Another Venustus Thread

Great video! Awesome to see three looking so healthy. Doesn't seem to be much aggression -- how much do they interact?
 
Great video! Awesome to see three looking so healthy. Doesn't seem to be much aggression -- how much do they interact?

They definitely swim together, the the biggest of the three is without question the dominant one and I assume the male. The only signs of aggression I see are some occasional chasing, but it is never for long. The little one does have a frayed tail fin, but I think it's on the mend.

I'm really excited to get them into my 240 because it has a pair of radions on it that simulate dawn and dusk, which is when I assume spawning activity takes place.

Prazi starts today!
 
Yeah they do look good. Maybe you said earlier, but they look to be about 1 1/2" in size? I ask because the one I got at my LFS (my first attempt at a Venustus) is quite large - probably almost 3" and I'm wondering whether a bit of size increases success or decreases it? It's also doing that aggression 'jerking motion' every time I approach the tank so am thinking maybe its actually an adult male.
 
If it's eating, I'd say go for it.

It was; and I did :lol:

Funny fish though. Spends most of its time hidden in the rockwork, except when I stand in front of the tank looking in, then it comes out and twitches its fins at me. It is eating Mysis, not aggressively enough to be anywhere close to display-ready, but encouraging.
 
It was; and I did :lol:

Funny fish though. Spends most of its time hidden in the rockwork, except when I stand in front of the tank looking in, then it comes out and twitches its fins at me. It is eating Mysis, not aggressively enough to be anywhere close to display-ready, but encouraging.

If it's eating the battles pretty much won in my opinion. Congratulations on a cool little fish.

I love the swimming behavior of these guys, when they don't realize I'm around, they swim at all different angles, usually upside down picking stuff off the lids of my aquarium. If they see I'm there, they expect food and do that same twitchng thing yours does. They are really very interactive.

Put up a pic or video if you get a chance.
 
Tried to take a photo yesterday .....



..... this was the only one that didn't feature his tail end :)

Probably 2 1/2 inches long and residing in my invert QT for now (since my tank is pretty much full with coral, is a good use for the tank). If he shows any signs of disease, I'll move him to my HT, but this is probably the best place for him for the next few months. Showing a tiny bit of lympo along the top fin; though a small hole in the tail fin when I got him has already healed up.
 
I'm very curious to see how your fish interact when they get into the big tank. I have had Venustus several times over the years and always found them to be shy fish that enjoy staying in the rock work.

I have 2 of them now (don't want to use the term pair) One of them is always out and swimming all over the tank 80% of the time. The second one swims in open water as well, but not as frequently. When they get spooked the both dive into the rock work at the same opening on the far left side of the tank.

When they are both out, their is no chasing (aggressive) and no following. When I have had pairs of angels in the past that have paired they always seems to be playing follow the leader. But these 2 are very independent.

Not sure what that means if anything. Curious to see how your trio act though.

When do you plan to move them to the bigger tank.

Oh..... Congrats on their continued success!

Dave B
 
Hey Dave,

I can't wait to get them into the big tank either. They started their first round of prazi this morning, it has definitely affected their appetite. The bigger of the two still will eat pellets, but none of them seem interested in the frozen food...go figure.

There have been a number of occasions when i've come down to the quarantine tank and all three of them are in hiding. Once they realize i'm there though, they come out and beg for food.

I've never kept a true pair or harem of fish to compare these two, but they seem to swim as a group together.

Look for my build thread in the FOWLR section in the coming weeks. I'm probably 3 weeks out before adding any fish, though the tank is up and running. I may shorten the prazi treatment on these guys, I'm still not positive I love my dosing intervals.
 
I'm really quite optimistic for the venustus I bought this past weekend. It is still hiding quite a bit, but takes mysis readily and spends most of its time picking at the rocks. So, for you chaps with more experience with these fish than I, can I ultimately put it into my large mixed reef display with its rather robust population of tangs and other dwarf angels? Or would I be better of adding it my smaller, wrasse tank? I'm thinking the latter, though I had to move all my clams into that tank as they were getting picked by the Flame a Potters.
 
Glad to hear it's doing well Calore!

My three are going into a tank with butterflies, a blue throat trigger, a black dog face puffer and an Achilles tang, just to name a few. They seem to compete for food with each other well, and that definitely wasn't the case when I first got them.

If you really prefer them in the tank with the tangs, I would get them eating really well and then try it.

Just a quick quarantine update, their appetites are returning after the initial supression from the Prazi. I think I'm going to change up my intervals and shorten the duration between treatments to 6 days instead of ten.

I want fish in my display tank and am growing impatient.
 
Quick Update:

Came through the second round of prazi decently, two of the three definitely have surpressed appetites. The biggest one, which always has eaten the best will only take pellets now...not interested in frozen.

The little one, which has never taken pellets, still won't and is only picking at the frozen now, as opposed to eating it well. I'm going to try cyclopeeze tonight, which is what the smallest one preferred for a long time and extend the interval between this last treatment and the third treatment.

I'm not concerned, it seems that every day out of prazi treatments, their appetites increase ever so slightly and that has still been the case with the second treatment, the supression was just moreso with the second treatment as opposed to the first.
 
Matt, did you treat with prazipro because you suspected something or just as part of your normal QT routine? The venustus I got from my LFS is eating just about everything except pellets and I am thinking to just keep it in my observation tank for a few months and not actually treat for anything. Not sure if that is wise or not?
 
Hey Calore,

I treated with Prazi because it's part of my normal quarantine procedure.

I guess for you it would depend on whether you had followed a strict quarantine regime with all your other fish. If some had just been observed, as opposed to preventatively treated, your probably fine to do observation.

I'm glad to hear yours is feeding well. I added some cyclopeeze tonight and the little one went right after it. Interesting how all three prefer different foods.
 
Well, I do follow a strict QT regimen but it does not include prophylactic treatment (except CP for all Tangs). Most fish just get 3 months of observation. I think I will do the same for my Venustus.

Thanks for clarifying for me,
 
Hey Simon, that should be fine.

It's just my experience, but I more or less assume that if a fish isn't treated with Cupramine, it has ich.

I'm paranoid, I know. These guys actually handled cupramine like a champ, FWIW.
 
Nothing wrong with a little paranoia. What's the old saying, 'just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you' ...... and in this case 'they' are an army of ciliated protozoans.
 
Hey Matt- Havent been on here in a week or so, really busy, but thanks for listing the Prazi regimen one page back for me. Appreciate it.

I can agree with the paranoia regarding ich and other disease. But I get that feeling regarding flukes more than Ich. I use cupramine or copperSafe/Power, but I've lost too many fish just to Copper that I prefer to observe before I use it. Then I use a super healthy diet, of many high quality foods, including lots of pellets and frozen mixes supplemented with any of the available HUFA, amino acid, vitamin, mineral etc food supplements.
Im quick to use PraziPro, even in the display, if I began to see flashing again, as it is invert and display friendly (for the most part.)

I also agree that with Venustus, and with all other fish as well, the source of the fish is crucial. I tend to avoid online purchases because I would rather observed the fish firsthand and make a judgement call after seeing it interact with other fish, eating, grazing behavior, and by having good relations with LFS owners, I know what they are running in the individual systems (Medication-wise)

Continued luck with the trio!

The only thing I might add, is that the initial hiding and shyness, with a tendency to avoid eating with competition and out of the water column had been broken in my QT. But once introduced into the Display, it occurred all over again.
 
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