for the next twelve hours I pondered what I would find in the morning. Or worse, what I wouldn’t find. It was a long night at work indeed.
And then I was home. Starring longingly into the darkness with my trusty flashlight. Hoping, praying. And after a few moments of searching, there he was - hunkered down in a nice safe spot looking back at me with curious eyes, and, as far as I could tell, all of his body parts still intact.
So I took a chance, and tuned the lights back on. And I waited. But he wouldn’t come. He stayed in his bunker.
But suddenly there was the Regal, cruising the length of the tank. And what was this? What were those marks? Why they look like… and his tail… there’s a small piece missing. Could it be? Why yes I believe it is. It appears that Mr. Fancy Pants might just have gotten his clocked cleaned at some point during the night.
Now, I am the first to admit that I take no joy in seeing one fish being beat up by another, especially when both of those fish in question currently reside in one of my tanks. But let me make one thing perfectly clear here, I double dog dare anyone who just wrote a check for the most expensive fish in their 20+ years in the hobby to say with a straight face that they don’t gleam just a tiny bit of satisfaction in knowing that said fish came out on the winning end of the punch fest.
So there you have it folks. Am I out of the woods yet? Not quite. I dare not temp fate by saying yes. But knock on wood I believe I’m a far cry from where I was yesterday. And while the Clarion is near blemish free, my Regal really is carrying a couple of pretty good battle scars. So the thought of bacterial infection is still dancing in and out of my consciousness. But there was no shortage of smiles tonight as I noticed everyone was out and about swimming, grazing and generally making nice. Even better, both Clarion and Regal were side-by-side snagging pellets from the water column.
So there’s a chance this might just work out. Maybe.
I have a couple days off again beginning of this week and I intend to try to get some shots of both of these guys inside the tank. Until then, I will leave you with some pics of a couple of Africanus Angels that Ali picked up with the Clarion. I have no idea if these guys are already spoken for, but at half the price of the Clarion they’re a steal so a reefer can afford to buy them both.
And make sure you don’t miss out on next week’s installment when I return with the “let’s see how much carnage 3 angels can wreak on a reef tank in one sitting,†report. Because things are bound to only get more interesting from here!
Brett
Last edited:
Toddrtrex
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12563417#post12563417 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Konadog
Brett, your story telling abilities amaze me
Congratulations on obtaining one heck of a fish!
You are right. Usually longer posts scare me, but it was such a joy to read that.
melev
Well-known member
Just for page 10:
:lol:
I'm really looking forward to reading how this all plays out. I just picked up a Potters Angel that will be going in my reef soon. It's a beauty and I hope she doesn't do too much harm to my corals. I've always wanted one, and yesterday our LFS had them in stock at last. Hopefully I'll be able to report good news. And I hope that triply for you and your angel-fest over there.
:lol:
I'm really looking forward to reading how this all plays out. I just picked up a Potters Angel that will be going in my reef soon. It's a beauty and I hope she doesn't do too much harm to my corals. I've always wanted one, and yesterday our LFS had them in stock at last. Hopefully I'll be able to report good news. And I hope that triply for you and your angel-fest over there.
OK, as promised, less talk more pictures.
Some random shots of the new guy out and about.
Some random shots of the new guy out and about.
Obviously he has a bit of growing to do to catch up to my Majestic, which has been with me for about 10 years now.
I’m still not sure what went on that first night, but it’s obvious there was some dialogue with regard to the future of their relationship. As you can see, it’s all good now.
Feeding time.
Current fish count:
1 Majestic Angel (10+ years)
1 Regal Angel
1 Clarion Angel
1 Yellow Tang (5 years)
7 Bartlett’s Anthias
1 Red Velvet Wrasse
1 lubbock’s wrasse
1 Mystery Wrasse
1 Solar Wrasse
1 Royal Gramma (12-13 years)
1 Purple (forgot the name) Pseudochromis
Current fish count:
1 Majestic Angel (10+ years)
1 Regal Angel
1 Clarion Angel
1 Yellow Tang (5 years)
7 Bartlett’s Anthias
1 Red Velvet Wrasse
1 lubbock’s wrasse
1 Mystery Wrasse
1 Solar Wrasse
1 Royal Gramma (12-13 years)
1 Purple (forgot the name) Pseudochromis
Unfortuantely, my Royal Gramma appears to be coming to the end of it's time with me.
This is his 3rd tank now, the first was back in my bedroom tank circa '95/'96 or so.
