o2manyfish
o2manyfish
So Monday night (Tuesday Morning) around 1:30am I went downstairs for a late night snack. I was walking back up the stairs and I noticed that on the right end of my tank there were about 40 fish sitting still. I have lots of little fish in my tank. And a large fish population (120+). So to find this group of fish hanging out in the last 8" of the tank is unusual. But more so the fact that the fish were sitting still. Included in this group was my Adult Goldlflake Angel, my mid size Regal Angel and my pair of Flame Back Angels. These fish are almost always in motion so to see them just hovering in the openings of the rock was strange.
So came back down the stairs and sat down on the couch to watch the tank. At 1:30 in the morning the lights are mostly actinic and have been dimming for the previous 1/2 hour and have another 45 minutes of dimming to go.
The corals were open, but the open water areas of the tank were empty of fish.
I sat for a few minutes studying the tank. Then on the far left side of the tank near the overflow I see my pair of target Mandarins. They are swimming together along the overflow and twisting and spiraling around each other.
I have had Green Mandarins spawn in years past and they started at the bottom of the tank and spiraled around each other to the surface. These two were starting about a foot down from the surface spiraling up to the surface and then across the tank. Then head back to where they started and did it again.
Then in the center bottom of my tank I see my pair of Red Scooter blennies. They are circling a baseball sized efflo on the bottom of the tank, and they keep swimming up over the top of the efflo from opposite sides and then twisted over each other about 2 revolutions. Then they split went back to circling the efflo, and then rose over the top of the efflo and spiraled together again.
This lasted for maybe 3 to 4 minutes. Then the target mandarins split and went 2 different directions, then the scooters went off in two different directions. And then as if on cue all the tangs came out from hiding under the rocks, the anthias came out and then all the fish were swimming around normally again.
Mother nature is always entertaining
For some perspective...
This is the right end of the tank (all the fish were hanging out to the right of the rock island)
The middle of the tank - Scooters were circling the efflo which is on the bottom under the hippo tang on the right
Here is the left side of the tank - The Mandarins were a foot to the left of the big red monti cap
Dave B
So came back down the stairs and sat down on the couch to watch the tank. At 1:30 in the morning the lights are mostly actinic and have been dimming for the previous 1/2 hour and have another 45 minutes of dimming to go.
The corals were open, but the open water areas of the tank were empty of fish.
I sat for a few minutes studying the tank. Then on the far left side of the tank near the overflow I see my pair of target Mandarins. They are swimming together along the overflow and twisting and spiraling around each other.
I have had Green Mandarins spawn in years past and they started at the bottom of the tank and spiraled around each other to the surface. These two were starting about a foot down from the surface spiraling up to the surface and then across the tank. Then head back to where they started and did it again.
Then in the center bottom of my tank I see my pair of Red Scooter blennies. They are circling a baseball sized efflo on the bottom of the tank, and they keep swimming up over the top of the efflo from opposite sides and then twisted over each other about 2 revolutions. Then they split went back to circling the efflo, and then rose over the top of the efflo and spiraled together again.
This lasted for maybe 3 to 4 minutes. Then the target mandarins split and went 2 different directions, then the scooters went off in two different directions. And then as if on cue all the tangs came out from hiding under the rocks, the anthias came out and then all the fish were swimming around normally again.
Mother nature is always entertaining
For some perspective...
This is the right end of the tank (all the fish were hanging out to the right of the rock island)
The middle of the tank - Scooters were circling the efflo which is on the bottom under the hippo tang on the right
Here is the left side of the tank - The Mandarins were a foot to the left of the big red monti cap
Dave B
