Declivis, Tinkers, and Mitradus Butterly

DeltecRules · #1 12/03/2007, 09:39 PM

I been eyeing all three of these guys and been trying to decide which one to go with. I use to have a declivis and I loved him but I lost him to a power outtage earlier this year. Anyone have any experience with these and know were to aquire one?

Scott

SPS Addiction · #2 12/03/2007, 10:28 PM

pm sent

DeltecRules · #3 12/03/2007, 10:34 PM

Pm sent back

snorvich · #4 12/04/2007, 09:54 AM

They are not totally reef safe. Mitratus is a very hearty eater and will do well under most circumstances.

Philwd · #5 12/04/2007, 02:31 PM

My Declevis nips at most everything in the tank. I have had zero PE with him in the tank. Even a few montis. A bit aggressive to my fairies too.

John Dawe · #6 12/04/2007, 03:03 PM

I have C. tinkeri's, they usually are good eaters, and as I tell my firends, do you have any feeder corals? I would not call them "reef safe". DeltecRules- Old Town Aquarium can get any of the three that you are interested in.
DeltecRules, you should invest in a small generator or at the very least a battery backup air pump, F&S sells one for abour $60 that will run for 12-24 hrs, runs all the time and when the power goes of it keeps going on a battery.

DeltecRules · #7 12/04/2007, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by John Dawe
I have C. tinkeri's, they usually are good eaters, and as I tell my firends, do you have any feeder corals? I would not call them "reef safe". DeltecRules- Old Town Aquarium can get any of the three that you are interested in.
DeltecRules, you should invest in a small generator or at the very least a battery backup air pump, F&S sells one for abour $60 that will run for 12-24 hrs, runs all the time and when the power goes of it keeps going on a battery.

Thanks guys!! I think I am going with a Tinkers. I will say that mitratus looks beautiful. John, old town is extremely high. Even on common fish they ask for alot. I will just wait until Liveaquaria divers den gets one in. After that power outtage I did buy two battery air pumps. I never experienced any power outtages living in my area for the past 21 years until earlier this year. It was a total shock loosing all of them

Redfish · #8 12/04/2007, 05:14 PM

I have had all three. I would be careful of the Mitratus. The are very aggressive in my experience. The Tinkers and Declivis get along fine with everything.

I have had them all in reef tanks. The do occasionally nip but I have never seen damage. Of, course I also have Golden butterflies in the reef.

sedgro · #9 12/04/2007, 06:55 PM

Hmmm...

Small Tinkers bought from Oldtown $400-450 (tax but no shipping) - they had a 2 incher ~ 2 months ago that I could have gotten for the above.

Tinker's as listed on LA:
CN-88689 SW - Tinkerii Butterflyfish (Hawaii) $ 499.99* plus shipping

Don't get me wrong, LA is great, but sometimes going local is better.

jmicky41 · #10 12/04/2007, 11:10 PM

I got my Mitratus at Old Town 3 years ago. It is a cool fish, but abslutely refuses to eat any type of dried food - won't touch flakes or NLS. It likes Rods food, nori, fish eggs, brine, mysis and it loves whole inshell cockles. I think that it does pick on my snails though. I bought it at about 1.5". Over the years it has only grown to about 2.5" As far as aggression goes, it has been pretty mellow. It didn't even bother my new tiny hippo tang. I paid $199 for it. I think that the Divers Den is overpriced, but their reputation and quarantine procedures seem hard to beat.

LargeAngels · #11 12/05/2007, 09:24 AM

What happened to the Tinkers and Mitratus you had in September?

SDguy · #12 12/05/2007, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DeltecRules
Thanks guys!! I think I am going with a Tinkers. I will say that mitratus looks beautiful. John, old town is extremely high. Even on common fish they ask for alot. I will just wait until Liveaquaria divers den gets one in. After that power outtage I did buy two battery air pumps. I never experienced any power outtages living in my area for the past 21 years until earlier this year. It was a total shock loosing all of them

I'm surprised you don't have a generator considering the value of the fish you own

John Dawe · #13 12/05/2007, 11:30 AM

The fish may not be cheap at Old Town Aquarium, but if you live in the area....its better to pay more and see what you are getting than being supprised buy a beat up fish that doen't eat. I just bought a 15KW auto start backup generator for my house. If you invest in a lot of fish, no sense skimping on a generator

snorvich · #14 12/05/2007, 05:41 PM

I too have a generator and it has saved me a couple of times. The only issue is it is LOUD but it is on so infrequently that who cares. It does self test once a week which makes me happy.

Chooch1 · #15 12/05/2007, 06:04 PM

I had a C. mitratus for about 5 years. It ate everything including flake foods. I couldn't believe how hardy that fish was. It was the longest lived butterfly I ever kept. I traded it in 1998 when I converted my 180 to a reef. I thought hard about keeping it in the reef but I didn't want to take the chance at that time. To this day I still regret that decision sometimes. Before I purchased it from Living Sea, I saw it sit at the store for a couple of months. I think they were originally asking about $300. One day I saw it marked down to $70 and I bought it! What a great deal and a great fish!