Volitan and frondosa
- Thread starter seahorsedreams
- Start date
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
nice-looking fish!
the "yawning" you see is the fish trying to loosen the cuticle around their faces so they can shed. shedding is a normal part of the life of these fish (as well as most other scorps). their sedentary lifestyle causes them to become covered with various critters, algae, and the like, so every so often, they'll shed their cuticles.
as for catching "cooties" from feeders, it's definitely possible, so you shouldn't feed them any obviously sick fish. this is true even tho these fish tend to be resistant external parasites (i can show you an old pic of our volitans with a serious case of ich).
we feed our Rhinos (and other preds) 3x a week (M-W-F), and they will indeed learn who "the food god" is and will fall into the routine, and even beg on the "proper" days. just feed the fish until you see a slight bulge in their bellies and they're good to go. if they were shipped to you, they may not have eaten for a few days, so they may be hungry once they get situated.
oh, and do keep an eye on their lower lips to make sure they don't become infected. they don't seem too bad, so the chances are they'll heal easily.
welcome to the Rhino Club!
the "yawning" you see is the fish trying to loosen the cuticle around their faces so they can shed. shedding is a normal part of the life of these fish (as well as most other scorps). their sedentary lifestyle causes them to become covered with various critters, algae, and the like, so every so often, they'll shed their cuticles.
as for catching "cooties" from feeders, it's definitely possible, so you shouldn't feed them any obviously sick fish. this is true even tho these fish tend to be resistant external parasites (i can show you an old pic of our volitans with a serious case of ich).
we feed our Rhinos (and other preds) 3x a week (M-W-F), and they will indeed learn who "the food god" is and will fall into the routine, and even beg on the "proper" days. just feed the fish until you see a slight bulge in their bellies and they're good to go. if they were shipped to you, they may not have eaten for a few days, so they may be hungry once they get situated.
oh, and do keep an eye on their lower lips to make sure they don't become infected. they don't seem too bad, so the chances are they'll heal easily.
welcome to the Rhino Club!
Last edited:
LamboBoy
New member
Greg,
Thanks a lot for all your advice and knowledge on these rare species and thanks for the warm welcome!
Yeah, I hate the fact that they came with their lip like that but since I don't live in a major city like NY or LA, I have to buy my rare fish thru the mail. Have lots of luck with LiveAquaria but these guys came from NY Aquatics. They have 1 yellow left.
For now, I'm just going to feed them Chromis but I'll definitely will train them to eat from a stick.
The lower lip of the Frodosa looks bigger and worse but I guess because he is bigger too. It looks like they got that from the previous shipment, from their origin to NY. How will it look if it's infected?
Thanks a lot for all your advice and knowledge on these rare species and thanks for the warm welcome!
Yeah, I hate the fact that they came with their lip like that but since I don't live in a major city like NY or LA, I have to buy my rare fish thru the mail. Have lots of luck with LiveAquaria but these guys came from NY Aquatics. They have 1 yellow left.
For now, I'm just going to feed them Chromis but I'll definitely will train them to eat from a stick.
The lower lip of the Frodosa looks bigger and worse but I guess because he is bigger too. It looks like they got that from the previous shipment, from their origin to NY. How will it look if it's infected?
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
if it's infected, it will tend to get red streaks in it, but also, it simply will seem not to be healing. our Eschmeyer's bumped its lip, but it healed up just fine. i just wanted to make sure you're keeping an eye on it.
as for the help, that's what the hobby is all about...sharing experiences and learning from each other.
as for the help, that's what the hobby is all about...sharing experiences and learning from each other.
seahorsedreams
New member
OMG! They are awesome! Congrats and take lots of pictures 
LamboBoy
New member
Greg, I will definitely keep an eye open on their chins. Thanks.
Renne, I'll post more pics as I go, just wish the Frondosa didn't have these mucus on him. Will it eventually fall off sort of speak? Or do I need to put a powerhead in there and aim it on him?