He seemed fine when he first went it back early April, but a couple weeks ago he abruptly stopped eating. So sad, food literally hits him on the nose and he just hovers in place as though he knows it's time to eat but.. He down to coming out for only the briefest of periods and darts back into the rockwork as soon as I come near the tank. Each day that passes his fins are looking more and more ragged and he is starting to lose more of his color around his face
Given his years with me and the obvious absence of any other visible signs of injury, parasites or fungus I'm out of ideas beyond the fact it's just his time.
Brett
This is his 3rd tank now, the first was back in my bedroom tank circa '95/'96 or so.
He seemed fine when he first went it back early April, but a couple weeks ago he abruptly stopped eating. So sad, food literally hits him on the nose and he just hovers in place as though he knows it's time to eat but.. He down to coming out for only the briefest of periods and darts back into the rockwork as soon as I come near the tank. Each day that passes his fins are looking more and more ragged and he is starting to lose more of his color around his face
Given his years with me and the obvious absence of any other visible signs of injury, parasites or fungus I'm out of ideas beyond the fact it's just his time.
Brett
FYI, anyone interested in Passer Angels might be interested to know that the copy of the permit I have on the Clarion lists several other fish as well. One of which is the Passer Angel. And the quota for those are many, many times higher than what they are for the Clarion. So keep your ears and eyes open.
Brett
Brett
kdblove_99
New member
Beautiful tank
Thanks for the kind words everyone. It's starting to fill in little by little.
Crab0000 - I am still sorting that out. Aquarium Obsessed told me 2 weeks ago that the new fixture was scheduled to leave Italy last week.
If that's so, then I would expect to hear something soon.
The tentative agreement reached is I get a brand new fixture but AO will temporarily charge me for it. I then use the new packaging to ship the first fixture back to AO who will forward it on to Sfiligoi. When AO receives the fixture they will credit my CC for the 2nd charge. AO also agreed to my demand that they pick up shipping both ways.
However, the way I understand it is that Sfiligoi is also charging AO for the 2nd fixture and will then credit them appropriately after it works it's way back to Italy. Personally I think that part stinks like a three day old baby diaper.
I have no idea if Sfiligoi will be reimbursing AO for some or any of the shipping charges. Will has already mentioned that he will be out quite a bit. Depending on the exchange rate between now and when I get credited I might be out a little.
Personally, I think Sfiligoi is seriously lacking in customer service and AO should drop them like a bad habbit, but that's not my call. The sad part is I'm not the first to have problems with Sfiligoi products. I've been contacted by more than one here on RC who have gone round and round with AO & Sfiligoi.
Brett
Crab0000 - I am still sorting that out. Aquarium Obsessed told me 2 weeks ago that the new fixture was scheduled to leave Italy last week.
If that's so, then I would expect to hear something soon.
The tentative agreement reached is I get a brand new fixture but AO will temporarily charge me for it. I then use the new packaging to ship the first fixture back to AO who will forward it on to Sfiligoi. When AO receives the fixture they will credit my CC for the 2nd charge. AO also agreed to my demand that they pick up shipping both ways.
However, the way I understand it is that Sfiligoi is also charging AO for the 2nd fixture and will then credit them appropriately after it works it's way back to Italy. Personally I think that part stinks like a three day old baby diaper.
I have no idea if Sfiligoi will be reimbursing AO for some or any of the shipping charges. Will has already mentioned that he will be out quite a bit. Depending on the exchange rate between now and when I get credited I might be out a little.
Personally, I think Sfiligoi is seriously lacking in customer service and AO should drop them like a bad habbit, but that's not my call. The sad part is I'm not the first to have problems with Sfiligoi products. I've been contacted by more than one here on RC who have gone round and round with AO & Sfiligoi.
Brett
Last edited:
clownnrnd
New member
I sent off a EM to Sfiligoi this week to try and get a question answered on my fixture. I just asked what size a resistor is on my moonlights and Alessandro has not replied to that yet. I included my serial number of my fixture so there could be no confusion but I have heard nothing back yet.....But then it has only been 2-3days. If history repeats itself it could take weeks to and many EM's to get a answer.
Brett- you must of really did some talking to get a new fixture in any way. I asked too when my fixture was blowing fuses all over the place and the feeble atempt to fix it was not getting the job done. Will ended up buying me IC E ballasts and I am happy he did that for me but when I spent over 2k on a light fixture to end up w/ a DIY project I was not happy.....well...I guess I am still not real happy
Chad
Brett- you must of really did some talking to get a new fixture in any way. I asked too when my fixture was blowing fuses all over the place and the feeble atempt to fix it was not getting the job done. Will ended up buying me IC E ballasts and I am happy he did that for me but when I spent over 2k on a light fixture to end up w/ a DIY project I was not happy.....well...I guess I am still not real happy
Chad
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