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He hasn't touched them yet, but full grown he might.

If you feel you cant give him the care he needs, then by all means do bring him back. I'm sure one day if you're ready to try one again you'll be able to find one.

He could be a picky eater, or he could be just a little stressed out too. They need meaty foods, lots of mysid and maybe silversides too. Michael's recommends crustacean flesh and lots of frozen preparations, fed daily.

The damsel will end up growing big and turning agressively nasty, I'd stay away. I'll make more suggestions when I have time, I've gotta run out right now. I have several ideas for you if you'd like to hear them.

Best of luck!

-Ferret




[hr width='40%'][font color="#000080"]
I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut
My weakness is that I care too much
And my scars remind me that the past is real
I tear my heart open just to feel
[/font]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

The two that hide a lot are an engineer goby and a firefish.

I wasn't inferring that because they hide they don't contribute to the bioload. I was just kinda saying that I don't see them as much, and for the most part only two fish (clown and blue damsel) use most of the tank. It's not really a crowded tank at all, just pushing the bioload a little bit.

I see what you mean about the oscar and neon comparison. All mine are small so I think I'm doing just fine. Between the live rock and 2 HOB filters, the water is good. I'm due for a water change, so that will help.

If it were your tank, what would replace the blue damsel with? Assuming of course, the new fish is of a similar size, peaceful, and colorful.

Thanks again for all the help!

On a similar note, what would you recommend in terms of numbers of fish and compatibilities of fish? In my 20 gal for instance, I have two that swim in the middle and top of the tank, while the other two pretty much hide under rocks all day. Is this ok?

Numbers depends on the fish; stocking your tank is going to be somewhat dependent on the bio load. I like to use this example:

-Six 1" Neon Tetras
-One 6" Oscar

Both add up to be the same length. The difference? You can keep the neons in a ten and the oscars in a 75.

Why? The oscar contributes much more to the bioload.

It's okay if the other two hide, depending on what they are. Many blennies and gobies, and fish of that nature aren't seen much. Check your levels to make sure they aren't stressed. Exactly what fish are they?

-Ferret

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

jkalfsbeck: Thanks for the input. Sounds like you had some luck with both. However, I think that my putting the CBS into the tank after the hawk gave it the impression that it was food. My CBS is really small still, and my hawk easily could have taken it out (probably why his arm was missing). Due to this and my tank being overstocked, I had no choice but to trade in the hawk. I'll get another eventually hopefully.

Ferret: Thanks for taking the time to post that list! That is one crazy list, and it seems like you covered just about everything! I think you're right - inexperienced people like myself will definitely look at that list and have some ideas on where to begin with that size tank.

On a similar note, what would you recommend in terms of numbers of fish and compatibilities of fish? In my 20 gal for instance, I have two that swim in the middle and top of the tank, while the other two pretty much hide under rocks all day. Is this ok? They are all pretty small, but I just still worry about whether it is healthy. I have so many more questions, but I'm going to try to figure a lot of it out myself. You've been a great help. Thanks again!

Well I made a list. Certainly took me long enough! I think many newbies will benefit from it though. Nathan kindly announced it for me, so it's now a sticky at the top of this forum, but you can view it by clicking the following link:

[link=http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Marine/60051.html?200505311909]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Marine/60051.html?200505311909" style="COLOR: #3c4e82[/link]

Hope this helps you out a bit.

-Ferret




[hr width='40%'][font color="#000080"]
I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut
My weakness is that I care too much
And my scars remind me that the past is real
I tear my heart open just to feel
[/font]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

I've had a longnose hawk w/ a coral banded for over a year in the same tank. He never once touched the shrimp. My hawk loved frozen mysis shrimp and frozen formula two. My CBS ended up losing some legs in one of my filters since I had a hang on the back type. And later on died. I lost my longnose by jumping somehow through a very small opening in the back of my tank. I guess it's hit or miss w/ that combo. I guess it depends on their sizes. My CBS was pretty good size and hated everyone in the tank. My hawk was probably about 5" or so. Just keep an eye on them .

Yeah, I realized 20 gallons would be a problem. Unfortunately, I was hoping to add another fish, but as I said before there's still no room. I took the hawk back, and I'm still partially overstocked. Luckily, the BCS is still alive and kicking (although he only comes out at night, so he's not as exciting as I had hoped).

