Hey all, about a month ago I acquired 3 baby spotfins from a member of my local forum who did the tropical rescue. They are eating live blackworms and some frozen. I have them in my sump, the section they are in is 15 gallons, the fuge. I have various coral down there such as zoo's, palys, encrusting cap and plate cap, xenia, pocillipora, trumpet coral, and some blue digi.
I have been watching them very intently and they have very rarely picked and thats when I am late feeding them. I have noticed normal growth in all the coral down there. There is also a lot of rock in there and I suspect they annihilated my pods lol (I don't mind). There is also grape macro algae as well as some cheato.
They usually see me enter the room (doors are usually open on the stand) and wait at the side of the sump closest to me and stare at me till I feed them their precious black worms. I am also raising black worms, brine shrimp and tiger pods (pods were a freebe from my LFS) so they always have options. I am working on weaning them off of the live food and starting to get them to eat frozen. They have been nipping at beef heart, blood worms and whatever is in the frozen angelfish diet. Sometimes consuming a whole piece of food other times just looking at it and expecting it to turn into a black worm.
So thats the background on these little dudes. In my DT I have tons of cap, but also my acros and squamosa clam ( dubbed clammy by the gf who got it for me). Which I love dearly... I would love these fish in my DT but I have 200lbs of live rock sooo... we need to make an informed an educated guess as to how they'll behave because I am not taking all the rock out. Here is where I need my people of RC.
I have done reading and in the wild they seem to feed on gorgs, polyps, nems and inverts(not specific). Since they have not picked at anything to the point of causing harm do you think they will pick in the DT? My other fish are 1 blue hippo, 1 lyretail anthias, 1 blue chromis, 2 orange ocellaris clowns and a marine betta so I figure Ill have to put food down on the rock for them to get to during the feeding franzy. I do have a RBTA as well and don't want him to get eaten over time. If you think theyll pick do you think I should put frags of these corals down there do see what they do, and maybe place my clam down there and closely monitor their beheavor? Also any experience with these fish in a reef tank would be greatly appreciated.
My last thought is a theory. Say I was able to get them to eat just frozen 24/7, do you think that if I keep them feed 1-2 times a day that they will be looking for the food I feed them all the time and not be concerned with the sessile inverts. Not to train them per say because they are a fish and have instincts but to get them full always. So that they will be in a routine and know, just like all my other fish, that when I come to the tank it may be because I am putting food in the tank so then they become dependent on me and blind to the other "sources" of food. Behavioral reprogramming, so to speak.
Thank you.
I have been watching them very intently and they have very rarely picked and thats when I am late feeding them. I have noticed normal growth in all the coral down there. There is also a lot of rock in there and I suspect they annihilated my pods lol (I don't mind). There is also grape macro algae as well as some cheato.
They usually see me enter the room (doors are usually open on the stand) and wait at the side of the sump closest to me and stare at me till I feed them their precious black worms. I am also raising black worms, brine shrimp and tiger pods (pods were a freebe from my LFS) so they always have options. I am working on weaning them off of the live food and starting to get them to eat frozen. They have been nipping at beef heart, blood worms and whatever is in the frozen angelfish diet. Sometimes consuming a whole piece of food other times just looking at it and expecting it to turn into a black worm.
So thats the background on these little dudes. In my DT I have tons of cap, but also my acros and squamosa clam ( dubbed clammy by the gf who got it for me). Which I love dearly... I would love these fish in my DT but I have 200lbs of live rock sooo... we need to make an informed an educated guess as to how they'll behave because I am not taking all the rock out. Here is where I need my people of RC.
I have done reading and in the wild they seem to feed on gorgs, polyps, nems and inverts(not specific). Since they have not picked at anything to the point of causing harm do you think they will pick in the DT? My other fish are 1 blue hippo, 1 lyretail anthias, 1 blue chromis, 2 orange ocellaris clowns and a marine betta so I figure Ill have to put food down on the rock for them to get to during the feeding franzy. I do have a RBTA as well and don't want him to get eaten over time. If you think theyll pick do you think I should put frags of these corals down there do see what they do, and maybe place my clam down there and closely monitor their beheavor? Also any experience with these fish in a reef tank would be greatly appreciated.
My last thought is a theory. Say I was able to get them to eat just frozen 24/7, do you think that if I keep them feed 1-2 times a day that they will be looking for the food I feed them all the time and not be concerned with the sessile inverts. Not to train them per say because they are a fish and have instincts but to get them full always. So that they will be in a routine and know, just like all my other fish, that when I come to the tank it may be because I am putting food in the tank so then they become dependent on me and blind to the other "sources" of food. Behavioral reprogramming, so to speak.
Thank you.
