Apolemichthys arcuatus

jhawkor

jhawkor

New member
The sole reason I got into this great hobby is because of Apolemichthys arcuatus. It may not be the most colorfull fish but to me it is the most striking. I have decided to start planning a tank devoted for a pair of them. I know that adults don't take to food easily so I'm going to look for a couple of juvenilles. What size tank would you guys suggest to house a pair of them? I know they don't get too large, around 15cm. They would be the only fish in the tank. I'm hoping to get them comfortable enough so they spawn.
 
They are my favorite. They are pretty active so I would say 6' tank is a minimum. I keep mine with low lighting and 68-71F in the winter and 72-74 in the summer. Once acclimated and start eating they will eat pretty much everything. Finding a healthy one that's decompressed correctly is the key.
 
flameangel88 said:
They are my favorite. They are pretty active so I would say 6' tank is a minimum. I keep mine with low lighting and 68-71F in the winter and 72-74 in the summer. Once acclimated and start eating they will eat pretty much everything. Finding a healthy one that's decompressed correctly is the key.
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You have one! that's awesome, where did you get yours? Also, thanks for the advice.
 
A 6' is optimal for a pair. You need to ensure that the tank goes no higher than 73 and more optimal is 68-69.

A pair would need to come in pretty small. I have had 5 and only my 3 & 3.5" paired up successfully.

I kept the pair for over 18 months and when the larger one passed the smaller one passed soon after.

My 1.75" is currently in a tank by itself and will more than likely remain so for a long time.

Whne you want one let me know.
 
ccampbell57 said:
A 6' is optimal for a pair. You need to ensure that the tank goes no higher than 73 and more optimal is 68-69.

A pair would need to come in pretty small. I have had 5 and only my 3 & 3.5" paired up successfully.

I kept the pair for over 18 months and when the larger one passed the smaller one passed soon after.

My 1.75" is currently in a tank by itself and will more than likely remain so for a long time.

Whne you want one let me know.
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Thank you for the advice ccampbell. I plan to keep the temperature in the upper 60's. Also, I PM'd you.
 
Does A. arcuatus prefer cooler water because Hawaiian waters are just cooler, or do they inhabit deeper water?
 
Surface waters in Hawai'i tend to be fairly average for reefs, high 70s to 80 or so. Bandits' range (depth) experiences temps from 68-72 or so. So as Ian said, both.
 
you can get a mated pair but they will be large, in the 6" range which is to big for bandits.
right now the water is low to mid 70's in shallow reefs (chilly! :)) bandits on this island are usually caught between 100-200 feet which can get in the mid 60s. low 70's (a stable low 70's) is fine for bandits.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I'm going to try to find a used 125 gallon tank and run a 1/3 HP chiller. Any ideas on what first foods I should try?
 
I would try frozen brine, mysis, emerald entree, marine cuisine first. If that doesn't work then reef nutrition's arti-pod. Always feed a small amount of nls pellet and omega one marine flakes. Last resort would be live brine and live clam on half-shell. A healthy specimen should normally eat within a day or two.
 
flameangel88 said:
I would try frozen brine, mysis, emerald entree, marine cuisine first. If that doesn't work then reef nutrition's arti-pod. Always feed a small amount of nls pellet and omega one marine flakes. Last resort would be live brine and live clam on half-shell. A healthy specimen should normally eat within a day or two.
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Alright thanks. Do you have any pics of yours and the tank it is in?
 
Got this one back in Sep 2008 around 4.5" and it's around 5" now. The vendor held it for almost 3 weeks to treat for bacterial infection before shipping out and it's currently in a 180g with temp between 68-71.

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Got 4 back in March-April this year and this is the only one that survived. It was 2 7/8" and it close to 3.5" now in a tank with temp set at 70-72. Waiting to be pair off when she gets a little bigger.

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This one is 5.5" currently still in QT with temp set at 70. Had an infection which required 14 days of Maracyn 2 and he didn't take Prazi so well so I'm holding off. Still working on getting this one to eat prepared food rather then live clam.

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So beautiful, thanks for the great pics. So could I start off with just one then add another small one later of does a pair need to be added together? I also plan to keep temps around 68-72 depending on the season.
 
Hey Kev- Did you get the the first pictured Bandit from Max at ReefHotspot? It looks very healthy.

I have had hit or miss with several specimens that were sent direct from HI. In total I have attempted 2 pairs and only one of the Bandits (2.5-3") has survived. The first pair was larger than I would have liked, and came in with some sort of bacterial disease. I treated with medication and they never really got better and did not take to prepared foods. The second pair came in 7/09, looking very healthy. I did a QT of roughly 7-8 weeks and treated with Cupramine and half doses of Prazi. The smaller Bandit ate right out of the bag, everything and anything. (This is the one that survived). The larger of the pair (4-4.5") only ate clams in QT. I transitioned it to the display and it did not touch any food. I removed it back to QT and actually got it to eat. I put it back in the display and it stopped eating suddenly and died about 2 weeks ago. I want to attempt one more specimen, hopefully around 2-3" in the spring. I keep my FOWLR at 72 degrees in the winter and 73-74 in the summer. My lone Bandit is extremely active and loves swimming the length of the tank at full speed. It has become my favorite of all the angels I currently keep.
 
jnc914 said:
Hey Kev- Did you get the the first pictured Bandit from Max at ReefHotspot? It looks very healthy.

I have had hit or miss with several specimens that were sent direct from HI. In total I have attempted 2 pairs and only one of the Bandits (2.5-3") has survived. The first pair was larger than I would have liked, and came in with some sort of bacterial disease. I treated with medication and they never really got better and did not take to prepared foods. The second pair came in 7/09, looking very healthy. I did a QT of roughly 7-8 weeks and treated with Cupramine and half doses of Prazi. The smaller Bandit ate right out of the bag, everything and anything. (This is the one that survived). The larger of the pair (4-4.5") only ate clams in QT. I transitioned it to the display and it did not touch any food. I removed it back to QT and actually got it to eat. I put it back in the display and it stopped eating suddenly and died about 2 weeks ago. I want to attempt one more specimen, hopefully around 2-3" in the spring. I keep my FOWLR at 72 degrees in the winter and 73-74 in the summer. My lone Bandit is extremely active and loves swimming the length of the tank at full speed. It has become my favorite of all the angels I currently keep.
Click to expand...

Jason-I'm sorry you haven't had the best of luck with bandits. Hopefully you have better luck in the future. Don't these fish often have decompression issues because of the depth they are collected from?
 
Jason,

The very first one I got back on May 2008 was from NYAq (4") died between the 3 & 4th week and it was eating on the 3rd day.

The first one in the picture (was 4.5" back in Oct 2008 and is about 5" now) which is currently in the 180g was from saltwaterfish and they held it 3.5 weeks to treat for infection before shipping out to me. Got it to eat on the 2nd day.

The 3" was from HI and was the lone survivor out of 4 (a 5-5.5" pair and another 3"). The pair definitely died from decompression issue.

The latest one (5.5") is from Max. The Bandit developed an infection and Max was great offering extended guarantee after learning of the situation. Over the years of purchasing from RHS I've great respect how he answers questions and the way he runs the business.

I've 2 male and 1 female so I probably will be looking for another female next summer. Please keep me posted when you get a juvi.

Kevin
 
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