A fish list for 20 gallon tanks would be excellent. That would be such a help. I've been considering trading in another fish or two of mine (especially the blue damsel). I'm moving in two weeks, and I've been thinking that this would be a good time to partially start over with the tank (plus I wouldn't have to move them all if I traded them in). I'd really like to see what's on your 20 gallon list so I can work on planning a new fish scheme in this tank!

I really want something colorful, but it would have to be pretty small and hardy as well. I'm not quite experienced enough in saltwater to take on some of those fancier fish. I can't wait to see how your list turns out.

Thanks again for the help! You've been great Ferret!

Ah, 20 gallons is cutting it short, especially if it's a tall tank. Tall means less surface area, and less room for the exchange of gases. And as I've probably said a million times on this forum, saltwater cannot carry the amount of oxygen that freshwater can, therefore lowering the stocking levels tremendously.

Your request for fish got me thinking, and I came up with a pretty good idea. I think I'm going to make a 20 gallon "cookie cutter" list of fish for nano tanks basically. I'm going to work on that now, I'll post the link to your thread when it's done. Maybe somebody will announce it for me when I finish? *cough* NATHAN *cough*

-Ferret




[hr width='40%'][font color="#000080"]
I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut
My weakness is that I care too much
And my scars remind me that the past is real
I tear my heart open just to feel
[/font]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Actually it's a 20 high tank so there's less floor space for more fish. What I actually did was gut out my grandma's old console tv and built a frame for tank inside of it. I hinged the lid for easy access and rigged up the lighting and filters/pumps on switches. It looks really cool as my "TV Tank" - especially now that I finally got the algae explosion cleared up.

Now that I've taken back the hawkfish, I unfortunately think it's still slightly overstocked. I received it overstocked, so please don't think I'm irresponsible - I'm only trying to alleviate the situation. As of now there's a small clown, blue damsel, firefish, and engineer goby in there. The firefish hides until evening, and the engineer just swims under rocks and digs all day. Inverts include a turbo snail, three blue leg hermits, and the new coral banded shrimp. I think that's plenty of fish, and I probably won't get anything else. However, I'm also debating about replacing the blue damsel with something else of a similar size, so that might work out.

In the tank, I've got five large pieces of live rock (I'm assuming it's still alive - I never seen anything on it). I'm running two AquaClear 150's, as well as a UGF/powerhead arrangement. I'm running a heater on it as well, and it has no problem keeping the tank at 78/79 in my apartment.

I have no sump. As I said before, it's all confined within the shell of this old Zenith TV. So I've been doing all sorts of little projects to make it all fit and be self contained.

I'm sure more fish are out, unless I trade some of mine in. But any ideas on where to go with this tank are still greatly appreciated! Personally, I think the damsel's kinda boring and wouldn't mind trading him in.

Thanks again!

Could you just list tank size/stats and other tankmates?

EDIT: Looked up your posts and found this so I'm assuming it's a 20 long?

Please update on equipment (filters, heaters, etc.) and inhabitants. Also---do you have a sump?




[hr width='40%'][font color="#000080"]
I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut
My weakness is that I care too much
And my scars remind me that the past is real
I tear my heart open just to feel
[/font]

Last edited by Ferretfish at 29-May-2005 12:24

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Oh yeah! I'd love to hear them! You've been a great help so far. I'm on my way out to take back the hawk. I love him, but I'll wait and try another one later down the road - when I have more experience and a more compatible tank.

I'll hold off on getting anything new and wait for your suggestions. I'll just return him for credit and use it later. In terms of something new, I'm just looking for something small that will really stand out in the tank. I can't wait to hear your ideas!

Thanks again!

I just recently bought a fully stocked tank from a friend who wanted to get rid of it. With it came a fish I had never heard of before. After a little research, I think it's a long nosed hawkfish. Here's a picture of it, maybe somebody could verify it.

Long Nosed Hawkfish?

This brings me to my question. I know that this is carnivorous, and I have been feeding it meaty foods such as frozen brine shrimp.

I just bought a coral banded shrimp on Thursday. This morning I noticed something rather peculiar - it was missing one of its long beautiful arms! I thought maybe I did something when I was cleaning the tank this morning (pinched it under a rock or something). However, after reading some things online, I realized that maybe my hawk was to blame...

