Fish ID "Australian Sailfin Blenny"

OrionN

OrionN

Moved on
Anthony,
I am glad to see that you are here at RC. I am sure this will become a very popular forum quickly.
I wonder if you can help me ID this fish. It is the first time I seen him, and bought him even when I know nothing about him. He is in my 450 g reef system and seem to do well. He is picking things out of the sand bed and start to venture out from under the rock. Here is a pictur eof this little guy (only about 1.5 inches). This picture is not very clear but his pectoralis fins are blueish black in color.


Australian%20Sailfin%20Blenny.jpg


Thanks.
Minh
 
I am frankly quite sensitive to aquarists that buy living creatures without knowing what they are, what they eat, or if they can be kept well if at all in their aquarium. It is profoundly disappointing to me.

I say this to you with hope that you might see my point and hone your buying habits to be more conscientious. These are living creatures, my friend. Dependant on you entirely for their very life. You have the power (or not) through educated buying decisions to take livestock into your care that may enjoy a longer lifespan than in the wild. Or... you may just be another indiscriminate consumer/killer of fishes. Buying fish without understanding their needs first is a surefire way to fall into the latter category. Especially if you (as I suspect here) just threw this animal right into the display aquarium without a proper quarantine and observation period. If not for the new fishes sake... then at least to protect the other display inhabitants from the introduction of a pest, predator or disease.

If you want be be a better aquarist, I want to help you my friend. If not, I hope you learn some other way very soon for the greater good of all here.

Let me invite you to start by helping yourself... if not with a good fish ID/reference... then the excellent free-content database:

fishbase.org

do strategic keyword searches for goby and similar looking families/genera until you find your creature. the pic is not clear enough here for me. You have the best view at home to compare to pics in a book or database.

best of luck/life

Anthony :)
 
Anthony,
In my defense, I almost never buy fish without knowing about them. The almost here is because this fish. I have never before buying a fish without knowing about them first.
Looking at the fish one can tell that this fish is a meat eater. He was eating in the store, and does not appear sick. He got a few torn fins due to tank mate at the store.
I bought this fish because in the 30 years plus that I keep aquarium, and in various books that I have I have not seen this fish. I love goby, blennies and small fishes.
I put all new fish in my refugium, connected to the new tank. The refugium is fully light wih MH, and has clams, SPS and other coralfrags from my main tank. This is where I nurse new fish and get them use to captivity, and also screen out those that bother my corals and clams.
I rarely buy new fish. Checking and make sure that the fish from LFS are healthy, in a healthy tank is all I do. I have a very healthy system with multiple breeding fish pairs. While I respect your opinion, I find that quarantine fish in my situation is not need and that quarantine small delicate fish such as this tiny Blenny or Goby in a sterile unhealthy tank is detrimental for him.
This is a very unusual fish and possibly very rare fish. He is doing well in my refugium. I hope to release him to my display tank in 2-4 weeks. I will continue to try to ID him. I have try fishbase.org without luck. I have to get a book on blennies and gobies and see if I can ID him.
Thanks for you advices.

Amy,
I search Fishbase.org for the genus Flabelligobius and did not think that he belong to this genus. He has fused pelvic fins similar to some of the gobies.
Minh
 
your rationale that you bought fish with unknown needs/name/ID at the expense/risk of its life (were you not able to care for it) just because it was rare to you still does not sit well with me. It is the very crux of my argument in fact. Desire to buy it won over common sense to pass on it first until you were sure of its needs if not name. And refugia is not QT. Its simpy a remote but inline point/potential for contamination/infection of the system. Bad husbandry overall IMO. Especially the rationalizing afterwards, my friend. I pull no punches here and give you a straight/honest opinion. You dont have to like it or agree with it.

We don't need to debate it either, Minh... you are free to make your choices and I am free to have my opinion on them being irresponsible or not.

This fish is a fan shrimp goby of the genus Tomiyamichthys as best I can tell. There is a picture of an undescribed species that looks like yours on page 311 of Reef Fish Identification (2003) called a "Rayed Shrimpgoby"

I do see the similarities of Flabelligobius species here, indeed. Much thanks for Tippytoex' perspective!

best of luck/life to all,

Anthony
 
Are you the famous pro poker player mihn nguyen? just a shot in the dark.disregard me if im over stepping.
 
ah, very good to hear :) Indeed, once they make it past the first few days to a week after import, a huge hurdle has been overcome. It then comes squarely down to your husbandry/handling and I do believe you have the ability to give this lovely fish a very good chance at good life in aquaria.

best regards,

Anthony
 
After I got fried by Anthony C., I just wanted to let everybody know that this Goby is doing well in a friend's tank for almost two years now since I took him home from the LFS.
He is indeed as I predicted, is a meat eatter, eats life food and able to eat large prey like full grown Mysis shrimp. He is very shy and only come out at night, not a good fish to keep because he is never out during the day.
Minh
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
Stocking Recommendations for established 92 gal
Replies
8
Views
1K
Aquado
A
H
25 year old yellow tang dying :(
Replies
10
Views
1K
sallypur
S
Drummer98
Rock flower eating my box fish?
Replies
1
Views
559
griss
griss
NancyT3
ID fish disease and how to tx (next time)
Replies
5
Views
1K
leebca
L
Paul B
How Fish are Different from most of us
Replies
1
Views
1K
Paul B
Paul B
Back
Top