BTW Renee, your pics are sooooooo much better!!
Renne, I'll post more pics as I go, just wish the Frondosa didn't have these mucus on him. Will it eventually fall off sort of speak? Or do I need to put a powerhead in there and aim it on him?
BTW Renee, your pics are sooooooo much better!!
seahorsedreams
New member
The skin will fall off without any help from you in a couple of days. I remove it because the idea is for them to get rid of parasites and blah.... I don't wanna leave that in there.
LamboBoy
New member
Help again
Help again
Another question for you guys.
I put 5 Chromis in their tank for them to eat but there is LR in there also so will they be able to catch them? All the Chromis have to do is swim on the top level and hide in the rocks when they go to sleep. No food for them.
Also tried to fed them silversides with that custom made feeder stick but no luck. Even rubbed the silverside close to their face and no interest. How long can these guys go without eating? What else should I try?
I'll be going away in 6 days so I like to see them eat before I go.
Help again
Another question for you guys.
I put 5 Chromis in their tank for them to eat but there is LR in there also so will they be able to catch them? All the Chromis have to do is swim on the top level and hide in the rocks when they go to sleep. No food for them.
Also tried to fed them silversides with that custom made feeder stick but no luck. Even rubbed the silverside close to their face and no interest. How long can these guys go without eating? What else should I try?
I'll be going away in 6 days so I like to see them eat before I go.
seahorsedreams
New member
Ours had a damsel live with him for about a week until I recaught it. I herd the fish with the net. It's not easy and that's how the one got away from me. If you just put them in, they will be able to evade him for a nice bit.
I actually would slow them down by *thunking* them in the head. When he ate those well, I would freeze them... then I went to silversides from there.
I actually would slow them down by *thunking* them in the head. When he ate those well, I would freeze them... then I went to silversides from there.
LamboBoy
New member
Frondosa needs help ASAP!!
Frondosa needs help ASAP!!
Bad news... The Eschmeyer died the morning I left to the airport for vacation so I didn't have time to call the seller since it had a 14 day guarantee. I literally saw him lying there dead on my last check thru all the tanks before leaving. No time to call or take pics of him for proof....
And now this....
I just got back from my X-Mas vacation and noticed that the chin thing has gotten much worse on the Frondosa. It looks bigger, like cauliflower shape. It has not eaten since I got him. Noticed also a dead Chromis 1/2 eaten in the tank. How do I treat this? I have a 20 gallon QT ready. Aside from that he looks great, deep purple color and very aware of his surroundings. No more mucus at all.
I guess he is not eating because of this chin thing, which looks like it's spreading towards his upper mouth. Need help ASAP. Thanks!
Frondosa needs help ASAP!!
Bad news... The Eschmeyer died the morning I left to the airport for vacation so I didn't have time to call the seller since it had a 14 day guarantee. I literally saw him lying there dead on my last check thru all the tanks before leaving. No time to call or take pics of him for proof....
And now this....
I just got back from my X-Mas vacation and noticed that the chin thing has gotten much worse on the Frondosa. It looks bigger, like cauliflower shape. It has not eaten since I got him. Noticed also a dead Chromis 1/2 eaten in the tank. How do I treat this? I have a 20 gallon QT ready. Aside from that he looks great, deep purple color and very aware of his surroundings. No more mucus at all.
