By Nick Shades
I started this journey with a single fish in mind: A Midas Blenny.
A Midas Blenny is an adorable fish.
The first time I saw one was in my uncle's 12 gallon Nano. He kept it on his bar counter, and I never caught a good look at anything in the tank. Compared to the 300 gallon tank in the living room, I always thought the tank was rather boring.
It wasn't until I was sitting on the living room couch, listening to my wife talk to the family, that out of the corner of my eye on the bar counter behind me, I saw a shimmer of gold darting all over the top of the nano that caused me to jump off the couch, run over and just sit there staring, while looking at those glowing blue eyes stare back at me with caution, and me at it with wonder.
That was the moment that it bit me. Thst was the moment that I discovered my new hobby. That was the day that made me realize my life was changed - somehow, for the better.
It was not until almost 10 years later that I would have my own saltwater tank, and an idea for the inhabitants that it would encompass.
When I first started to learn about Nanos, the controversy about keeping a Mandarin Goby in one had just begun. People were doing it, but no one of reasonable mind agreed with the practice. I felt it wise, at the time, to not even dream; a tank more than 50 gallons was out of my budget, and that was the sensible beginning for a Dragonet.
So 10 years passed, I got my nano, and I eventually got my Midas Blenny. He is definitely one of my favorite pets I have ever had, but this guy is nowhere near afraid of me as my Uncle's was. When I come home from work, this guy is the puppy that is first to the door, just asking for food - a welcome sight for any pet owner! - but with this success came another wonder...
...are Psychadelics really so bad?
- - -
I walked into a fish store I would frequently visit as a planted tank hobbyist for dwarf shrimp and otocinclus. They had a female mandarin goby. I had never seen one in a store, nor in person, but I recognized her immediately, and knew from her dorsal that she was a female.
I had been seeding my tank with copepods since the day it was setup. I always knew they were good for the general health of the tank. I was never expecting to get a Mandarin. I knew that I could never get attached to one, if I did. It would be like dating the cheerleader in high school - the joke would always be on me, especially at the end.
- - -
So, after showing my wife the Mandarin, acclimated, out of the bag and finally in the tank, she exclaimed, "She's a blue fairy!"
My wife has always resented this hobby of mine, but 3 things on her list of things she loves are girls, fairies, and the color blue. Between us, we have 3 boys, and no girls - until now, because this blue fairy is her girl. So when, the following day, I discovered her dead in my pulsing xenias, I freaked the **** out.
- - -
In case you have never done psychadelics for recreation, the hallucinations will make you believe anything, and a Mandarin Goby, a Green Dragonet, is appropriately nicknamed the Psychadelic Dragonfish, because *I* believed the fish was dead, and that taking it out of the tank and giving it mouth to mouth in my half asleep 4am morning haze of fear brought it back to life.
Mind you, this was before researching their sleeping habits, and that they often lose their color near completely when they do, and that when they sleep, they are often difficult to rouse - especially when they are comfortable in their surroundings, probably for the first time since it's abduction in the case of this little lady.
She was flopping in and out if my hand because she was scared **** less, not because I brought her back to life.
- - -
After a couple days of getting used to her goth-girl morning routine, learning more about her diet and what she will eat in addition to watching what she won't I started to work out the rest of my tank's issues, such as planaria and bristleworms.
I never had a problem with bristleworms, but my wife found them creepy. She did plenty of research about them, but while agreeing that there was nothing inherently wrong with them, she felt there were too many in my tank, and was upset that BlueFairy girl would not eat them, though her species is capable of it.
My problem with the tank was the planaria in the form of rust worms, also a critter that Dragonettes are supposed to eat, but this young lady will not.
I adjusted the problem of planaria and bristleworms mutually by cutting feedings of the tank down as much as I healthfully could, but to no change to the populations in the tank.
I drove out to pick up a nudibranch from the same store I bought my Mandarin from. There, in the tank on the other side of the Black and Blue Velvet Sea Slugs was a male mandarin goby that was gorgeous. His dorsal fin was longer than his body. He was coming home, also.
