File #4 Go to Part 1 Installments 1-20 Part 2 Installments 21-35 Part 3 Installments 36-55 Part 4 Installments 56-68 Installment #71 on OOP and Clown Triggers 12/05/97
What I meant, in installment #70, by having added canister filtration with rubble rock (broken coral rock) inside the canister, and going "slow" as I called it, was that I am not letting the ammonia get really out of hand. What I am trying to do is build up bacteria on the rubble rock but I am doing so at a real low level or rate so OOP is not stressed by the cycling.
In fact, this is not even what you would normally call a cycle, at least not in the conventional sense. Whereas it may not be conventional cycling at a relatively high level, some cycling "is" taking place.
If I did let ammonia and nitrite buid up, stress would result. If I keep ammonia at a max of 0.5 ppm though and nitrite not higher than 0.25 ppm, not much stress will exist and some bacteria will start to develop. Because of the low level of ammonia this will not be a potent filter of course but it will be a good beginning, and certainly worth adding to the 60 when OOP gets moved again.
Am I playing with fire here? Am I endangering OOP again? I really don't think so. OOP is fully cured and as active as he can be. Fortunately no damage has occured as a result of the Velvet disease (Amyloodinium) and, even though his eyes looked in real bad shape when he was fully infected, they are now as clear as crystal.
You are probably wondering when I am finally going to move OOP back to the 60 gallon tank, as I have been saying so for some time now. Yes that is correct but, with the flu first, then the holidays, I just have not been able to make the trip to the wholesaler yet (it is about an hour's drive if there are no traffic jams on the highways so it is not really "around the corner").
I am sure I will get around to it sometime next week. OOP seems to be doing great in the 30 though. Maybe I should use the 60 for something else? Maybe one of those new MUD filters (Leng Sy type set up) as explained in the Mud Filtration Article based on my interview with Mr. Leng Sy. If you go there now, hit the back or return button of your browser to come back to this one.
I think OOP has taken a pleasure to splashing water over the side of the tank as he has just done it again. Darn. Guess he now has a new bad habit. Looking at the way he is behaving it appears to be time for food. I suppose that I did not pay attention to him fast enough so he decided to make sure I would notice him I will feed him and then test the water a little later and see what needs to be done, if anything. I have a few errands to run after that.
OOP ate all his krill and gorged a littlem more down than usual it seems. Maybe that is what the splashing was all about. Perhaps he did not get enough at the last feeding.
The water quality was fine so I did not need to do anything. I will check again tonite before retiring just to make sure (which reminds me that I need to get tests when I go out in a bit).
I was asked to determine of what sex OOP was. Well based on all the evidence that I have gathered OOP is a male Clown Trigger. The reason I say so is that he meets at least 3 of 4 characteristics that can be seen without having to use laboratory methods, attributed to males.
What are these 4 characteristics and which ones does OOP meet? I will get into that in the next installment as that is going to be a rather lengthy explanation.
Briefly though:
There are actually more than that but often one needs to have a male and a female and then those can be used to determinge which one is the male (e.g. more territorial). It has also been observed that some "may" go through temporary color changes to exhibit mating behavior. Because so little is known I have not yet been able to fully document this though.
I am looking into it further though. If this is indeed a mating characteristic it certainly is not well documented.
Part 70 on OOP and Clown Triggers 12/04/97 21:35
You may think that I am loosing steam in updating the OOP document but not so! I am just leaving a little more time between updates to see what goes on. I have told you so many things about OOP already that taking some more time allows me to isolate some more specific topics to mention and highlight oddities that have not come up yet.
OOP is just fine. Fat and growing. A pig he is Since his move to the 30 gallon tank he seems to have really gotten used to his environment now and regularly "scouts" the aquarium, what I mean is that he will go around from area to area and kind of "inspect" what is there (oh I added two more small rocks). No life forms on them, but good for OOP. More things to check out, which is really what he does.
It is intersting to observe him from a distance when he does that. It is not a cursory check. He really gets into it and seems to take it very seriously. My guess is that he is looking for food (which he cannot find of course since there is no life on that rock).
For some time now OOP has again started to use the same rock to rest at night but interestingly enough he uses both sides. One morning I may find him on the left side of it and then a few days later he will be on the other side. There is no clue as to why that should be as I certainly do not change the position of the rock, the current, or anything else for that matter. Odd!
