humaguy
Premium Member
I have never heard this before and have never had a problem with flukes over the roughly 10 years I have been buying fish from Michael..
Giving Venustus a shot
- Thread starter aquaph8
- Start date
I have never heard this before and have never had a problem with flukes over the roughly 10 years I have been buying fish from Michael..
Crimson
Member
Michael treats his fish with prazi from what he told me. TBH, it's always possible for any fish no matter where it comes from to have flukes (unless tank breed in self contained area with no cross contamination with other fish).
ORA fish I would consider to be pest free that is until the fish enters into gen pop aka LFS or any mixed holding area.
ORA fish I would consider to be pest free that is until the fish enters into gen pop aka LFS or any mixed holding area.
sc50964
New member
Venustus is a hard fish to begin with. Thus what's happening to OP could be completely independent from NYA. Doesn't NYA offer some sort of livestock guarantee? I seem to recall that from my one purchase (4" blueline angel) from them. It made its way from NYC to CA. I had venustus once and it loved my SPS at the time.
Rea17
New member
I wasn't trying to make this about NYA, just suggesting the OP rule out flukes due to several reviews/posts I've read recently, and then this post of his.
Let's get the thread back on topic, I'd really like to see this venustus do well. Hope he starts eating for you soon.
Let's get the thread back on topic, I'd really like to see this venustus do well. Hope he starts eating for you soon.
aquaph8
Love The Fish
Holy crap, I go into work and come back to craziness. I honestly use LADD every chance I get but but with fish like Venustus they're pretty slim pickings. Their fish and customer service is unmatched not only in this industry but from a retail standpoint in general. NYA does a good job getting in the stuff that others don't. Unfortunately the Venustus aren't covered under warranty and it knew that when I ordered them. It always sucks to deal with sickness with fish already tricky to feed but all I can do at this point is deal with it and do my best. I used to get mad at vendors and fish stores when fish died of disease but now I just remember I have a choice of who I deal with and I do keep note of good and bad situations. I'm getting better and better with meds and QT over all these years and while I do lose some I also do save some. I've been around long enough that I am drawn to the trickier species and don't expect them all to make it but I do put a lot of effort into doing what is best for them. That's really why I started this thread, to learn what might help me get this guy ready for the display one day not give feedback on vendors. There's a whole forum for that if I need it.
The Venustus continues on his hunger strike but was out this morning swimming around. I'll try to feed again when I get to the house and report back. Bear with me on the pics, he's in my QT with lights off which makes pics pretty difficult. I did add prazi last night, hopefully I can stop whatever is causing the scratching. I figured prazi would be a good place to start and would be gentler considering I haven't seen any other symptoms. Thanks for all the well wishes. I hope he hangs in there to one day nip at my SPS. Well, not too much
The Venustus continues on his hunger strike but was out this morning swimming around. I'll try to feed again when I get to the house and report back. Bear with me on the pics, he's in my QT with lights off which makes pics pretty difficult. I did add prazi last night, hopefully I can stop whatever is causing the scratching. I figured prazi would be a good place to start and would be gentler considering I haven't seen any other symptoms. Thanks for all the well wishes. I hope he hangs in there to one day nip at my SPS. Well, not too much
First off, sorry to hear about the lost venustus, is the surviving fish eating yet?
I feel the need to chime in here since the thread referenced before was actually my thread.
In regards to NYA being a fluke ridden establishment... Even though I lost two Venustus from there, I would not say that I believe it to be from Flukes. FWIW, I have a small regal that I got from there at the same time and I don't recal that it displayed signs of flukes nor produced flukes during a FW dip and it is currently healthy as an ox.
It is my opinion that venustus are notoriously bad shippers and overly sensitive to ammonia poisoning. I plan to order Venustus again, and when I do, I have every intention of treating the acclimation vessel with an ammonia neutralizing product such as prime and adding methylene blue to help counteract any potential ammonia burning of the gills.
Having said that, when I do order a Venustus again, it won't be from NYA. I think the fish in his store are probably fine and healthy, (though i've never been there), but based on my experience in the past, I think a fish that needs extraordinary shipping precautions are best left purchased from DD. The packaging of the few fish that I have ordered from DD surpasssed the ones purchased from NYA by leaps and bounds.
Not saying his livestock is bad or that he doesn't know how to ship fish, rather that when it comes to the ultra sensitive and finicky species, I'll spend the extra $50 bucks and get it from Kevin.
Now back to the surviving Venustus.
I would agree with the water change and I would also continue to limit the light exposure for some time.
Have you given us any details about the quarantine system? Is the biological filtration pretty strong? Is there good flow in the tank? I have seen feeding responses from increasing or decreasing flow on certain fish.
Hopefully he starts eating soon, I assume the current foods being offered include brine and finely minced mysis. You might try live black worms if they are available, I hear they work wonders.
Good Luck!
I feel the need to chime in here since the thread referenced before was actually my thread.
In regards to NYA being a fluke ridden establishment... Even though I lost two Venustus from there, I would not say that I believe it to be from Flukes. FWIW, I have a small regal that I got from there at the same time and I don't recal that it displayed signs of flukes nor produced flukes during a FW dip and it is currently healthy as an ox.