On the way home, I joked with my wife that I got her fairy a boyfriend. She told me that forcing a woman into a relationship wasn't a way to show her appreciation. Needless to say, she was as excited as I was and also as reserved with caution.
- - -
Some funny observations since introducing the pair to eachother:
-The nudibranch is not nearly as fast as the male Dragonet. The Dragonet takes down planaria without a moment to breath between gulps. He has also taught the female that the planaria are edible as well, in addition to the bristle worms.
-I need to start overfeeding the tank again, because planaria are potentially much whole nutrition, as filter feeders in general, especially CUC style filter feeders, are already taking in efficient amino acids from excess fish flake and pellets. If I run put of planaria, then the copepods are really going to be in for a **** show after the Dragonettes experience a nutrition drop from absence of the rust worms.
-A dragonet eating a bristle worm is alot like a pit bull eating a porcupine. What happens is exactly what you think will happen, only the bristle worm dies, unlike the porcupine that gets away. Had I known it was going to happen, I would have setup a camera. I have no idea if it will happen again, but if it does, I figure it must be a lot like a smoking addiction. Have you ever seen a fish cough underwater? I have. She smokes Bristleboro Reds. ... Goth Girls...
-Coming home from work today, I see now thst the Mandarins know when I am home. ManDaRudeboy flares as I walk in and says, "Hey Guero! STOP LOOKING AT MY HAINA!" and then strikes the glass two or three times, with enough noise that makes me think putting a pistol shrimp in the tank might end up with just getting me shot. I'm serious. I would not trust that cholo with a gun.
-This psychadelic addiction is worth every penny, and I have a problem. I will feed the addiction until I am sitting on the corner with a cardboard sign. If you ever drive to Redlands and see a dude on the Tennessee exit with a sign that says something about Pods, just hand me some money. I don't need to hear a lesson about how Mandarins are a bad idea. I know this already. Look, I'm not hurting anybody, I'm just fixing myself.
- - -
Seriously, though.
This is an amazing hobby, and Mandarin Gobies are an amazing pet. They are everything they are cracked up to be, and they are worth every pod.
Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk
I started this journey with a single fish in mind: A Midas Blenny.
A Midas Blenny is an adorable fish.
The first time I saw one was in my uncle's 12 gallon Nano. He kept it on his bar counter, and I never caught a good look at anything in the tank. Compared to the 300 gallon tank in the living room, I always thought the tank was rather boring.
It wasn't until I was sitting on the living room couch, listening to my wife talk to the family, that out of the corner of my eye on the bar counter behind me, I saw a shimmer of gold darting all over the top of the nano that caused me to jump off the couch, run over and just sit there staring, while looking at those glowing blue eyes stare back at me with caution, and me at it with wonder.
That was the moment that it bit me. Thst was the moment that I discovered my new hobby. That was the day that made me realize my life was changed - somehow, for the better.
It was not until almost 10 years later that I would have my own saltwater tank, and an idea for the inhabitants that it would encompass.
When I first started to learn about Nanos, the controversy about keeping a Mandarin Goby in one had just begun. People were doing it, but no one of reasonable mind agreed with the practice. I felt it wise, at the time, to not even dream; a tank more than 50 gallons was out of my budget, and that was the sensible beginning for a Dragonet.
So 10 years passed, I got my nano, and I eventually got my Midas Blenny. He is definitely one of my favorite pets I have ever had, but this guy is nowhere near afraid of me as my Uncle's was. When I come home from work, this guy is the puppy that is first to the door, just asking for food - a welcome sight for any pet owner! - but with this success came another wonder...
...are Psychadelics really so bad?
- - -
I walked into a fish store I would frequently visit as a planted tank hobbyist for dwarf shrimp and otocinclus. They had a female mandarin goby. I had never seen one in a store, nor in person, but I recognized her immediately, and knew from her dorsal that she was a female.
I had been seeding my tank with copepods since the day it was setup. I always knew they were good for the general health of the tank. I was never expecting to get a Mandarin. I knew that I could never get attached to one, if I did. It would be like dating the cheerleader in high school - the joke would always be on me, especially at the end.
