Latz ?'s

[FishnWishn]

I got a call yesterday from my LFS and he filled my Latezonatus order that I placed over 2 years ago. They will be shipped tomorrow morning for an afternoon pick-up at the airport. Couple questions.

1. Should I set up a fresh B.B. QT, or put them in an established tank? I plan on putting them in a 90gal. that has been running for 7 years. It is my LR cooking tank that currently houses a pair of Allardi's and a potters wrasse in about 200lbs of LR. I am relocating the livestock and removing all but 3-4 very large pieces of LR. I have a spare 55 & 40B tank that I can use for medicating if needed, or should I set one of them up for QT? One of the main reasons I wanted to use the 90gal is that it is established and also has a chiller hooked up(not that it is needed in Colo.right now) also an ASM G4 skimmer, and a Korallin CR. I am moving them in 3-4 mths to my 140 cube.

2. My LFS could only get 2 and they are large. Seems like I read a thread that someone paired 2 large Latz and that it is possible because they are a large species and stay juvies up to 3" or so. Can anyone confirm this? If they are too big (and I think they are) I am only taking one. He has others on the waiting list but I get 1st choice. The wholesaler told him they were about 3-4", healthy and eating.

 

[chrisstie]

I think once you see them you should be able to tell their sexes by looking.

Some people are really super cautious and medicate their latz. When I got mine I fw dipped and did a soak with formalin and methyl blue and in she went after acclimation. She's over one year old today and doing well.

I think a lot depends on the condition you find them in.

Best of luck, they are the coolest of clownfishes imo! I've fallen in love with mine

 

[FishnWishn]

Thanks chrisstie! I plan a formalin dip as I always do with WC fish but I want some QT time in a tank I can catch them in should the need arise. What temp do you keep your tank? I have heard everything from 70-82 deg.
Are there tell tale signs for sexing Latz? I was going to just keep the nicest one if they are the same size and get a smaller one later. The wholesaler got 10 in and the other 8 went to a retailer that I am calling tomorrow to see if they got a Juvie in their shipment.
By the way happy B-day to your Latz. Sounds like you've done well with her.

 

[chrisstie]

If you feel you want to QT then go with your guts and you'll do fine! I personally try to avoid copper when I can and Gladys doesn't seem any worse for wear not having gone through it.

I haven't seen a latz pair up close but if its an actual pair pair the male should be noticiably smaller. I'd avoid the chance of getting two females also. Not to mention the strain on the wallet.

I'm actually just in the last few days experimenting pairing a clarkii juvenile with her so its been interesting. I'm not sure if we have a winner yet but she's not acting like she's on the death hunt, just guarding her anemone. It will take time to know for sure. If it doesn't workout I might end up with a Perc/Clarkii pair if my other gal will accept him/it.

One thing I love about my latz is how sweet she is. If I put my fingers in the tank without food she'll nibble at them until I do, but not drawing blood like maroons can.

I hope yours has just as sweet temperment!

 

[criccio]

The large ones seem to be brook magnets, I would personally QT. There is no way to sex them, and IME, if they are both females, they may not even show any signs of aggression while in a small QT tank (as backwards as that sounds). If I were you I would get both no matter what size. If they are both females you could very easily sell one off later on. As for temp, I would shoot for 74-76.

Good luck with them, they are one of a kind.

 

[chrisstie]

Ah yes I forgot to even touch on temperature I'm glad criccio said something. For most of the year I have had Gladys I was running around 80-81, florida gets pretty warm and the a/c bills are pretty tough if you use it to keep the temp down on the tank.

In October I installed a chiller and now I keep it more around 77 and the tank seems to really be liking the cooler temperatures and I hope it will lend to longevity for my latz, too. My corals do well at this temp so I'm hoping its an okay compromise for all parties involved

 

[Dan]

I would absolutely, positively QT those Latz. Sounds like you do not have one yet. A good QT has a well established sponge filter in case you need to add meds. As far as a bonded pair, I bought a pair of Latz about 10 years ago. They were both large and supposedly a bonded pair. After settling in for a few weeks, the war broke out. Lip lock and all. I tried several times to get them back together, but not a chance. They were realy not a bonded pair. Someone along the chain just put 2 fish together and jacked up the price. As long as they were under stress, they got along. Once calmed down, their true natures came out. Good luck and keep us posted.

Dan

 

[FishnWishn]

Thanks everyone for the info. They came in this morning but a snowstorm and single digit weather kept me from picking them up from the LFS. He said one is smaller than the other by about an inch and the larger one has about a 3"body, according to the LFS owner.
I will post pics when I get them tomorrow.

 

[chrisstie]

Yay I can't wait and hope the weather bodes better for you tomorrow!

 

[FishnWishn]

Went to pick them up but the larger one did not look so good. I picked up the smaller one but it is still large. Looks healthy and very active jumping from one anemone to the other in the LFS tank. The other one had brook and starting to slime. Glad he had them in seperate systems. Still going to do a formalin dip then add Pipzine to the QT as a precaution.
I am acclimating right now so I only have these and probably won't have anymore pics until I get off of work tomorrow. My camera battery went dead. Not great pics but I had low light in the room(my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

 

[chrisstie]

Hey that one looks great and I'm glad you did QT if the other had brook its likely this one could too especially if they were held in the same tank at a wholesalaers. When I think back to where I got my latz from it was their QT proceedures that refrained me from doing more iirc.

 

[TXChewy]

FishnWishn,

Thanks for the info on the store. I was there Friday and was throwing all kinds of hints to Mike that I would like those latz's but as you already know - "no sale".

I was worried about the latz in the tank with the seahorses on the right wall. I am guessing that is the one that did not make it.

Mike also said the snowflake they have in store came from a local breeder. Any idea who that is?

Congrats on the one - Nice score.

 

[FishnWishn]

Chewy, yes unfortunatly the one in that tank did not make it.

The snowflake they have came from me. I gave them a pair from a past spawn but they somehow lost one through the overflow.