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I was able to get a two spot hawkfish (Amblycirrhitus bimacula) from Liveaquaria. It arrives tomorrow, so I'll get up some pics. What's cool about this species is that not only is it difficult to get ahold of, but it's very mild-mannered for a hawk. They're not difficult to pair up in aquariums, and they are less bothersome to other fishes. In fact, I'm abandoning normal hawkfish protocol and not adding this fish last. A bit of a departure from the hawks that everybody else has.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Nice find! Make sure to post pictures.

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Back in the saddle!

He came a little while ago and is acclimating as I type this. The hawk doesn't seem to be upset at all. That's good, considering I had to pay for him, the rest of the minimum order, and shipping.

A couple of pics:

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Man, he looks nice. I cant wait to see him once he's in ur tank. Good find!

its me sk8freak20...i need to get premie so i can change my name back

Cool, Books. Nothing else you could have bought to fill in the rest of the minimum order?

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

I did have to get some other stuff. Sorry, that post up there is kind of confusing. It was just two cherry shrimp, I popped them into one of the freshwater tanks. They seemed to be doing all right.

The hawk seems to be doing well. He likes to sit in the back corner, right next to the pump. This species is found in surge areas in the wild, so I'm guessing the current suits him. That, or he may just be shy. The angelfish tried to bully him earlier, but the hawk fought back. It was pretty funny to watch.

I can't get up any new pics now because he retreats when the camera approaches, and I've been at work anyhow.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I haven't seen him for a few days, so I'm fearing the worst. It used to be that you could spot him sitting behind the rock at any given time, but now he's not visible at all. The angel had chased the hawkfish every time he ran into it, so that may have been part of the reason the hawk didn't come out. I never got to see it eat anything, either. This sucks.

And sorry I couldn't take any pics, but the camera terrified him.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Sorry 'bout the bad news there books. Hopefully he's hiding in the rock and maintaining himself on LR goodies.

I recently lost my flasher wrasse. No sign of him either, just gone one day.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

I looked pretty well, but I think he's gone. Big time bummer.

Because my angel is such a jerk (that's his actual name), I guess I'll need a tougher species of hawk that's hard to intimidate. We've had a flame at work for about six months, I could get him. I know another store that carries small ones, maybe I'll kiss more money goodbye and go for a pair.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

What sort of Angelfish do you have in there?

Decided to check out reefkeeping.com and see what they said about Hakwfishes ... with Angels, they're supposed to do well if added last (or at least after the Angels as yours was).

Bit of a puzzle this one.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

He's an African flameback, Centropyge acanthops. Many angels have a personality where they feel they need to dominate an aquarium if it's physically possible. Some species are more aggressive in this way than others, but it depends on the specimen too. A lot of the time they just want the other fish to know who's boss. Once the angel feels it has made its presence known, it will often leave tankmates alone aside from the occasional chase.

For example, I added a one-inch Tomini tang almost two weeks ago. As soon as the angelfish first spotted him, he tore after the poor thing and kept attacking. He chased the tang through the rockwork and even to the upper corner of the glass. I had to turn out the lights to stop the beatdown. Next day, the angel just ignored the Tomini. I see him chase the tang from time to time, but that's it. Like I said, he's a jerk.

The hawk I'd added was an Amblycirrhitus species, known for being more shy than the typical hawkfish. Since they don't have such forceful personalities, the angel was able to take advantage of that and bully the hawk around. I would have been better off adding the hawk earlier, like right after the blenny.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Wow - you have a Centropyge acanthops that thinks it's a Queen Trigger?

Those things are tiny - just 8 cm as adults - and my first thought with that fish is what other species are going to live alongside it without beating up the Angel ...

But yours seems to think it's a Queen Trigger ...

Just goes to show, never work with children or animals


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Yeah well, I'll show it a thing or two. He attacked and possibly contributed to the death of my hawk, he almost killed the tang, he ate most of my feather caulerpa and got the tang to finish the rest, and he's the prime suspect in the disappearance of my nice sponge growth. I like him, but he's got issues.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

You sound as if you're on the verge of threatening it to see the error of its ways by dropping in a Dendrochirus brachypterus Lionfish to give it a spanking ...

EDIT : Oh, dear, you DIDN'T put the acanthops in a reef setup did you?

