# Irritans and Elongatus Update - August 2007



## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

*Elongatus* -

Here is a time line of the elongatus tank.......

*1/07 - One 4" elongatus, one 5.5" elongatus - 75 gallon tank*

*5/07 - One 4.5" elongatus, one 6" elongatus - 75 gallon tank*
All is going great in this tank. I have continued to enforce long periods between feedings...the last one being 5 days. I have really struggled to feed the smaller guy because his territory is behind a plant and under a piece of driftwood. He doesnt come out for feeding...so I need to get food back to him and he needs to see it. I have tried tossing the food every which way...but it just doesnt work because the plant takes up so much surface space...so I have down to using my hand to put the food back to where I want it and releasing it. I have been doing this for the last few weeks and it is working well...with the exception of getting my arm wet in the process. The larger of the two is easy to feed..his territory is out in the open and he attacks food.
So...all is going well.

*8/07 - One 5" elongatus, one 6" elongatus - 75 gallon tank*
This tank has gone through some interesting developments lately. The smaller guy did get a few fin nips about a month ago....both to the tail. He left his original territory and has moved to the front left part of the tank. He is much easier to feed now and has had shown no further signs of being attacked or chased. The larger one has moved his territory to the center of the tank. Not really a good sign because he might be starting to occupy more territory...and taking command of the tank. Im not sure of this........it is just conjecture on my part. While on vacation I feed them on Monday...the next feeding was done by my GF on Friday..and then they were fed again on Tuesday when I got back. No visible signs of any aggression...however the change in territories does have me concerned.

*Irritans *-

Here is a time line of the irritans tank.......

*11/04 - five 2" irritans - 75 gallon tank*
*3/05 - four 2"-3" irritans - 75 gallon tank*
One removed because of aggression.
*8/05 - three 3" irritans - 90 gallon tank*
Second fish removed because of aggression. 
*1/06 - four 3"-4" irritans - 100 gallon tank*
Added back first removed fish because of tank move and good growth by the lone fish...catching him up to the others in the group.
*2/06 - four 3"-4" irritans - 100 gallon tank*
lots of chasing but relatively no fin nips or actual contact.
*4/06 - four 3"-4" irritans - 100 gallon tank*
Pretty quiet tank..all things considered.

Then in late April I decided to change from gravel to sand and all hell broke loose. Im pretty sure it was because I messed up all the territories so lesson learned...when you have a good thing going..leave it alone.

*5/06 - four 4"-4.5" irritans - 100 gallon tank*
Back to normal

Summer of 06 we had some extremely high temperatures and I lost 2 fish for unexplained reasons. It wasnt aggression but the tank temps were very high and 2 of the fish lost their equilibrium..not being about to swim upright.

*5/07 - two 5" irritans - 100 gallon tank*
I have had little changes in this tank...they are doing just fine. Minimal signs of aggression. I feed them on the same schedule as my other fish..which has included 5 day fasting since they were 2". These two fish are rarely out in the open when not feeding...but prefer to hide in a plant all the time. So....2.5 years and all is going just fine.
*8/07 - two 5" irritans - 100 gallon tank*
Zero change in this tank. They continue to feed great and I have not noticed any injuries or aggression in what seems like forever. They were fed the same as the elongatus during my vacation. They still hide most of the time...coming out to feed. Their territories are within 3" of each other. So not much to say other them we are approaching 3 years *_Knock on wood_

Disclaimer:
All fish sizes are visual estimates, I have not taken them out to measure them. I make no claims of success....Just telling you what is/has happened in my tanks. I would not recommend anyone try this. I have told everyone why I feel these tanks are continuing to work...but that is all speculation on my part.....and might be difficult to duplicated in your tank.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

just curious what made you chose to use elongs and irritans for your experiments?

for feeding your smaller elong you could buy one of those long tubes with a blade on the end used in trimming plants but get one with a grip for planting them (some you can remove the blade and put the grip on) so you could put the food in the grip and then lower it to the small elong


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

sean-820 said:


> just curious what made you chose to use elongs and irritans for your experiments?


I picked irritans because they stay relatively small and I really like the look of them. Pretty much the same with elongatus...they dont grow too large and I like the look. I have also had both species before these tanks and didnt find them near as aggressive as some people think...and had good experiences having each live with my geryi.


> for feeding your smaller elong you could buy one of those long tubes with a blade on the end used in trimming plants but get one with a grip for planting them (some you can remove the blade and put the grip on) so you could put the food in the grip and then lower it to the small elong


He is easy to feed now. I toss the food from a few feet away...it skips on the top of the water.....and he goes and gets it. Good idea though


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

Finally, my term to comment.









The size of S. irritans does indeed help (a small species) having it in a large volume of water (100g). So that gives approx. 50gal a piece or territory of about 2 feet (give or take some inches). That's about right for fin nippers. Its a shame you lost the other two. It would have been more significant to see where this would have lead with less space between fish. Good followup GG.

On S. elongatus, no comment at this time.


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

hastatus said:


> Finally, my term to comment.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It would have been nice to see how they would have reacted. It is hard to tell..but in the last year I dont think they have grown much at all...so I dont know how/if they would have changed in relation to territories. I am continually amazed that the remaining two stay just a few inches apart unless they are feeding.



> On S. elongatus, no comment at this time.


I saw that one coming


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## locust (Aug 2, 2005)

do you reckon the bigger elong must be showing his dominance because the smaller one has moved and is now more visible to him? how far apart are they on average?


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## bmpower007 (Feb 11, 2005)

gg awesome update! I remeber when you first started on this project...glad there doing fine


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## calienteboyy (Nov 26, 2006)

can we see photos of irritans and elongatus.


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

locust said:


> can we see photos of irritans and elongatus.


If you do a search in this forum for threads I started...you will find some pictures. I havent taken any new ones in a while.


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

always a good read from GG the man! I agree with the other guy it really stinx about the loss, with global warming u might need a cooler?

granted these attached images arent mine... I borrowed the pics from my other forum reefcentral, but this is intense enough to share!


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Damn...lol. This summer it wasnt bad at all...so no worries


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## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

Grosse Gurke said:


> Damn...lol. This summer it wasnt bad at all...so no worries


yeah if you goto reefcentral.org they have on the main page tank of the month, click it its his 1000+ gallon reef amazing sps corals.. and that chiller, well simply wow!


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

love this post GG. i always kept little journals with my fish. cool info


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

I will try and do an update soon. Irritans have just past the 3 year mark...they deserve a topic


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## Dezboy (Apr 2, 2006)

ubber impressed that they have lasted for 3 years GG...........................


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## bigshawn (Dec 29, 2005)

dezboy said:


> ubber impressed that they have lasted for 3 years GG...........................


I totally agree!!!!!!!!!!!


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