help save the sweetlips

[jhale]

there is a fish in our area that needs your help.
he is a sweetlips currently living in New Rochelle with our board member Michael Stern. I passed the sweetlips along to him, he was a fish I received from photo shoot about a month ago.
Apparently the sweetlips is one tough fish to get to eat in captivity. According to Anthony Calfo he suggests,
"For this fish... do try to offer it gut loaded live food: guppies fed dry and frozen foods... and ghost shrimp fed Beta Glucan (from the GNC health food store... immunity boosting matter)."
The rest of his advice was not such great news, but he did say one sweetlips had been kept in captivity for 14 years.
sweetlips link
If anyone can help Michael out in any way it would be appreciated greatly. Either helping raise the vitamin fed fish, donating a bigger tank for the sweetlips to live in for a bit. I know someone must have an empty 180 just laying around

thanks guys
J

 

[marrone]

Considering you have had the fish for over 1 month that pretty good for a Sweetlips. Even if you can get it to eat the survial rate isn't good. Most sweetlips died, even if they're eating, within a short time. Also you can't put them, for the most part, with aggressive fish as they're slow swimmers and the other fish will bully them and take all the food.

Which type sweetlips is it and what size? The smaller ones do better than the larger ones and the Clown Sweetlips have the worst survial rate. Most just drop dead even after feeding.

 

[jhale]

I'm not sure which one it is, Michael posted a picture of it in the thread I put a link to.
I had the fish for a week or so, I know I saw it eat while I had it.
It never attacked the food, it just swam slowly and when the food crossed it's path it at it.
It's a really nice fish and seemed to have a good personality, for a fish.

 

[marrone]

From the picture it's a Clown Sweetlips. It's a tough fish to keep and even if it starts to eat it probably wouldn't make it. Alot of them will eat live food and then still die while some will eat the live food and just spit it out.

I didn't realize the Michael Stern was "tobasdad" on RC. He has a large tank I think a 420gal with live rock. He had an aggressive Passer Angel but I think he got rid of that so he probably doesn't have anything that will bother the Sweetlips. In a large tank the Sweetlips should have a better chance but still they're hard to keep.

If you go to a bunch of LFS, that stock Clown Sweetlips, you'll probably see more Clown Sweetlips dead in their tanks than any other fish.

 

[jhale]

it's things like this that make me hate our hobby.
why the hell would a store sell a fish that has a 100% chance of dying. It's disgusting to me. How much profit do you need to make selling a fish not suited for our aquariums.

 

[marrone]

Unfortunily until people stop buying this fish, nuibranch and corals LFS will keep stocking them.

The thing is alot of the fish have really nice colors and that what catches people eyes and they then buy them. Some people don't know the track record of the fish and don't know how to get them to start to eat, if they could anyway.

 

[scotty]

i feel like i have seen them in many public aquariums. i will research there.

 

[marrone]

The SweetLips are in the snapper family and get quite large. It's a possibility that you saw one of the species in a public aquariums. Also the Clown Sweetlips in the picture is the Juv. form the adult looks nothing like it.

 

[jhale]

thanks scotty, let us know if you find anything.

J

 

[michael stern]

Originally posted by marrone:
Unfortunily until people stop buying this fish, nuibranch and corals LFS will keep stocking them.

The thing is alot of the fish have really nice colors and that what catches people eyes and they then buy them. Some people don't know the track record of the fish and don't know how to get them to start to eat, if they could anyway.

I agree with Jonathan. There are so many beautiful fish, why stock ones that are doomed?

 

[michael stern]

Originally posted by marrone:

I didn't realize the Michael Stern was "tobasdad" on RC. He has a large tank I think a 420gal with live rock. He had an aggressive Passer Angel but I think he got rid of that so he probably doesn't have anything that will bother the Sweetlips. In a large tank the Sweetlips should have a better chance but still they're hard to keep.

Yeah, one in the same. And yes, the Passer is long gone. Nobody is bothering the sweetlips, I just haven't been able to entice it to eat. Again, it is CONSTANTLY out and around and picking at LR. Maybe I'll get lucky (although having a moorish idol, longnose file, and sweetlips all eating is probably too much)

 

[michael stern]

Jonathan

I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but he ate twice today: 1st some formula 2 pellets, then some frozen angel formula. Definitely ate.

Keep fingers crossed.

Michael

 

[jhale]

Well that's much better than not eating.
He did take some time to eat when I had him as well, about a week or so.
Maybe you can accomplish the near impossible and have all three finicky eaters thriving in your tank

J