My first O. Hummelincki

[skywindsurfer]

I think these pictures are awesome considering the camera I was using.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Here is a video of Bubbles bidding her roommate goodbye. And yes this is a damsel fish, and yes they live in the same oyster reef peacefully together.

 

[skywindsurfer]

I fed Bubbles two pieces of krill this evening. She was out crawling around her side of the tank calm as can be. She did something remarkable tonight that has changed me concerns a bit. The wrasse totally ignores her, and in doing so was hovering just a half inch above Bubbles. After about 20 seconds Bubbles reached up and grabbed the wrasse. Feeling this the wrasse bolted back to the reef and to safety. I think it's safe to say that there's pretty much nothing in that tank that Bubbles is scared of. I took some pictures and a video as well.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Ironically enough though, Bubbles has been living with the same damsel fish for about a month or so now and has not once touched it even with it swimming all around her.

 

[CaptFish]

Legs had a Flame hawk that followed her every where, If you couldn't find Legs you just had to find the flame hawk, and she was sure to be near. they were buddies for about six months, then the flame hawk was eaten. Same with a pair of clown fish. She eventually ate/killed everything in her tank. Like you I'm stubborn and I am convinced I can get an octopus to live with fishes in harmony. Penny lives with a pair of clowns, and Waldo lives with a group of various damsels, and Izzy lives with, firefish, clowns and a mandrin, and so far so good, but that what I said with Legs at first too. I hope it works for you.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Thanks for the support. I had some damsels living with my O. Briareus for a while unharmed as well until one day a damsel got stuck behind the rocks unable to find its way out. Ironically the rock it was behind was the den of the octopus and as "Jewels" (my O. Briareus) was crawling back to her den the fish panicked and swam right into Jewels. Of course it was eaten, and from that point on Jewels would hunt down and eat any fish placed in the tank. I'm hoping everything goes well, just now I'm worried about the wrasse not caring about Bubbles and getting too close. I do think how ever that it could have been Bubbles just being either hungry or territorial. I don't know about octopus being symbiotic with other animals in protecting their home. (not sure if I worded that right but you get the gist.)

 

[skywindsurfer]

I really think it was our little misunderstanding a few weeks ago that has made Bubbles so secretive. She's finally starting to come back out and socialize again with little worry towards the other inhabitants. I feel bad for scaring her like I did, but she scared me as well. I'm just happy to see that she's finally getting over it and coming out more. She still hasn't went back to the reef side of the tank yet, but she is exploring the whole left side. I'll just be patient and hopefully after I get back from my trip in a few weeks she'll be right as rain.

 

[skywindsurfer]

 

[kpage]

On the scaring issue. When my aculeatus was a live she was always really curious and friendly with me. However once I tried to get her to come out of her den and scared her. She came out a little jerky and avoided my hand (which she would usually come up to or ignore imperiously). For the next week or two she was very guarded with me and I felt that from then on, she always had a little reserve with me. It was rather sad, however it was a good learning experience.

great pics, vids and updates by the way! And I hope it'll work out between Bubbles and the other tank mates. I would like to try to get a fish or two in my tank when I get an octo, but I am scared that the octo would eat them. Keep us updated on what happens!

 

[skywindsurfer]

Well Bubbles is slowly warming back up to me. She's not as enthuesiastic as she used to be. I mean before she would come right out and try and grab anything that I would put near here (including me), but she's coming out more and exploring more. Thanks for the compliment, I do my best and I'm not the greatest photographer/videographer. As for keeping other animals with cephs. I think it's best to get the animals in there first and get them settled before adding your ceph. You also have to be VERY CAUTIOUS about what you put in there. I know I do some crazy things with my animal selection, but you will NEVER!!!!! hear or see me place a trigger or an angel or any other fish like that in there because of their extreme tendencies to bite everything. I've seen it done and have seen the outcome (it's not pretty). It also helps to get the ceph at a really young age. Also with semi-aggressive fish like Damsels, it's really good to get several of the same species (3 or more) so that they stay pre-occupied with each other and don't have time for the octopus. I have seen this first hand. Feeding is also a big thing. If you want to keep fish, NEVER feed your ceph fish, and if for some reason they do manage to eat a fish, take the rest out. Unless of course that is you want to see them all dead at the bottom. And finally, if you are going to attempt this, do so in a really large tank, the bigger the better. This gives all of the animals plenty of room to move about and stay away from each other. You can see some of my earlier posts about the size of my tank and how I arranged it specifically for certain animals in different parts of the tank. Good luck though. To this point Bubbles has not killed any of the fish and even rooms with one small damsel.

 

[skywindsurfer]

I just got back from the aquarium store with water and two amazing acropora "frags". The frags only cost $25. I was surprised by this due to their size. I'll post some pictures of them after I place them in the tank.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Well I was thoroughly surprised to find Bubbles on the reef when I got home. I was scrubbing the aglae off the glass when I saw her sitting in the corner. That's great. This means she's getting more comfortable and exploring the entire tank. It also means she can manage her way across the entire tank without being disturbed by her tankmates. I moved some rocks around to make room for the new corals. I hope I didn't trap the wrasse behind the reef.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Well the tank has not cleared to that nice crystal clear that makes it nice enough to take pictures, but those corals acclimated nicely. All animals are doing fine with the switch.

 

[skywindsurfer]

So I have great news. Bubbles has spent the entire day in and on the reef. Also extremely great, she actually ate from my hand; TWICE! I had my fiance video tape the second feeding.

 

[skywindsurfer]

More pictures.