The coming of a dragon ;)

[themoraykeeper]

Hey guys, posted recently about the requirements of a japanese /hawaiian dragon moray.
Well unfortunately I lost most of my fish around 2 months ago and was gutted my prized yellow tang was also a casualty of the dreaded brook that killed all but 4 of my fish.
Here are some pictures took of my buddies before they sadly passed RIP

Full tank shot
http://i.imgur.com/glg0RBz.jpg

Jewel puffer
http://i.imgur.com/GUG49n0.jpg

Clownfish pair
http://i.imgur.com/yggwM2L.jpg

Yellow tang
http://i.imgur.com/HDHfgpY.jpg

Fiji yellow belly damsel
http://i.imgur.com/8imJfVx.jpg

Golden dwarf moray
http://i.imgur.com/KYiya4a.jpg



Now I have the following left;
. Fiji Yellow belly damsel
. Lemon damsel
. Harlequin bass
. Golden dwarf moray

All these will be moved into a new 30x12x24 (35 gal) inch tank upstairs and is the one in the pictures below.
http://i.imgur.com/Fj7op4h.jpg

Do you think this is ok for these guys? Also any room for other tankmates?

Finally I will be purchasing a hawaiian dragon moray pretty soon from my lfs, and they sent me these pictures of the ones they have in store, all around 2ft long
http://i.imgur.com/yykQCUf.jpg

The moray will go into a 5ft bowfront tank I newly purchased just for him holds around 450 litres and dimensions are 60x18x24 on the bowfront. Is this ok?

Will post pictures of the new tank soon, and when I get the moray

 

[HPark]

Can't comment on tank size but I recently picked up a zebra moray and golden dwarf. Love the look of the eels poking their heads out of the rocks. Good luck with your addition and please post pictures!

 

[fishhuman]

The 35 gallon seems fully stocked
But I'm not sure if a dragon moray can live in the bowfront it seems a little thin for the eel but, im not sure

 

[themoraykeeper]

Can't comment on tank size but I recently picked up a zebra moray and golden dwarf. Love the look of the eels poking their heads out of the rocks. Good luck with your addition and please post pictures!

wow very nice! used to have a zebra moray too for 6+ years and he was such a personable fish! definitely my favourite
Heres a few pics of him in his prime
http://i.imgur.com/8wDYboJ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/CpsAKVk.jpg
Was called the kraken

Would love to see a picture of your morays mate.

And yes will definitely post pictures

 

[themoraykeeper]

The 35 gallon seems fully stocked
But I'm not sure if a dragon moray can live in the bowfront it seems a little thin for the eel but, im not sure

Ok thanks! and the bowfront has 18 inch sides but its widest point is 24 inches so I thought this would be adequate?

 

[syrinx]

The bowfront is the minimal size I would keep such an eel- especially at the price. It is adequate though with proper husbandry,water changes, skimmer and I recommend a UV sterilizer- not for parasites, rather for fungal and bacterial reasons. I would double your dilligence to covering the tank completely. Eels kept in smaller tanks will attempt escape more often.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Did you start using a QT with all new fish, so the brook wipe-out doesn't happen again?

 

[themoraykeeper]

Did you start using a QT with all new fish, so the brook wipe-out doesn't happen again?

Funny thing is that I used QT before the brook outbreak, started with a tamarin wrasse I bought online.
So I honestly have no clue how the brook got into the tank, might have been in some LFS water or something.
Would it be best to quarantine a 2ft dragon moray? He will quite literally be the only fish in the bow front apart from various damsels.
Also dont think I have a large enough QT to keep the eel in atm.

 

[themoraykeeper]

Been researching into a good stocking list and seems like only small, fast fishes like damsels and huge tough fish stand a chance against the dragon moray.
Soo heres what I have so far;
stocking for - 120 gal 5ft bowfront
Fish
. Japanese/hawaiian dragon moray
. Blue velvet damsel x2
. Yellow tail damsel x2
. Humbug damsel x2
. Red coris wrasse (would this be a good choice? heard they are tough customers and get 6-8 inches in aquariums)

Inverts
. turbo snails x10
. Sandsifting star x1
. cleaner shrimps x2

Also, would a garabaldi damsel be possible with the dragon? I know about the temp differences but is there a way to keep both in the same tank?

