brad
Active member
Yesterday, I picked up a longnosed butterflyfish listed for sale that has been in captivity a while. When I met the seller, he had a 4 inch fish in a leaking bag with less than a pint of water. Rather than arguing, I paid cash and raced home as fast as I could.
I have a 20 gallon quarantine tank with a maroon clownfish and emperor angel, both potentially more aggressive than any fish in my 270 display. I was hoping to put the butterfly directly into my reef and have him get situated to my tank before introducing the 2 quarantined fish.
I could not acclimate the butterfly as I hardly had any water in the bag when I got home. So I floated the bag 10 minutes to try to match temperature while making sure the fish was still breathing, then cut the top of the bag and let the fish swim out.
Except it more 'floated' than 'swam'. It ended up annoying a small miniatus grouper, who leaves fish alone as long as they stay clear, and while the grouper did no visible damage, I decided this fish couldn't possibly make in my reef and netted the butterfly and threw it in quarantine.
The butterfly didn't looks so good in quarantine last night, but the clown and angel left it alone, and today it is swimming around normally. Now I am unsure what to do next. I don't know how long to trust those 3 fish in a 20. I don't want to set up another quarantine tank.
Which fish should I move to my main display first? The other fish are ready to move, but if I move them first it might be harder to get the butterfly established. I am also unsure whether the butterfly will have more to eat stuck in a 20 with hardly any competition and no concern about overfeeding (100% water changes are easy) or in the reef with plenty of rock but lots of competition for fish food.
I have a 20 gallon quarantine tank with a maroon clownfish and emperor angel, both potentially more aggressive than any fish in my 270 display. I was hoping to put the butterfly directly into my reef and have him get situated to my tank before introducing the 2 quarantined fish.
I could not acclimate the butterfly as I hardly had any water in the bag when I got home. So I floated the bag 10 minutes to try to match temperature while making sure the fish was still breathing, then cut the top of the bag and let the fish swim out.
Except it more 'floated' than 'swam'. It ended up annoying a small miniatus grouper, who leaves fish alone as long as they stay clear, and while the grouper did no visible damage, I decided this fish couldn't possibly make in my reef and netted the butterfly and threw it in quarantine.
The butterfly didn't looks so good in quarantine last night, but the clown and angel left it alone, and today it is swimming around normally. Now I am unsure what to do next. I don't know how long to trust those 3 fish in a 20. I don't want to set up another quarantine tank.
Which fish should I move to my main display first? The other fish are ready to move, but if I move them first it might be harder to get the butterfly established. I am also unsure whether the butterfly will have more to eat stuck in a 20 with hardly any competition and no concern about overfeeding (100% water changes are easy) or in the reef with plenty of rock but lots of competition for fish food.