If anybody could offer me some advice, I'd really appreciate it. Was the CBS a mistake? I'm starting to wonder if the hawk needs to go. I don't want to wake up tomorrow to find a dead or vanished shrimp...

Wow, that's a lot of great help. I'm really new to marine tanks, so I'm quickly learning a lot of stuff here!

As much as I love the hawkfish, I think I may have to return him. He's so cool to watch in my tank, but I think he may do better somewhere else.

I know he's less common than my banded coral shrimp, but personally I wanted to add better inverts and lighten the fish load (I got the tank from a friend who had it slightly overstocked). Now that the shrimp has only one arm too, it's kinda leaned me towards getting rid of the hawk.

You mentioned eating slim fish. I've had a firefish and an engineer goby in there since I got the tank, and he hasn't messed with them. I'm afraid you may be right, and one day i'll find the firefish missing. Once again, another reason to trade in the hawkfish.

And honestly, I've been having a hard time feeding him. I put the frozen brine shrimp in, and he doesn't always go for it. Sometimes the others eat it all before he even moves. I'm just not sure what I'm doing wrong, or what's wrong with him - better to let the lfs take care of him I guess.

In terms of the green chromis, thanks for the input. I will not be getting one if they need three or more to be happy. I thought it would be a fun, smaller replacement for the hawk, but I'll find something else now. What about a three-stripe damsel? They look pretty cool too.

Thanks again for all the help! You guys are great. I'm sad to take the hawk to lfs today though!

Well, Oxycirrhites typus is a pretty cool fish IMO, and more uncommon than a coral banded shrimp. Unless you have lots of other inverts I think I'd keep the fish...

What else is in the tank though? In addition to posing a threat to ornamental shrimp, they'll eat small slim fish too. (ie: firefish, dartfish, gobies)

From Michael's Marine Fishes:

"It prefers to perch on gorgonians or similar decor."

Hence the pose in the picture you took.

Michael's recommends a tightly covered aquarium too, known to be a jumper.

This fish might sound like more trouble than it's worth, but I think it's pretty cool. And it doesn't get all that big either, maxing out at just about 5"

If you go with green chromis, you're going to have to go with a couple, actually, probably a trio. They're schooling fish and get stressed out in smaller numbers, I wouldn't recommend anything less than 3.

Whichever you choose, I wish you the best of luck!

-Ferret




[hr width='40%'][font color="#000080"]
I tear my heart open, I sew myself shut
My weakness is that I care too much
And my scars remind me that the past is real
I tear my heart open just to feel
[/font]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

agreed, if your coral banded shrimp came before or at least same time than the hawk, you will have a much higher chance in success

I personlly have them myself and they been together for 6 months with no problem.

Hawkfish are pretty neat fish. I like how they pearch.

They can sometimes co-exist with shrimp, but in your case its not as likely because the Hawkfish was in the tank before the shrimp was. Anything that comes in after it is more likely to be seen as food.

Well that's really kinda brutal. I'm really surprised that it would be that violent. I figured I might have a problem with these two, and that sounds pretty bad.

Regardless of how the shrimp lost its arm, you're probably right in that the hawkfish probably will kill it soon. Hopefully the shrimp will make it until tomorrow so I can get the hawkfish out of the tank and to the lfs. I figured it would come to this, but I'm still kinda sad - I really liked the hawk!

I guess I'll just trade him in and get something much smaller and more vegetarian - maybe a green chromis or something else.

Thanks for the help. It's much appreciated.

Hawkfish typically eat shrimp. One of them has to go, because both won't last long together.

The Longnose Hawk fish grabs the shrimp in its small beak, and beats it aganist the nearest solid object(Live rock, aquarium glass, etc) untill it dies. Then the Hawkfish will consume the shrimp. Apparently its a rather dramatic site. It demonstrates a similar behavior with other invertabrates.

Thanks for the help. Hopefully somebody can give me some insight on whether or not I should pull one of em out of the tank.

I CAN verify that that is a long-nosed hawkfish. As for the shrimp issue, unfortunately, I can't be for sure...

PM/email/msg me if you have any questions/comments regarding me or my knowledge or if you want me to read a thread.