How to keep Hawkfish Sucessful in a tank.

[bmw57]

Hi, im new to these forums. I tried other forums and didn't appreciate the output. I need some insightful information on how to keep a hawkfish in my tank happy and healthy. I relied on people who are experienced into the hobby about how to handle it, and now i nearly regret getting him if its really as awful as what people online have been telling me. I didn't cycle it the way i should have i suppose. I am willing to learn, and understand that what i have done may be irrrevesable at this point. It is known as a giant hawkfish, and hes doing ok so far. The only thing right now is i have an issue with cloudiness and i don't have a protein skimmer.

I tried looking online to know more about them and all i could find is that there a game fish and solitary lying still inbetween rocks and coral along coastlines near mexico.

[leebca]

WELCOME TO REEFLAND!

I'm sorry you're having some difficulties not only with your system, but with the fish. That fish is a hearty fish, but not one of the ones we usually tend to keep. However, before I make a mistake, I have to know exactly what fish you have. Do you have a photo or do you have a scientific name of the fish?

With regards to your marine system, we may be able to help, but we will need a lot more information about what is happening. It is hard to help, you can imagine, without us knowing exactly what has happened and the history of the system.

I suggest you answer all the following questions very thoroughly if you'd still like our input:
How old is your tank? When did it originally cycle?
What is the size (dimensions and gallonage) of your display? Does the gallonage include the volume from the sump and any refugium? Does the gallonage include or exclude the inside contents (rock, substrate, decor, etc.)?
Do you use carbon, (you have no skimmer), mechanical or other chemical filtration? Pls list all.
Do you have or use a refugium? Provide an outline of your system.
What is the total circulation for your display tank? (return flow rate, and inside power heads -- not the rated flow but the actual flow to the best of your calculations. [NOTE: each foot lift is one ft of back pressure, each elbow is 1 foot, each 10 feet of plumbing is one ft.])
List all specimens/marine life (that is visible) & sizes in the tank (fish, inverts, corals, clams, snails, crabs, shrimp, etc.).
Tell me about your live rock (if you use it). Where did it come from (sea), what is the weight or volume, describe its condition and appearance, etc.?
Do you use a quarantine tank and procedure?
Was the rock quarantined or if not, how soon after putting in the LR was fish and inverts added?
What kind of substrate do you use? its depth? how old is it, if it came from another system?
Foods you use and feeding schedules.
Since the display was up and running, how much time between adding live rock (LR) and you first putting food into the display? Did you feed the LR or any clean up crew before putting in marine fish or your chosen sessile inverts?
Do you have hermit crabs? List the kinds of (all) crabs you have.
How long have you had this particular fish? (You probably mentioned it before, just to put it all together). If the fish was recently acquired (6 weeks or less), two more questions: Did you treat it or give it a dip before it went into the aquarium? How did you acclimate it – what procedure?
Do you use any vitamins? Fat additives? Any elemental or other additives? Please list all.
Chemistries – you gave none. Do you test for Phosphate, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium? Please give actual current numbers for everything. Have these numbers been changing lately? Tell me how you take these measurements (kit, dip stick, meter, etc.).
Water parameters – please give actual numbers (pH and your pH range, salinity or sp. gr. & range, temperature range). Pls tell me how you take these measurements (kit, dip stick, meter, etc.).
Do you see any of the following in your system: hair algae; micro algae; cyanobacteria growths (red slime algae); dinoflagellate (zooxanthellae) growths; brown algae; diatom growth; slimes; off-colored patches on rock or substrate that are not coralline; etc.?
Water changes (how much and how often).
What is your source water? (Tap water, RO water, DI water, RO/DI, distilled, etc.)
List all chemicals you put into the aquarium, recently and a few weeks ago.
List what you added or taken out of your aquarium system (living, decorations, and equipment) during the past 6 weeks.
Maintenance schedule (equipment maintenance, substrate cleaning, system cleaning, media changes, etc.). What have you done lately?
Lighting. Types and hours on each day.
Any unwanted things in the display tank or system? Have you noticed any creatures or things you either don't know about, don't know what they/it are, or know something is there that you don't like? Describe and list them.

It woulld be helpful if you just take us through how you setup your marine system, in detail. Look at this post and tell us what you did different: Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

[bmw57]

yes, im sorry i didn't post any info about it. It is classified as a Cirrhitidae and its latin name is Cirrihitus Rivulatus aka Giant Hawkfish. Found off the coast of california ranging to the sothern tips of mexico, and Sea of Cortez. This species is usually solitary and remains motionless perched on its pectoral fins. Ref Allen and Robertson 1994. I have him in a 70 gallon tank atm. I'm using a Fluval 305 and just a basic heater. I have used prime to keep ammonia and nitrates down. Trying to get rid of cloudiness, so i used a bio magnet clarifier.


