"Predictably Temporary?"

[Scott Fellman]

Lost RUBY about 3 months ago after almost a year...found on bottom in back of tank.

Lost FATBOY last week after 3 years with no signs...just found him upside down on bottom.

RIP my precious babies!

That really sucks..I'm not certain, but I think they do have fairly long lifespans, so it's hard to say what causes this kind of thing. I remember Julian (Sprung) talking some years back about Dragonets coming in with all sorts of intestinal parasites; possibly the cause of lots of "anomalous" losses...

 

[Scott Fellman]

I am going to add some anthias to the list since they are so cheap and easy to acquire. Some species of anthias have the same issue as chromis. The smallest is sometimes killed first and then the next largest till sometime all that is left is the male.

Excellent point!

 

[GoGo98102]

I have had the same 8 blue green chromis for a couple years. They still shoal together like the very first day. They lock lips sometimes but never fight for more than a few seconds. The only fish ever to disappear on me is mandarin. Otherwise, my 45 fish are always accounted for.

 

[Scott Fellman]

I have had the same 8 blue green chromis for a couple years. They still shoal together like the very first day. They lock lips sometimes but never fight for more than a few seconds. The only fish ever to disappear on me is mandarin. Otherwise, my 45 fish are always accounted for.

Cool! You've "bucked the trend!"

 

[Lilly45nano]

My yellow gobies...5 plus yrs

 

[mort]

Had a yellow goby that was inherited from someone that was 9-10 years old before it went. Also have a female mandarin who has never grown or really filled out (not skinny but only about 1.5") and that is 10 years as well (it was rescued from someone overflow where it had gone missing 6 months prior, was stick thin but recovered well).

To the list i'd add anampse wrasse. Don't think I've seen many get more than a few months out of their feminus wrasses.

 

[Eienna]

I think perhaps some of this is not understanding nutrition needs, among other things...
I had my Spike (green mandarin) for...two years, I think, and after getting him eating the New Life Spectrum small fish pellets he was fat and sassy until the day of the tank crash that killed him.

 

[o2manyfish]

Thanks for the 'Doinker' credit Scott. Don't know if that makes me knowledgeable or just the more experienced mass murderer.... or is it murder...

I mean we spend a fortune on foods, and trace elements, and supplements. And these Doinkers when they vanish into the nethers of the reef.... become a part of it. I mean if I toss 20 firefish in the tank, I lose a couple to jumping and all the rest are basically like the old Feeder Blocks from our Freshwater days. How many pods did we feed and nurture and convince to propagate with the regular supply of Firefish to munch on?


The frustrating thing about these Doinkers, is that there is just no predictability. My pair of target Mandarins have been around for years. My green mandarin for years. My red scooters were fat and happy and spawning last summer and by fall both red scooters had vanished. And yet the mandarins are fat and spawning so there was never an issue with food supply.

And as you know I have always had good luck with the pipe fish and wouldn't put them on my Doinker list. It is such a joy when every 3 or 4 months I come down at 3 am and I get a 3 second glimpse of my Australian Blue Stripe pipe fish... Who has been in the tank over 5 years. And my Janns pipefish who just appears every couple of months to say - Yo Dave Still alive and then boo is gone in a blink.


But at the same time it's these Doinker fish that to me make a great looking reef tank. Sure there is the Achilles, or Angel, Rare Anthias or dang Nemo that gets all the attention. But they when you study the tank and you see that unknown Goby come out of a rock over here. Or my 4+ year old barnacle blenny that has been in the exact same hole and I have never seen come out of the hole more than a 1/2 an inch to grab food. It's these doinkers, dispensable fish that really make the reef come to life and can give you the satisfaction of having created an environment that can support so many diverse types of life.

But Scott the real question is???? When can we go on our fishing trip? Cause I need more doinkers!

Dave B

 

[NanaReefer]

One of the most "Predictably Temporary" fish I've come across has got to be the Sixline Wrasse.
I added one back in June. He's yet to give me any reason to remove him [emoji2]

 

[chefjpaul]

The problem is with my emperor penguins, just don't seem to like staying in the tank.....who knows????[emoji2]

 

[Scott Fellman]

Thanks for the 'Doinker' credit Scott. Don't know if that makes me knowledgeable or just the more experienced mass murderer.... or is it murder...

I mean we spend a fortune on foods, and trace elements, and supplements. And these Doinkers when they vanish into the nethers of the reef.... become a part of it. I mean if I toss 20 firefish in the tank, I lose a couple to jumping and all the rest are basically like the old Feeder Blocks from our Freshwater days. How many pods did we feed and nurture and convince to propagate with the regular supply of Firefish to munch on?


The frustrating thing about these Doinkers, is that there is just no predictability. My pair of target Mandarins have been around for years. My green mandarin for years. My red scooters were fat and happy and spawning last summer and by fall both red scooters had vanished. And yet the mandarins are fat and spawning so there was never an issue with food supply.

And as you know I have always had good luck with the pipe fish and wouldn't put them on my Doinker list. It is such a joy when every 3 or 4 months I come down at 3 am and I get a 3 second glimpse of my Australian Blue Stripe pipe fish... Who has been in the tank over 5 years. And my Janns pipefish who just appears every couple of months to say - Yo Dave Still alive and then boo is gone in a blink.


But at the same time it's these Doinker fish that to me make a great looking reef tank. Sure there is the Achilles, or Angel, Rare Anthias or **** Nemo that gets all the attention. But they when you study the tank and you see that unknown Goby come out of a rock over here. Or my 4+ year old barnacle blenny that has been in the exact same hole and I have never seen come out of the hole more than a 1/2 an inch to grab food. It's these doinkers, dispensable fish that really make the reef come to life and can give you the satisfaction of having created an environment that can support so many diverse types of life.

But Scott the real question is???? When can we go on our fishing trip? Cause I need more doinkers!

Dave B

Awesome points from the man who coined the term! And Dave hits it on the head- It's so cool to just be checking out a nice reef and all of the sudden.."What's that?"

Love it!

Scott

 

[Scott Fellman]

One of the most "Predictably Temporary" fish I've come across has got to be the Sixline Wrasse.
I added one back in June. He's yet to give me any reason to remove him [emoji2]

I had one that lived in the overflow of my 225 for 2 years before I found him!

 

[sticky polyps]

I started thinking of my sixline when I started reading this. I added one when stocking my tank, for two weeks or so he was always there, extremely healthy, one day I think about how I havnt seen him in a few weeks... vanished without a trace....

also for me is a neon goby, same thing, you remember that you had put one in your tank a few weeks after you haven't seen him. very mysterious and unfortunate.
nice essay!