Peace River's Found Parts Build

[Smarkow]

Do the pinfish shoal or do anything reflective of being sort of bottom-food chain? And how do they look in a display tank, any better color/flash than you might expect from being used to seeing them top-down?

 

[Peace River]

Do the pinfish shoal or do anything reflective of being sort of bottom-food chain? And how do they look in a display tank, any better color/flash than you might expect from being used to seeing them top-down?

The pinfish interact, but don't appear to shoal in a 55g aquarium. They are always swimming so there is a lot of action - far more interesting than the top down view in the shallows. The subtle blue and yellow stripes on the silvery background is pretty - I would imagine they are striking when in full breeding colors (although - from what I've read - that is unlikely to see in an aquarium). Definitely an interesting fish and if I had to make a comparison to the many fish that I have kept over the past (approximately) 40 years I would compare them to a moderately aggressive cichlid. Recently the biggest challenge that I have is with the crab that has been picking them off one by one every few days. The tank is now down to 3 pinfish and a few other fish, but the crab is getting noticeably bigger. The crab has also been tearing up/pulverizing the driftwood which IMO was one of the neat features of this tank. It has been an interesting experience/experiment, but I'm not sure whether I remove crab and restock the tank with more native saltwater fish or tear down the tank and go a different direction.

On the other hand, in my other native saltwater tank the mummichog killifish are actively spawning in the substrate although I haven't actively done anything to pull the eggs. Additionally, I also have FW killifish spawning where I am raising the fry.

 

[Smarkow]

The pinfish interact, but don't appear to shoal in a 55g aquarium. They are always swimming so there is a lot of action - far more interesting than the top down view in the shallows. The subtle blue and yellow stripes on the silvery background is pretty - I would imagine they are striking when in full breeding colors (although - from what I've read - that is unlikely to see in an aquarium). Definitely an interesting fish and if I had to make a comparison to the many fish that I have kept over the past (approximately) 40 years I would compare them to a moderately aggressive cichlid. Recently the biggest challenge that I have is with the crab that has been picking them off one by one every few days. The tank is now down to 3 pinfish and a few other fish, but the crab is getting noticeably bigger. The crab has also been tearing up/pulverizing the driftwood which IMO was one of the neat features of this tank. It has been an interesting experience/experiment, but I'm not sure whether I remove crab and restock the tank with more native saltwater fish or tear down the tank and go a different direction.

On the other hand, in my other native saltwater tank the mummichog killifish are actively spawning in the substrate although I haven't actively done anything to pull the eggs. Additionally, I also have FW killifish spawning where I am raising the fry.

Down with the crab!!

 

[Peace River]

Down with the crab!!

Lol. It was about dime size when I collected it and now it is about 2.5". As I said, it has been an interesting experiment and it will likely soon become a sump crab in my reef.

 

[Just John]

It been years and we haven't seen a picture of your tank. It's time to put one up!

 

[James_O]

Any pics of the tank?

 

[Peace River]

Yesterday one of the side-seam on the found-parts-build 55g tank started leaking so I emptied the tank and redistributed the livestock into other tanks. This is a downside to used tanks - you don't always know their age, history, level of care, etc. so I am thankful that I was able to catch the issue in the early stages and not have to experience a blow-out. At this point I'm not sure what the next steps for be for this particular system, but for now I'm making sure that the livestock are settled in to their new homes and I am working to clean everything left behind (equipment, etc.). The 75g reef is still slowly moving forward, the nano needs attention, and a few of the clownfish pairs are regularly laying eggs, the other native saltwater tank is doing fine (finding eggs, but not fry yet), freshwater fry from several tanks, so the adventure continues....

 

[James_O]

Yesterday one of the side-seam on the found-parts-build 55g tank started leaking so I emptied the tank and redistributed the livestock into other tanks. This is a downside to used tanks - you don't always know their age, history, level of care, etc. so I am thankful that I was able to catch the issue in the early stages and not have to experience a blow-out. At this point I'm not sure what the next steps for be for this particular system, but for now I'm making sure that the livestock are settled in to their new homes and I am working to clean everything left behind (equipment, etc.). The 75g reef is still slowly moving forward, the nano needs attention, and a few of the clownfish pairs are regularly laying eggs, the other native saltwater tank is doing fine (finding eggs, but not fry yet), freshwater fry from several tanks, so the adventure continues....

Glad you were able to catch it before disaster struck!

Do you culture the clownfish eggs? Or do they end up dying?

 

[Peace River]

Glad you were able to catch it before disaster struck!

Do you culture the clownfish eggs? Or do they end up dying?

A lot of that depends on life and how demanding it is, because raising clownfish can be especially time consuming. Even eggs that aren't cultured are eaten so they remain part of the beneficial part of the cycle. I do have a hatchery tank and grow out system. available.