Paracentropogon zonatus 1st impressions

would love to know where you go them. I would love 3. im in NJ.

A lfs got them for me. These are a rare find, many times not even listed as they are just offered to those that put out feelers. Ask your lfs if they can find some for you. You can also fill out request forms online, it's been so long since I've done that I don't have any recommendations. If your lfs has a good contact they can put out feelers and may get a hit.
 
Anyone knows the lifespan of these fish?

I have a couple in a 200 gallon tank and they're easy to find when it's feeding time. They are not shy at all during feeding.

Unfortunately the female has been egg bound for at least 8 months but she remains lively (for wasp standards).

One of my heraldi angels confuses them with cleaner shrimp and it annoys the wasps.

Are they big enough to be safe with dwarf lions?

Do you have an update on yours?
 
Unfortunately she only lasted about 6 months after she became eggbound. She did not appear to suffer until the last day though.
 
Do you have any time to dm me? I think one of my brackish water waspfish has dropsy and I don't know what would work best to treat them. I heard waspfish in general are sensitive to medications, do you have any reccomendations?
Also got 2 Roosters of my own now, I think they're seasonal around the end of summer. Thanks for the info and help.
 
So I've had these guys 3 years now, I'd like to hear some long term stories. So far I know one guy that said he kept a couple for a couple of years. They are small, so in fish terms they will have a shorter lifespan, and who knows how old they were when collected. I've seen alot of new additions lately, I hope everyone is having success.

I feed them mostly 3 maybe 4 times a week, the white face girl always lets me know when she's hungry. She's the boldest, I literally only see a glimpse of the male every few weeks or more, he rarely comes out to feed. When I flush him out just to see if he's still alive, he looks fat enough, so he must be feeding on stray ghosties and what ever swirls into the rocks.

Here's the white face girl snagging some ghosties. I feed ghosties 2-3 times a month or when there's some extra small ones in my lion's batch. They rarely get black worms anymore and my source is frequently out. They mainly eat pe mysis, Hikari mega marine, minced silverfish, and minced combo of salmon, scallop, and shrimp.

 
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she looks great! I just got one this week funnily enough, its actually pretty encouraging you've had yours for 3 years!
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mine is probably ~1.5" and ate frozen food like a champ right away (I turn off all the pumps and target feed)
 

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she looks great! I just got one this week funnily enough, its actually pretty encouraging you've had yours for 3 years!
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mine is probably ~1.5" and ate frozen food like a champ right away (I turn off all the pumps and target feed)
Beautiful. Do you just saltwater acclimate freshwater ghosties or just drop them right in?
 
I actually just ended up with a couple of these fish this weekend and was trying to see if anyone was keeping them :) My OG love story for this fish is still one of the only ones out there so I'm stoked to see someone else who likes them as much! I actually had mine until the great TX freeze a couple years ago, so she was at least 7 when 4 days of no circulation or heat did her in :(

I bought all three the LFS had, since they looked skinny but did eat frozen mysis. One died that night - not sure if my flame hawk took exception to her (pretty sure they are all females, since the combs are short) or if she just wasn't gonna make it regardless. I moved the other two out of my 65G since they picked hiding places the other fish just wouldn't let any food get to - and now they're in my 10G former "I'll breed copepods" tank before the amphipods took over.

They seem to be picking at frozen and I definitely saw one of them go after an amphipod so I'll be restocking pods in there since blackworms are so hard to come by.

Any pro tips on temp and flow in a smaller tank? I'm running a wheel HOB on it, and have a small circ pump, but it definitely creates a ton of flow - and these two are still pretty small. My main tank usually runs around 76*, but since these two are currently just hanging out with a ragtag CUC and pods, they get to set the tank parameters :)
 
I actually just ended up with a couple of these fish this weekend and was trying to see if anyone was keeping them :) My OG love story for this fish is still one of the only ones out there so I'm stoked to see someone else who likes them as much! I actually had mine until the great TX freeze a couple years ago, so she was at least 7 when 4 days of no circulation or heat did her in :(

I bought all three the LFS had, since they looked skinny but did eat frozen mysis. One died that night - not sure if my flame hawk took exception to her (pretty sure they are all females, since the combs are short) or if she just wasn't gonna make it regardless. I moved the other two out of my 65G since they picked hiding places the other fish just wouldn't let any food get to - and now they're in my 10G former "I'll breed copepods" tank before the amphipods took over.

They seem to be picking at frozen and I definitely saw one of them go after an amphipod so I'll be restocking pods in there since blackworms are so hard to come by.

Any pro tips on temp and flow in a smaller tank? I'm running a wheel HOB on it, and have a small circ pump, but it definitely creates a ton of flow - and these two are still pretty small. My main tank usually runs around 76*, but since these two are currently just hanging out with a ragtag CUC and pods, they get to set the tank parameters :)

Tropical temp range seems fine. My heater is set around 75 but the tank gets to about 80 in the summer. I forgot to turn the tank back on just the other night after pipette feeding. Forgot all night and the next day, tank was 69 degrees when I started it back up. Threw some live ghosties in, and they went right to it, they are kind of tough once they get settled in. I don't think they care for high flow, but being bottom dwellers I don't think they would be bothered by much. But if you want them out in the open I wouldn't blast them.