First of all, these things (like all Centropyge Angels) are algal grazers in the wild (hence bye-bye Caulerpa, which made a nice expensive salad for it) and when they're not eating algae, three guesses what else they eat ... that's right, sponges. They're also fond of nibbling away at certain polyps once they start to feel at home. While they'll probably leave decent sized crustaceans alone, and probably won't trouble starfishes, putting a Centropyge angel in a reef is like letting a five year old kid loose in a chocolate factory without adult supervision ... sooner or later all those goodies on offer twinkling before the eyes in those shiny wrappers are going to prove too tempting, and with many Centropyge, it's usually sooner rather than later.

Plus, given the truly uncanny ability of these fishes to hide themselves away from nets if you try to capture them, the only way you'll get that guy out of there if he proves too troublesome is to tear the reef apart. These things can find hiding places you wouldn't even dream existed. In the right setting, Centropyge Angels are lovely little fishes that provide endless pleasure, but in the wrong setting, they can wreak havoc ...

I'd also watch that your acanthops doesn't suddenly decide that it's going to snack on the filter feeding arms of any feather duster worms in there. Not a major hazard, but possible.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I'm not too surprised about the sponges or the caulerpa, but I was fond of them. No big deal, I like fish more than inverts. Both the angel and tang have plenty of algae to graze on, and they will not be running out any time soon. Until I scrape the front glass in the next few days, all four walls are covered in either green or brown algae. You can see the marks where the fish have been eating it.

Personally I feel that the tendencies of dwarf angels to eat corals are exaggerated. I can't base an opinion on just my experience with this fish (who hasn't touched the 'shrooms or Acan. lords), but looking at others' accounts, there are some patterns. Centropyge angels are more likely to turn to other foods when their preferred diet, algae, is not available. Many people do not treat algae as an important dietary need for their fish, be they freshwater or marine. As such, the animals have to turn elsewhere for food. Another consideration is that the angels are often not kept full. Hungry fish are more likely to try new things in order to satisfy the need to eat. This is connected with my other point, that plenty of algae should be constantly available. An angel that knows where to turn for its food likely won't feel much need to try eating the nearby corals. Also (and again), it's certain species of angels that are known to be more destructive than others. Critters such as the lemonpeel angel seem to be more willing to eat a broader variety of stuff, including corals. Most dwarfs, however, will be perfectly fine in a reef if they are cared for the right way.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Dont tomimis get 6+ inches?
wont that be abit to big for your 20g?

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''All the clown fish and yellow tangs in the world cant save you now!''

Nah, I have a sixty-five gallon. Tomini tangs only hit five inches, so I think it'll be just fine. If I do decide later on that it needs more room, I'll just let someone else have it. Large Tominis are worth a decent bit of money too...

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Ctenochaetus tominiensis is a seriously rare fish over here. I could expect to pay £80 for a juvenile ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Okay, update on the hawk situation. I'm pretty sure by now that the two spot is gone. I decided on a flame hawkfish, but unfortunately the one at work has a small parasitic infection right now. As luck would have it, the store where I used to work just started a sale on flame hawks, $28.88 apiece. There were at least six of them there, and I found one large and one small one. But I'm worried because the fish quality at this store is not good, especially with saltwater. Pretty much all the hawks were in tanks with dead/dying or sick fish, and a couple hawks were acting poorly themselves. I caught the best looking ones I could get, so hopefully they'll hold out okay.

They've finished acclimating, and the (small) female is doing as well as I could have hoped. She's sitting in the rock where she can see the male. I am a little worried about the big guy, though. He's acting slightly restless, and he was swimming upwards a lot initially. That's unusual. When he saw the female he seemed to calm down. They sit pretty close to each other, and though he chased her a little I'm not really worried about them being incompatible.

The angelfish is trying to beat up the male hawk, of course. I expected it, so the lights were out before I put the new fish in. I'm hoping things will be better in the morning. Pictures will come this weekend.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

That Centropyge acanthops of yours is a little demon, isn't it?

I'll make note of this and if ever I'm fortunate enough to keep Centropyge Angels in the future, I'll bear in mind that acanthops can be a tiny terror when it wants to be

Oddly enough, Reefkeeping.com has a 'special' on Centropyge Angels, and in its compatibility table puts an "X" in the "May Coexist" column on the basis that the Hawkfish might bully the Angel ... guess yours didn't read the manual so to speak!



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002