Cheers

 

[syrinx]

Not enough room for a Giarabaldi, if memory serves they get huge. Any of the fish may be eaten, including the wrasse. Since they are cheap to try, I would go with one of each of the damsels-unless you can get a true pair they will likely fight if you just have 2x of each. The red coris wrasse can get twice that size, if kept in optimum conditions. They also can be a little tricky, although once established they can be long lived.

 

[themoraykeeper]

Not enough room for a Giarabaldi, if memory serves they get huge. Any of the fish may be eaten, including the wrasse. Since they are cheap to try, I would go with one of each of the damsels-unless you can get a true pair they will likely fight if you just have 2x of each. The red coris wrasse can get twice that size, if kept in optimum conditions. They also can be a little tricky, although once established they can be long lived.

Yeah heard the garabaldi's get huge, and are beasts as well so will leave it out of this tank haha
And not too worried about a little aggression between damsels, as they are mostly there for colour/movement and I imagined that the tank would be large enough to dissolve most issues that they have with each other.
And ok, might have to find a large coris wrasse to start off with of I go with it so it has more of a chance, and introduce way before the eel so it can get adjusted well.
Is hard stocking for a dragon moray tank haha
Thanks for the reply!

 

[enchelycore808]

Never was able to keep anything with mine. Ive had a few and once they get comfy, they get active and aggressive! Depends on your eel though. I would say try it out but dont get to attached to your damsels. Good luck with your dragon! Hands down my favorite fish.

 

[themoraykeeper]

Never was able to keep anything with mine. Ive had a few and once they get comfy, they get active and aggressive! Depends on your eel though. I would say try it out but dont get to attached to your damsels. Good luck with your dragon! Hands down my favorite fish.

Ahh ok, seems like I'l give it a shot anyways hopefully I'l get a reasonably nice one that will let my damsels live haha
Thank you And yeah they are soo badass!

 

[JoeySiew]

My Japanese dragon moray is the most timid fish I kept. Even my clown fish snatch the feeder prawn from its mouth.....

 

[enchelycore808]

Goes to show how every fishes personality is different. Mine even ended up eating my cleaner shimp! She also would jump out the tank at me to get fed. Took a nibble outta my hand too the first time lol!

 

[themoraykeeper]

Just thought I would post a picture of the new tank in progress, 5ft 120 gal bowfront

 

[themoraykeeper]

 

[moondoggy4]

My Hawaiian Dragon Morey that I had back in the 80's never ate another fish that was part of my tank, it did eat lots of gold fish, I feed a lot so I kept the aggression down.

 

[themoraykeeper]

My Hawaiian Dragon Morey that I had back in the 80's never ate another fish that was part of my tank, it did eat lots of gold fish, I feed a lot so I kept the aggression down.

Wow okay, is good too hear that not all dragon morays want to rip their other tankmates apart! Fingers crossed I will get a gentle one

 

[themoraykeeper]

Soo guys, not long now until I get the tank going. Will be moving it in on Monday!
Have been going over a stocking list so please advice if it doesnt look suitable

Dimensions;
60x18x24 inches bowed

Fish;
. Hawaiian dragon moray x1
. Yellow tail coris wrasse x1
. Dogface puffer x1
. Yellow tail blue damsel x3
. Blue reef chromis x4

Inverts;
Sandsifting star x1
Turbo snail x10

Order of addition:
1st - Dogface pufferfish x1
Yellow tail coris wrasse x1
2nd - Hawaiian dragon moray x1
3rd - Blue reef chromis x4
4th - Yellow tail blue damsel x3


Equipment;
TMC V2 ilumenair 900 LED lighting
TMC V2 skim 600 protein skimmer
Various power heads
Seneue tank parameter checker
UV steriliser - finding now