They will love amphipods, are you kidding. Probably the best thing to get them acclimated until they start taking other foods. I actually like these guys in smaller tanks. Have you seen my other thread on these guys.
 
Here is mine got him in May, I was told in that they have a very slow metabolism and to feed him once a week.

Love him, I just moved him to my new 13g fluval. Will defiantly look for a female.

 
Here is mine got him in May, I was told in that they have a very slow metabolism and to feed him once a week.

Love him, I just moved him to my new 13g fluval. Will defiantly look for a female.


I've been feeding mostly every other day, while they do have a slower metabolism, they are small and will use their resources much faster than a larger scorp. Once they become acclimated to you, they'll let you know, sometimes it goes every 3 days. Once a week will not be enough for this small scorp, underfeeding will take time but they will wither away over time.
 
I've been feeding mostly every other day, while they do have a slower metabolism, they are small and will use their resources much faster than a larger scorp. Once they become acclimated to you, they'll let you know, sometimes it goes every 3 days. Once a week will not be enough for this small scorp, underfeeding will take time but they will wither away over time.
Thank you for your input, always appreciate it. I was trying to feed him more often but he is not really interested. but defiantly will keep trying. He is eating live and frozen.
 
Thank you for your input, always appreciate it. I was trying to feed him more often but he is not really interested. but defiantly will keep trying. He is eating live and frozen.

He will show, he is apparently getting enough by refusing. Each fish will be different from their activity and individuality. My one female is a pig always begging, my male disappears for weeks and must just be eating what swirls around. I've just known alot of people that to me, seem to apparently starve them. I would base twice a week and work from there.
 
aka pygmy red rooster waspfish, red bandtail waspfish. I know I said I was finished with new additions, these had been on my list for a couple of years and this trio was at a lfs, so i picked them up. I have seen questions regarding these guys from time to time, and frustratingly no one ever gives a follow up report on how they made out. I definitely believe these guys have a very high mortality rate. So far they have been very challenging to feed. These would definitely be recommended for an advanced hobbyist or someone really willing to put the effort in.

They are scorpionfish, so I opted to not use any medication at all, that also means no prazi pro or general cure. I have never successfully used any med on a scorpionfish, every time I had to remove the meds due to stress and breathing difficulties. The 2 scorps that did survive treatment died very shortly afterwards, one I had for over a year and his tankmate needed the meds. Like all scorps this will mean risking the chance of internal parasites.

They've shown no interest in dead food; brine, mysis, artic pods, reef cavier. They also show no interest in live brine shrimp. Oh yeah, these guys are tiny, about 3/4". Full size is between 2 and 2.5", These guys seem like they would right at home in a nano, 10 to 14g. So far they have been strictly bottom travelers, tucked under a ledge and just scooting over slightly elevated rocks. The male has tended to be more adventurous, even venturing into the open sand flats. They are spending most of their time in solitary, while the females have not hung out at all, they also have not shown any aggression toward each other. The male does seem to prefer 2(hehe), he has spent some time visiting both females. Their red and white coloring changes, either with mood or a type a camouflage.

While they have been difficult and shy to feed, they have eaten some live black worms. The male has eaten some very small guppies, while one of the females has tried to catch some ghosties, but they were too large. I ordered some amphipods/copepods from Aquarium Depot; this would be a good plan to have a tank stocked with these if you were to get a pair. I do see them as pairs on DD from time to time. One of the females has become quite personable, she lives in a cavern that I can barely see her, when I walk up to tank, she scoots right over the rocks and comes up me. She comes up eat the worms from tongs, it's very cure.

These guys are adorable but the verdict is out on my overall opinion. It's only been a week, and this is my 1st impressions. I'll do some follow up as they mature in their new home. Here;s some pics, 1st pic is the male, notice the spikes of dorsal fin compared to the 2nd pic, a female.
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Hi!! I know I’m late to this thread by a long shot, but I came across your post mentioning this thread in a google search on a care guide for these guys. It’s really the only in depth guide I can find, so thank you for that. I work at a lfs and there’s been a male there for months now, and a while ago I decided I was going to get him. I’m preparing to finally bring him home in exactly a week, and put him in my 13.5g nano. I’ve “trained” him on spot feeding brine from a pipette, and he knows the drill lol. I do have one question… do you happen to know what the mood based color changes mean? Typically a bit before feeding he gets a large amount of white on his sides, with a thick white stripe down the center of his face. During feeding that stripe fades to red. And since I know I’m the only one who spot feeds him, I give him a tad bit extra on Fridays before I’m gone for the weekend. A few minutes after feeding on those days he turns almost completely red. Curious to know if the mood based color changes vary from fish to fish, or if red typically means one thing and white means another.
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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