As you know, I am really doing all of this in an effort to start a breeding process going, and possibly get tank raised Clown Triggers.
This is a daunting experiment as, to my knowledge, no one has achieved this in small systems successfully. There are reports of spawns but not of raising the larvae and fry.
There are also reports of one large public aquarium having experienced breeding in a system that is several tens of thousands of gallons but I have not been able to find anything specific other than a reference in an article I was reading. No details on what exactly happened and whether the fry actually made it and grew to larger specimens.
What I have discovered though is that the breeding process is rather interesting. Indeed, a male will stake out a large territory. Within that large territory there are several smaller one each one of which is protected by a female. When breeding time comes around, the male moves from one area to the other and "does his thing". Polygamy! Of course in nature this noting unusual.
The key will now to figure out whether a one-on-one relationship can be established. OOP has become somewhat of a "special" fish and may or may not be used in the test/experiment/attempt. I do not know yet.
I did order a breeding of Balistoides conspicillum from Premium Aquatics and they are going to try and find a pair for me.
Some time ago, and the documents are in the Saltwater Library of our Site, Mr Liu Fengqi sent me freeze dried bloodworms, daphnia, and rotifers. I fed some of them to OOP today and after soaking them in Vital Gold for some time I added them to the tank. I guess no explanation is needed.
Of course, OOP ate them and kept going around the tank to make sure he had not missed any. Hey, maybe some are stuck in the rock, who knows. When he now goes on his detective expeditions he may find something to feed on after all.
No I have not gotten around to picking up the rock yet. Shame on me! I should have but have been so busy with email and the web site that I really have not had a chance to do so.
I have been watching the water quality carefully and am starting to see a filter on the 30. It is a canister filled with small chuncks of rock that once was alive. It is quite porous so it should be able to harbor quite a few bacteria but I am going real slow to make sure OOP does not get stressed.
Enough for today. More in Update 71.
Part 69 on OOP and Clown Triggers 12/01/97
Well it has been a few days since the last update on OOP. I guess that is good in a way as there is more to relate, as more time has elapsed. Also, OOP is now totally healed and hopping around as you can see in the heading That animated gif was made for me by Bernie Marinacis and he worked really really hard as that was not easy to do. I am, personally, not too good with graphics but it seems that it is indeed quite complex especially because the background. Bernie, OOP and I thank you very much.
OOP is still in the 30 gallon aquarium and seems to have found "his way around" it pretty well now. In fact he does not look all that crowded in there. No, I am not making excuses for not moving him yet but just want to describe what I see.
He is eating real well and a good variety of foods and shows no residual signs of the Velvet (Amyloodinium) attack and infestation. Lord, was that a scare when that happened. I still think that the sequence I indicated on how it all started is really what came about. In fact I took some black mollies, stuck them in a 5 gallon tank with SW and did not acclimate them at all and within 12 hours they were covered with parasites.
I guess the lesson to be learned is that when and if you decide to saltify Added another rock to the 30. All the rock in there is really dead rock but it is rock with lots of holes and areas that OOP can use to "rest" during the day, or "sleep" at night. It also makes the tank look a little better and gives OOP spaces to hide in. He is not skittish mind you but when rapid movement occurs he will dash away and go behind a rock or lock himself in one depending on how he feels I have not "played" with feeding OOP odd foods as I want to avoid any cause of stress at this point. He has gone through enough already. Diet now consists of: cooked or raw shrimp, frozen krill (he still does not like the freeze-dried one), mussel meat, and the Glass and Ghost shrimp (which appears to be his favorite food).
OOP has been very playful again lately (well in the last few days) and is back to swimming at the top and making noises when he wants food. I should call him Drummer Boy The water in the 30 is nearer to the top than in the 60 so OOP can be closer to the edge and the cute little monster splashes water over the top on the table the tank is on now as it is too big to put on my desk (pitty-I did like him close).
Mind you it really is not much water but it must be OOP since there are no airstones bubbling etc., and I still do water changes to keep the quality in balance.
If I keep him for any time longer in that tank I am going to have to get some kind of filtration on that tank. I must have changed hundreds of gallons of water by now. Gee Instant Ocean must love me I really need to get that cured rock!
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