Garibaldi Damsals at BZ

[kirkaz]

Somebody needs to be my guinea pig and order one of these guys. I know my tank is too warm now at 80, but I am going to get a chiller for next Summer anyway. I emailed Mark the owner, and he said they are doing great in their 76 degree system. He said these guys came in from Baja in warmer water, and are collected with the Passer Angels they got recently. I have liked these fish ever since I saw them at the S.D. Scripps Aquarium.

Here is the big one, Mark said he is a nasty little bugger.

http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productdetailcc.asp?did=11&cid=331&pid=4220

 

[Recty]

I like them when they are little, but to me as they get bigger they just look like a saltwater goldfish, not something I'd want in my tank as they most certainly arent a good community fish and they arent pretty enough to make me want to keep one by itself somewhere.

 

[yukonblizzard]

Yeah they are pretty cool looking. I remember seeing hundreds of them when I went snorkeling in California. There is a restaurant that I frequent often that has one in their aquarium with tangs, triggers, butterflies, and a whole bunch of other fish, and it seems that he just keeps to himself. Although the aquarium is thousands of gallons, so I dont know if that would be the case in a smaller aquarium.

 

[Stingray12]

kinda looks like a midas cichlid, so I really wouldn't want it for Sw.

 

[Sitarangi]

They are mean and nasty fish, i've personally seen them fight off sea lions.

 

[saltyguy51]

Do you guys think one would be a good tank mate with the california round ray? Or are they going to pic at them?

 

[Sitarangi]

They are commonly kept with leopard sharks, skates, eels, etc. in huge kelp tanks at alot of the public aquariums in San Diego. But those are big tanks with thousands of gallons.

Garibaldi can get bigger than a foot and are the meanest fish I have ever seen in my life. I wouldn't risk it...

 

[saltyguy51]

I see

 

[JHemdal]

saltguy51,

There are many reasons NOT to get a garibaldi.

1) Just because the dealer is keeping it warm, does not mean that they will thrive long term at that temperature. There are no "warm water adjusted" garibaldi. You can keep them warm for 6 months to a year, but they tend to "burn out". 68 degrees F. seems perfect for them.

2) They get very large, 11" in captivity.

3) As others have stated, they get mean, and it isn't just territoriality with other garibaldi, I had one that would attack round and bat rays over and over again, even following them around the (900 gallon) tank.

4) An unknown number of these are collected illegally and sold to the pet trade. Some legal ones supposedly come from Mexico, but since they are a restricted species in California, ALL garibaldi are called Mexican, regardless of where they actually came from.

Jay

 

[kirkaz]

Jay, always bringing us back to reality with your darn experience....Someday I shall have my Garibaldi Damsal.

 

[saltyguy51]

Not for me then! What about a Calico Bass? The pond is 700 gallons 8' round

 

[yukonblizzard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15652763#post15652763 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JHemdal


1) Just because the dealer is keeping it warm, does not mean that they will thrive long term at that temperature. There are no "warm water adjusted" garibaldi. You can keep them warm for 6 months to a year, but they tend to "burn out". 68 degrees F. seems perfect for them.

[/QUOTE

Actually the aquarium I was talking about in an earlier post has had their Garibaldi for many years, at tropical temps.

 

[OSTguy]

With cooler weather approaching in most parts of the states, getting a tank closer to 70 degrees flat wouldn't be hard, then with the following season change, would make for a nice transition to the warmer tank one would think.

Did anyone see that BZ supposedly had free shipping over the weekend?

 

[JHemdal]

yukonblizzard,

I've seen Garibaldi kept at 82 degrees in dealer's tanks, but not long term. They do fine at 68 degrees (living 12+ years) and will "burn out" (shortened life span) at 80+ degrees. Somewhere in the middle of that is their upper normal limit. Where is it exactly? Nobody knows - it would take huge numbers of fish held at various temperatures for years to find that out.
The point being, they don't make good home aquarium fish for the reasons I stated, and one fish in a resturant doesn't invalidate that.

Jay

p.s. - just curious, did you wear a wet suit when you went snorkeling with the garibaldi?(grin)

 

[SDguy]

Just come to San Diego and go snorkling. Much more fun

 

[yukonblizzard]

I completley agree with you Jay, dont buy a fish and put it in an inappropriate tank. I was just stating that there are some rare exceptions.

 

[TheHotOne]

I had one of these a few years back and must say when they are young they are a great looking fish. Like others have mentioned when mature they turn into an expensive looking goldfish. Also IMO something quits working in their brain and they become possessed with age.

 

[lostintheocean]

There were a few in one of the cold water tanks at the georgia aquarium (i was there last week end). I think they are awsome looking, they were at least 10 inches and a striking orange. I got a good viseo of one eating a clam. There were some small sharks sitting on the bottom and a few other types fo fish in the tank as well as a bunch of star fish. It was a "kelp bed" tank. I would love to have one of these fish, given I had a huge cold water species tank.

 

[OSTguy]

So nobody on RC has had one? This would be a fish that could be given to an aquarium if it outgrew a tank I'm sure since it has such a status of being a state fish. The idea of a kelp bed is nice. I wonder if the kelp could be replaced by a different algae that would fit in the home aquarium. Keeping a cooler tank isn't hard for a house that runs AC or keeps it cool in the house. I would gamble that the absence of an aquarium heater would be beneficial as well.

 

[SHOW ANGELS]

These fish need to be kept in a cooler tank or they will start to have fungus problems.