This is a picture i took with my nokia, please ask for permission before posting on a website.

Most hawkfish are solitary in nature but some will form pairs and share a head of coral. Other species form harems of up to seven females dominated by a larger male. They are diurnal and remain within the shallows of the reef, no deeper than 30 metres. Typically motionless, hawkfish will dart out to grab crustaceans and other small invertebrates which happen to pass by.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Family:

Cirrhitidae (Hawkfishes) picture (Ciriv_u0.jpg) by Randall, J.E.


AquaMaps | Point map | Order: Perciformes (perch-likes) Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) FishBase name: Giant hawkfishMax. size: 60.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 40637); max. published weight: 4,160 g (Ref. 40637) Environment: reef-associated; marine; depth range 5 – 23 m Climate: tropical; 30°N - 1°SImportance: fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; price category: not marketed/unknown Resilience: Vulnerability: Moderate vulnerability (44.00), based on Lmax and K (Ref. 59153) Distribution:
Gazetteer Eastern Central Pacific: Gulf of California to northern Colombia and the Galapagos Islands. Morphology: Body moderately deep and compressed; dorsal fin with 10 thick spines and 11 to 12 soft rays (X,11-12); interspinal membranes with terminal cirri; pectoral fins wide, with 14 rays, the lower 7 thickened and unbranched, with notched membranes; body olive green to red, with 4 dark oblique bars with cobalt blue borders; head with similar dark bars (Ref. 55763). Biology: Solitary, bottom-living in shallow waters (Ref. 28023). Lies very still on rock ledges and is well camouflaged against the rocks. Feeds on crustaceans and small fishes (Ref. 37955). Considered a good food fish (Ref. 9289). Red List Status: Not Evaluated (Ref. 57073) Dangerous: harmless

Cirrhitus rivulatus, Giant hawkfish: fisheries, gamefish

[leebca]

I'm unsure now what it is you are requesting. You know a lot about the fish. The fish is not a truly tropical fish if it came from the place you said it comes from, and will expect cooler water.

As for feeding, follow the guidelines here for a carnivore: Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition

You'll be expected to control:
pH
alkalinity
calcium
magnesium
salinity (specific gravity in the range it prefers)
no ammonia; no nitrites (by test kit, not dip sticks)
temperature (cooler -- about 68 to 72F) This may require a chiller
lighting - not too strong
water quality

Regarding the above list it seems your water quality is not doing very well.

You say you are using Prime. That is a conditioner for tap water, not for salt water. It is meant to put into tap water so that the water can be used for tropical fish. However, it doesn't do a good enough job to make city tap water safe for marine fish. That could be part of your problem.

Without the information I've asked for and you still haven't provided, I can't help you much more with that. My help is directly proportional to the information you provide.

Good luck!

[Ninong]

Hi bmw57,




You have already discovered two important pieces of information about this fish, its adult size and its diet:

Max. size: 60.0 cm TL

Feeds on crustaceans and small fishes

That's the sort of information one should possess in advance before making any fish purchase. If this information is unexpected, as I suspect it probably is in your case, then you may wish to consider returning this fish to the vendor, if possible.

The most popular hawkfish species among aquarists is probably Newcirrhites armatus (max. size: 9 cm TL) and the second most popular is Oxycirrhites typus (max. size: 13 cm TL).

Good luck!

[bmw57]

Thanks for the reply Ninong and Leebca. The Prime that i have is safe for freshwater or saltwater and right now im using it to remove the ammonia.

Prime™ is the complete and concentrated conditioner for both fresh and salt water. Prime™ removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. Prime™ converts ammonia into a safe, non-toxic form that is readily removed by the tank’s biofilter. Prime™ may be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia/nitrite toxicity. Prime™ detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. It will also detoxify any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concentration levels.Prime™ also promotes the production and regeneration of the natural slime coat. Prime™ is non-acidic and will not impact pH. Prime™ will not overactivate skimmers. Use at start-up and whenever adding or replacing water.

It's filled with at least 50% R/O water when first started so i don't believe thats the issue. I was told it was a bacteria bloom because theres not enough nitrifying bacteria or not having a protein skimmer handy. I'm waiting to buy a seaclone 100 off a friend for halfprice. He's maintained his length of 10-12 inches or so for the last several years. I realize their potential and if he grows i will be willing to upgrade my tank to a larger one. I'm actually off to the store to buy live rock for him. I already had live sand in there but i want to add more stability.

[Ninong]

Before you spend any amount of money on a Seaclone skimmer, I suggest you do a search using that word: Seaclone.