It is my opinion that venustus are notoriously bad shippers and overly sensitive to ammonia poisoning. I plan to order Venustus again, and when I do, I have every intention of treating the acclimation vessel with an ammonia neutralizing product such as prime and adding methylene blue to help counteract any potential ammonia burning of the gills.
Having said that, when I do order a Venustus again, it won't be from NYA. I think the fish in his store are probably fine and healthy, (though i've never been there), but based on my experience in the past, I think a fish that needs extraordinary shipping precautions are best left purchased from DD. The packaging of the few fish that I have ordered from DD surpasssed the ones purchased from NYA by leaps and bounds.
Not saying his livestock is bad or that he doesn't know how to ship fish, rather that when it comes to the ultra sensitive and finicky species, I'll spend the extra $50 bucks and get it from Kevin.
Now back to the surviving Venustus.
I would agree with the water change and I would also continue to limit the light exposure for some time.
Have you given us any details about the quarantine system? Is the biological filtration pretty strong? Is there good flow in the tank? I have seen feeding responses from increasing or decreasing flow on certain fish.
Hopefully he starts eating soon, I assume the current foods being offered include brine and finely minced mysis. You might try live black worms if they are available, I hear they work wonders.
Good Luck!
aquaph8
Love The Fish
My QT is a 20 long. Just PVC pipes and an Aqua clear 70 with a very seeded sponge. I'd say it's pretty strong, it handled my Copperband, foxface and Regal all together. It has a small powerhead but I don't normally use it for anything other than small anthias so I can keep tiny foods suspended. The AC 70 gives the tank quite a bit of flow. I also have an air driven sponge filter in the opposite corner and do small waterchanges often.
I've tried feeding spirulina brine, hikari mysis, some angel mix, clams and assortment of pellets. Every time I think he's gonna take a bite it's like he gets grossed out and has to go scratch against something. Hopefully the prazi I added last night will help with that.
I've tried feeding spirulina brine, hikari mysis, some angel mix, clams and assortment of pellets. Every time I think he's gonna take a bite it's like he gets grossed out and has to go scratch against something. Hopefully the prazi I added last night will help with that.
aquaph8, maybe try some fresh grated shrimp. That has been a winner for me in the past when other things have failed.
Sounds like the QT is solid, just like to make sure the bases are covered. I should have figured with 5000+ posts that was a given though.
If there is a lot of scratching, perhaps consider a FW dip. It would only take a few minutes to determine if the fish has flukes. I think I'd be inclined to try that.
Sounds like the QT is solid, just like to make sure the bases are covered. I should have figured with 5000+ posts that was a given though.
If there is a lot of scratching, perhaps consider a FW dip. It would only take a few minutes to determine if the fish has flukes. I think I'd be inclined to try that.
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
My experience with multi-bar and venustus was that they wanted to hunt to survive before ever considering prepared foods. My Venustus went a couple of months before taking prepared foods.
My pair of multi-bar went 5+ months hunting off the rockwork before they would take any kinds of prepared foods.
Both fish are very shy, so they need lots of hiding places to feel comfortable.
They will definitely swim inverted, sideways, backwards - when healthy and feeding well.
If you can make it over the initial hump of them adjusting to captivity they are very rewarding. My experience is that you need a ton of mature liverock covered in pods, algae and sponge to get them started eating in a captive environment.
Dave B
My pair of multi-bar went 5+ months hunting off the rockwork before they would take any kinds of prepared foods.
Both fish are very shy, so they need lots of hiding places to feel comfortable.
They will definitely swim inverted, sideways, backwards - when healthy and feeding well.
If you can make it over the initial hump of them adjusting to captivity they are very rewarding. My experience is that you need a ton of mature liverock covered in pods, algae and sponge to get them started eating in a captive environment.
Dave B
Ambition
New member
I wish I knew what Kevin Kohen and his team do to get these fish eating well so fast. I've decided to take Kevin up on his offer for the juvie replacement multibar, and she's only been in captivity for three weeks when he told me about her last week. She eats like a pig, and will have been in captivity for 5 weeks when I get her next week. I would say keep throwing foods into the tank until the fish at least shows interest in something. The whole time, being sure that plenty of established LR is present for grazing if need be.
I actually tried that with the two Venustus I tried last year. I built the little brine shrimp feeder that Paul B has provided for us. They didn't seem interested, but I think long term, its probably a great idea.
I offered just about everything with the exception of live black worms when I tried these fish last year.
I think it comes down to ensuring these fish are comfortable and not stressed once they are through acclimation.
I offered just about everything with the exception of live black worms when I tried these fish last year.
I think it comes down to ensuring these fish are comfortable and not stressed once they are through acclimation.
You've done this?
sc50964
New member
Yes, I gave a browned out piece of SPS to the only venustus that I've had. It loved it.
I have had my trio of Venustus angels for close to a year now. Now having said this I have had them in the past (Another Trio at one point) and have lost them for one reason or another. All three eat anything I place in the tank and seem to get along. I also have a multibar angel for almost a year as well and has been doing really well. Also eating everything I feed the tank. Once you get them eating, they are just as hardy in my opinion as any other angel out there...