I guess he is not eating because of this chin thing, which looks like it's spreading towards his upper mouth. Need help ASAP. Thanks!
seahorsedreams
New member
coooooooooool....
my most favorite-ist scorpionfish of them all. Inimicus
MY best guess is either I. cuvieri or I japonicus. Your species type is not common. The more common inimicus are didactylus, caldonicus and filamentosus, just like i showed in the Reeflife article. I had the exact species like you guys. Good news is that these guys weaned over to prepared really easily
As you note its head is flat- w/ its eyes inline w/ the skull. there is a theory that these fish have evolved to more advanced form in which both the eyes and mouth are elevated(upturned) to allow the fish to more complete bury. If you look at I.Didactylus, or I.filamentosus- you'll see what I'm talking about
Eitherway, its awesome
my most favorite-ist scorpionfish of them all. Inimicus
MY best guess is either I. cuvieri or I japonicus. Your species type is not common. The more common inimicus are didactylus, caldonicus and filamentosus, just like i showed in the Reeflife article. I had the exact species like you guys. Good news is that these guys weaned over to prepared really easily
As you note its head is flat- w/ its eyes inline w/ the skull. there is a theory that these fish have evolved to more advanced form in which both the eyes and mouth are elevated(upturned) to allow the fish to more complete bury. If you look at I.Didactylus, or I.filamentosus- you'll see what I'm talking about
Eitherway, its awesome
BTW-
if you look at the goblins spread fins (last 8 secs of your video), notice the pattern and draw it out you might be able to ID the species more readily. I"m not sure if it was included in the Reeflife article- but i have a drawing of the various species of Inimicus pec fins.
if you look at the goblins spread fins (last 8 secs of your video), notice the pattern and draw it out you might be able to ID the species more readily. I"m not sure if it was included in the Reeflife article- but i have a drawing of the various species of Inimicus pec fins.
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
Frank,
thanx for the ID help.
i ruled out I. filamentosus due to the eyes being set apart, and lack of fin filaments. our fish does have what "could" be the white crescent on the backside of the pectorals, but they are more like spots than a continuous white band, altho the pix in the RL article show some variability.
i looked in Reef Fishes vol I, and there was no real "help" there in terms of ID. if you'd shoot those ID dwgs to Renee, maybe we can nail it down.
we're thrilled to have found this fish, as i haven't seen any Inimicus around lately.
a question tho...if the fish ends up being a japonicus, would we need to keep it at a lower temp? it's running at 76*F-77*F ATM.
thanx for the ID help.
i ruled out I. filamentosus due to the eyes being set apart, and lack of fin filaments. our fish does have what "could" be the white crescent on the backside of the pectorals, but they are more like spots than a continuous white band, altho the pix in the RL article show some variability.
i looked in Reef Fishes vol I, and there was no real "help" there in terms of ID. if you'd shoot those ID dwgs to Renee, maybe we can nail it down.
we're thrilled to have found this fish, as i haven't seen any Inimicus around lately.
a question tho...if the fish ends up being a japonicus, would we need to keep it at a lower temp? it's running at 76*F-77*F ATM.
Sherri- whats a spiny devil fish? its a common name for a sea goblin, but you list goblin right before it, so i assume its different
Greg- Actually I. japonicus was my first call based on the solid white band across the pec fins, but I cuvieri also has a broken white arc. The I japonicus I've had in the past did fine for 2-3 yrs at standard tropical temps
Greg- Actually I. japonicus was my first call based on the solid white band across the pec fins, but I cuvieri also has a broken white arc. The I japonicus I've had in the past did fine for 2-3 yrs at standard tropical temps
Mental1
New member
Frank I looked it up and it is described as a ghoul not a goblin so I assumed they were different. I will have to go look and see what he has ... here's the link I found anyway.
http://www.scuba-equipment-usa.com/marine/AUG05/Spiny_Devilfish(Inimicus_didactylus).html
He said he is eating silversides. Do you think he would be a good tankmate for the Fu's? Maybe he could teach them to eat frozen!!!! He's about 5 inches long -- one of my Fu's is about 4 inches long.
http://www.scuba-equipment-usa.com/marine/AUG05/Spiny_Devilfish(Inimicus_didactylus).html
He said he is eating silversides. Do you think he would be a good tankmate for the Fu's? Maybe he could teach them to eat frozen!!!! He's about 5 inches long -- one of my Fu's is about 4 inches long.
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