Joel's 1st Marine Build

[greech]

Bacterial infectiions and internal parasites are common in jawfish. Bluespots seem to be the worst but pearly's can be fairly susceptible as well. I'm hoping for the best but once it starts it usually takes a few hours to a day before the fish passes. I seriously doubt you did anything wrong and the fish was in poor health when you got it. Good idea to hold off on new additions for a while.

Couple questions:
- Is it breathing heavier than normal?
- Is it having a hard time swimming?
- Is the white mucus in or coming out of it's gills?

 

[joel.uejio]

Oh, sorry if I wasn't clear, but he was completely dead when I got home yesterday. It was pretty brutal, actually, I found him lying on his side near the cave, mouth hanging open, not moving at all. So I scooped him out and disposed.

When I left in the morning, he was hanging out in the cave looking fine, so I'm not really sure what happened...???

 

[greech]

Oh crap, sorry about that. A lot of JF just don't do well in captivity. I think the dusky's are more resilient. Doesn't sound like anything got him since you found him out in the open and sounds like he was in one piece. There is a chance that your bi-color took him out though. They can be a little aggressive towards other fish that look similar or have the same body type.

 

[joel.uejio]

I have some more questions, but first here are some attempted pics of the blenny -- he's pretty quick!





He's relocated from the left side to the right -- I guess found some nooks he likes better.

 

[joel.uejio]

Snail Troubles and Algae?

Question 1: Is this algae? If so, what kind? (not sure if you can really make it out from the pic, but basically it looks like brown matted-dog hair):



Question 2: Looks like my nerites aren't doing well. I've been finding them flopped over on the sand kind of hanging open. When I touch them, they contract a bit though, so I don't think they're dead. I tried rounding them up and putting them next to an algae wafer -- one of the nassarius snails hit it hard, but the nerites didn't go for it. Two of them started locking together like they were mating or fighting or ... who knows!?

A little later on, one had climbed all the way tp the top of the tank, just above the water line......So, anyone know what's going on with them? I read somewhere that high magnesium may be bad for snails and also that the Oceanic Sea Salt mix I use *is* high in Mg. Could that be an issue? Any chance the snails are fighting with each other?

One of the snails flopped on it's side


Two nerites tussling, one sitting, nassarius eating:


Thanks!

 

[Amphiprion]

Hmm, that doesn't look like a bicolor blenny. Looks more like Ecsenius namiyei or Enchelyurus flavipes, but I can't tell which from that pic. The former is more closely related to the bicolor, while the latter isn't--both are still blenniids, though.

Edit: That doesn't bode well for the snails--staying flipped over like that. It is normal, however, for them to want to crawl above the water line. That is what they do in the wild, except on marginal marsh grasses. I can't see what algae you are talking about in the first pic, though.

 

[greech]

Stupid snails! Mine do that all the time. They cannot right themselves so you have to flip them over. I don't think you have any problems with your snails health. Hanging out at the rim of the tank is common. Nice looking blenny BTW!

 

[Fishfriend1]

Nice blenny, sorry about the fish that died, stupid snails. I dont have any of those, but i did lose my last turbo last night lol. I wonder what that means, prob that we shouldnt get these types of snail lol. Anyway they will prob be fine, i have ceriths and they are thriving. I may have missed this but whats the stocking for your tank? what are u gonna put in it?

 

[Fishfriend1]

Nice blenny, sorry about the fish that died, stupid snails. I dont have any of those, but i did lose my last turbo last night lol. I wonder what that means, prob that we shouldnt get these types of snail lol. Anyway they will prob be fine, i have ceriths and they are thriving. I may have missed this but whats the stocking for your tank? what are u gonna put in it?

 

[joel.uejio]

Blenny: Yes, he's much darker than bicolors I've seen live and online. The LFS guy described him as a "Tongan" blenny ... does that map to one of the species Amp mentioned? Whatever he is, I'm definitely enjoying him -- seems to be getting more comfortable each day.

Snails: Ok, I'll keep watch and give them a flip when needed.

Stocking: Right now it's just the blenny, cleaner shrimp, and snails. I would like to try another jawfish down the road, and also some free swimming fish like clowns, a dwarf angel, or something. I think I'll skip any plans for a royal gramma -- based on a youtube vid I saw of a RG going after a bicolor blenny.

Thanks for the comments!