Just For Laughs

[M.Dandaneau]

I HAD to post this one!
Advice about what to keep together, what NOT to keep together, what may fight, what MIGHT fight, etc. are among the most often asked questions, discussions and arguments, but what I just saw shows that there's definitely an exception to every rule.
Our 125 gal. mixed small predator tank with its really odd combination of residents.......1 bamboo shark, one one-eyed scorpionfish, a black hamlet (added for color! ), a lookdown being grown for the 300 (it's still stonefish bait at 4"), three slippery dick wrasses, a spawning pair of Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish, a sea bream and a peacock mantis shrimp.
OK....agreed, the combination is perhaps a little strange, I'll admit.
Anyway, I'm dropping in whole frozen bait shrimp and/or pieces of same, trying to make sure everyone gets fed, when, lo and behold!
Out walks Mr. Mantis shrimp, in broad daylight and starts sorting through the pieces until it found one it liked......not just poking its head out of a hidey hole, mind you, but strolling out into the middle of the tank like it was taking a spring stroll!
OK...so nobody else is amused as I am, but I had to pass this one on.

Mike

[FMarini]

ballsy critter eh?
I think they are cool looking and as i mentioned in the past I don't find them to be good residents, but at the Dandaneau house they are perrfect house guests.
Must be the food. Great looking shrimp.

[M.Dandaneau]

Thanks, Frank.
My first was when I thought a mantis shrimp was a mantis shrimp and couldn't figure out why the feeders placed in the species tank were thriving and growing...the only thing that kept the shrimp alive was that he would fight them for the shrimp pieces placed in there for THEM!
By the time I was done with that experiment, I had three individuals all living together, each in their own custom designed residences and several very fat pinfish.
Once I finally located the correct information I placed a live stone crab in the tank and was treated to an exhibition of exactly what they were CAPABLE of doing and started giving them a little more respect (and watching my fingers!)
Over the years, they have become my favorite crustaceans and I have yet to have a problem with them attacking even small fish.
I DON'T, by the way, place them in tanks housing octopi, large wrasses or Echidna morays.
This one IS the first to actually stroll out in public in full daylight though!
The scopionfish, by the way, is the one that had the air bubble in the eye......removal of the gas bubble with a hypodermic syringe saved the fish, but unfortunately, not the vision in that eye.

[votek]

Mike, first of all, I really admire your tank. It's perhaps one of the best pred. tanks I've seen which goes without saying that its my favorite. And second, your story reminds me of one I saw at the LFS.

The LFS I go to has a Niger and a Fire Clown in tanks right next to each other. Since the Niger is roughly 5" and growing and the Fire clown s only about 1", you would think that the fish would be bait if ever dropped into the tank. Well it turns out the fire clown will not stay out of the niger's tank and keeps jumping from one to the other.

The trigger seems to allow the clown to do whatever it wants. Although, I'm certain the trigger would eventually eat that guy, its just funny to see the two swimming around in the same tank oblivious to each other.

[M.Dandaneau]

surprisingly, quite often natural enemies really aren't enemies at all, particularly once the dietary preferences of individual fish, rather than just the general species as a whole are taken into consideration.
I'd not be surprised at all to see a good sized niger cohabiting peacefully with other small fish as long as 1) it was offered plenty of crustacean fare, and 2) the was sufficient LR for the smaller fish to dart into.
In effect, you're actually recreating a natural environment that way.
Here's another photo...if you look very carefully, you'll see green chromis, a juv. burrfish, a juv. Naso and a Monodactylus sebae in the photo with this 16" eel....there's also a flame angel and over a dozen 1" gobies all peacefully cohabiting.
Keep in mind that the eel greatly prefers shrimp and squid, and were its dietary preferences not met the entire scenario would likely be subject to a drastic change.