- - -
So, after showing my wife the Mandarin, acclimated, out of the bag and finally in the tank, she exclaimed, "She's a blue fairy!"
My wife has always resented this hobby of mine, but 3 things on her list of things she loves are girls, fairies, and the color blue. Between us, we have 3 boys, and no girls - until now, because this blue fairy is her girl. So when, the following day, I discovered her dead in my pulsing xenias, I freaked the **** out.
- - -
In case you have never done psychadelics for recreation, the hallucinations will make you believe anything, and a Mandarin Goby, a Green Dragonet, is appropriately nicknamed the Psychadelic Dragonfish, because *I* believed the fish was dead, and that taking it out of the tank and giving it mouth to mouth in my half asleep 4am morning haze of fear brought it back to life.
Mind you, this was before researching their sleeping habits, and that they often lose their color near completely when they do, and that when they sleep, they are often difficult to rouse - especially when they are comfortable in their surroundings, probably for the first time since it's abduction in the case of this little lady.
She was flopping in and out if my hand because she was scared **** less, not because I brought her back to life.
- - -
After a couple days of getting used to her goth-girl morning routine, learning more about her diet and what she will eat in addition to watching what she won't I started to work out the rest of my tank's issues, such as planaria and bristleworms.
I never had a problem with bristleworms, but my wife found them creepy. She did plenty of research about them, but while agreeing that there was nothing inherently wrong with them, she felt there were too many in my tank, and was upset that BlueFairy girl would not eat them, though her species is capable of it.
My problem with the tank was the planaria in the form of rust worms, also a critter that Dragonettes are supposed to eat, but this young lady will not.
I adjusted the problem of planaria and bristleworms mutually by cutting feedings of the tank down as much as I healthfully could, but to no change to the populations in the tank.
I drove out to pick up a nudibranch from the same store I bought my Mandarin from. There, in the tank on the other side of the Black and Blue Velvet Sea Slugs was a male mandarin goby that was gorgeous. His dorsal fin was longer than his body. He was coming home, also.
On the way home, I joked with my wife that I got her fairy a boyfriend. She told me that forcing a woman into a relationship wasn't a way to show her appreciation. Needless to say, she was as excited as I was and also as reserved with caution.
- - -
Some funny observations since introducing the pair to eachother:
-The nudibranch is not nearly as fast as the male Dragonet. The Dragonet takes down planaria without a moment to breath between gulps. He has also taught the female that the planaria are edible as well, in addition to the bristle worms.
-I need to start overfeeding the tank again, because planaria are potentially much whole nutrition, as filter feeders in general, especially CUC style filter feeders, are already taking in efficient amino acids from excess fish flake and pellets. If I run put of planaria, then the copepods are really going to be in for a **** show after the Dragonettes experience a nutrition drop from absence of the rust worms.
-A dragonet eating a bristle worm is alot like a pit bull eating a porcupine. What happens is exactly what you think will happen, only the bristle worm dies, unlike the porcupine that gets away. Had I known it was going to happen, I would have setup a camera. I have no idea if it will happen again, but if it does, I figure it must be a lot like a smoking addiction. Have you ever seen a fish cough underwater? I have. She smokes Bristleboro Reds. ... Goth Girls...
-Coming home from work today, I see now thst the Mandarins know when I am home. ManDaRudeboy flares as I walk in and says, "Hey Guero! STOP LOOKING AT MY HAINA!" and then strikes the glass two or three times, with enough noise that makes me think putting a pistol shrimp in the tank might end up with just getting me shot. I'm serious. I would not trust that cholo with a gun.
-This psychadelic addiction is worth every penny, and I have a problem. I will feed the addiction until I am sitting on the corner with a cardboard sign. If you ever drive to Redlands and see a dude on the Tennessee exit with a sign that says something about Pods, just hand me some money. I don't need to hear a lesson about how Mandarins are a bad idea. I know this already. Look, I'm not hurting anybody, I'm just fixing myself.
- - -
Seriously, though.
This is an amazing hobby, and Mandarin Gobies are an amazing pet. They are everything they are cracked up to be, and they are worth every pod.
Sent from my SM-T700 using Tapatalk
