Equetus acuminatus

[bigbugoutfitters]

Has anyone else had much experience with these fish? I had done a bit of research on the fish before i bought mine to make sure it wouldnt be a terror. Its a relatively reef safe fish from my understanding, I wont be having much for inverts in my tank regardless so im not worries about its taste for shrimp. Honestly i am surprised that i dont see this fish more often in the hobby. I had asked every shop within a 200 mile radius of me if they could get them in and none of them had ever heard of the hi hat drum. Granted there are only three shops within 200 miles…
Purchased mine from Foxy Saltwater and couldn’t be happier with the fish. About 4 inches currently, somewhat shy but active and very striking in my opinion.
id love to hear of anyone else’s experience with this unique fish.

 

[blaxsun]

Neat fish. If by "reef safe" you mean ignoring worms, crustaceans and small fish - probably not.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Oh uea, its gonna put a hurting on worms, crustaceans, and any fish big enough to fit in its mouth. But the tank is wrasses, hawkfish, and eventually a lionfish. Small fish beware!

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Experimented with some a few saltwater feeder shrimp. They lasted about .0003 seconds. Definitely not friendly with any shrimp. Pays no care to bristleworms and didnt apy any attention to the 1/2 inch salty mollies that i added to the tank. Perhaps smaller fish may be relatively safe around it.

 

[bnord]

Had one a very long time ago.
Really liked it as I had seen several in the wild and enjoy the behavior. However mine grew pretty fast so hope you have a potential rehoming plan for it. Good luck send some more pictures

 

[Suneru]

One just popped up on Live Aquaria. I can’t find much info on them before buying. Do you have any update?

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

I had it for about 2 weeks but unfortunately it died from Lymphocystis. Very cool fish. Would definitely recommend.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

It ate very well, acclimated quickly to the tank, and was very peaceful. I would agree with bnord that itll need a large tang, i think 125 would be best for a minimum. It swam along the bottom very actively.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

It ate very well, acclimated quickly to the tank, and was very peaceful. I would agree with bnord that itll need a large tang, i think 125 would be best for a minimum. It swam along the bottom very actively.

I got mine from here. https://www.mysaltwaterfishstore.com/drum/ much cheaper than LA. I would recommend them even though mine did not make it.

Also, just saw that youve got a 300. I would get a few of them as i have heard that they school.

 

[Suneru]

I got mine from here. https://www.mysaltwaterfishstore.com/drum/ much cheaper than LA. I would recommend them even though mine did not make it.

Also, just saw that youve got a 300. I would get a few of them as i have heard that they school.

Wow, those are good prices. Have you ordered from them before?
I’m on the west coast so I hesitate to order from the East.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

I live in a tiny northwestern montana town and ordered from them in July when it was 90 3 times last year. I was very happy with them. Great prices, and their ricordea mushrooms are fantastic!

 

[cpoynter]

I had one that I collected near Islamorada. It ate prepared foods. It didn’t bother its tank mates. It grew really fast. I regret not having a cover for the tank because it jumped.