Latest addition to the tank

[screebo]

Here's a welcome arrival to the Elos 120

OK........... I'm lying. It's a Sea Dragon that was photographed by a friend when I was in Sulawesi a year ago. Fascinating disguise!

 

[CookieJar]

Nice! good disguise as a floating stick. do they eat only live foods; ampipods/ copepods?

 

[screebo]

To be honest, Bill..........I couldn't imagine wanting to keep one in a tank. I've only seen "a few" pipefish, sea dragons and sea horses in the wild. That seems like a good place for them.

 

[Reef Keeper]

Nice one.

 

[screebo]

Hey Joel,
Disclaimer: Please understand that this was a wild animal, captured only on a Nikon, not by a retailer! 0

 

[GreshamH]

Isn't that a Ghost Pipe and not a "Sea Dragon"?

 

[screebo]

Talking about Pipefish, here's another one from Sulawesi that's about 3" long. It was hard to see him!

 

[GreshamH]

Sorry I shouldn't have said that as a question.

It is a ghost pipe - Solenostomus paradoxus - not a Sea Dragon.

Solenostomus paradoxus - ghost pipe

Leafy and Weedy Sea Dragons look different...

Phycodurus eques - Leafy Sea Dragon

Phyllopteryx taeniolatus

- Weedy Sea Dragon

The one you listed as a "ghost pipefish" I have no clue. All books and links I have ever seen point to one sole genus as a ghost pipefish and it's the one I listed (Solenostomus sp)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornate_ghost_pipefish
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_pipefishv
http://www.calacademy.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=13353

BTW the last one you posted is another type of Ghost pipefish, most likely a Robust Ghostpipefish - Solenostoma cyanopterus

Great book is "Seahorse, Pipefishes and their relatives - a comprehensive guide to syngnathiformes" by Rudie H Kuiter, one of the worlds most prolific underwater photographers on the planet.

 

[screebo]

Gresh,

I KNEW I could count on you to get to the bottom of it!
Nice work and good research. (You know I hang pretty loose! )
You also get extra credit for great diplomacy. You always show "good form".

PS It's the Fijians and Indonesians that call the creature pictured above a "Ghost Pipefish" and the guys on the dive boat likely told me the other guy was a Sea Dragon out of innocent ignorance. Fortunately, now we got it straight, well sort of....

Here's another Fijian "pipefish" I shot on the same trip that's like the "ghost pipefish" except for the color. The Fijian fish were about 2 to 3 feet in length.

 

[screebo]

The dive guys on the boat referred to this as a Sea Dragon, albiet a strange varient. Edit note: Read post below for the whole story of what this beautiful master of disguise really is. When we dove Sulawesi, we saw lots of sea life that we would not expect to see anywhere else in the world.

Actually, here's a pic of what the Fijians call a "Ghost Pipefish" (not often seen or photographed) captured by "yours truly" in Fiji, 2008. Apparently, this is NOT what the encyclopedia calls a "Ghost Pipe". So go figure......... H) The shot is "on the swim" from above the fish. Eyes are visable from top view on left end of the fish.

 

[GreshamH]

That's a "Trumpetfish"- "Pacific Trumpetfish" - Aulostomus chinensis

http://www.fishbase.org/summary/speciessummary.php?id=1309
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Aulostomus_chinensis

common Fijian name for it is Baba according to Fishbase
http://www.fishbase.org/comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=1309&GenusName=Aulostomus&SpeciesName=chinensis&StockCode=1327

 

[screebo]

Wonder if they are good eating. You'd be aghast to see what fish are considered "food fish" in the South Pacific. Triggers and other fish that we consider "decorative" such as angels. It's just their way...........

 

[GreshamH]

Triggers, tangs and some angels are very tasty. I have no problem with anyone eating stuff we happen to keep in our tanks. heck I have no issue with people eating coral, anemones, etc. Giant clams make for great sushi. So do urchins and abalone.

 

[Reef Keeper]

Hey Joel,
Disclaimer: Please understand that this was a wild animal, captured only on a Nikon, not by a retailer! 0

Understood. I read your post and figured as much. Thx.... My understanding is they can be difficult to keep in captivity.

I think the fish pictured above is a sort of pipe fish and the long clear one below is a trumpet. I saw dozens of those trumpets last week free-diving in Maui. Oh, and I got a chance to swim with three green turtles too at the same reef I've be visiting the past 20 years. Long story short, this was a first for the spot, there was even a manta ray spotted this time.

BTW, today, my vascular surgeon cleared me for scuba and I'm now waiting on my nuero-surgeon's second opinion to give me the two thumbs up - hopefully I'll find out in the next few days.

These are good times in spite of some of the bad times.

Did you check out my Ustream link yet? LMWYT. Best time for viewing is usually between 10pm-11pm :glasses: I was getting bumped off the server do to some Safari browser plug-in conflicts, so I'm now streaming through FireFox and I think that may be a more stable platform.

 

[screebo]

Looks like I better just keep my species mixed in a Cioppino to play it safe. Future posts: "here's a picture of some sealife that I saw in Pohnpei, anyone know for sure what the little bugger is? Looks like a pipe/trumpet/ghost/leafy/sort of sea dragon type of thing...............

I haven't checked your live feed camera lately but it's a very cool way to keep an eye on things. Great news about diving. I've just booked a trip to Fiji (returning after a two year absence). A week on Taveuni diving with one of Fiji's most famous divers: Tyrone Valentine. We'll be diving the world famous "rainbow reef" with it's abundance of fish, hard and soft corals (Carnation types) GREAT drift diving and incredible conditions. The second week will be on Kadavu island and will be our first visit there. It's below Beqa island and south of the main island of Viti Levu. We love the Fijian culture and the diving is "out of this world". Get your Dr's permission and meet us in Palau for Christmas, 2010 and some more world class diving.............

 

[Reef Keeper]

... I saw in Pohnpei, anyone know for sure what the little bugger is? Looks like a pipe/trumpet/ghost/leafy/sort of sea dragon type of thing...............

... I've just booked a trip to Fiji (returning after a two year absence). A week on Taveuni diving with one of Fiji's most famous divers: Tyrone Valentine. We'll be diving the world famous "rainbow reef" with it's abundance of fish, hard and soft corals (Carnation types) GREAT drift diving and incredible conditions. The second week will be on Kadavu island and will be our first visit there. It's below Beqa island and south of the main island of Viti Levu. We love the Fijian culture and the diving is "out of this world". Get your Dr's permission and meet us in Palau for Christmas, 2010 and some more world class diving.............

I'm not sure if you're being cordial or just letting us know what you'll be up to for Christmas, but there is a very small chance we could make it to Palau, as our cruise to the Holy Land and Egypt are seeming a bit up in air since the Garden of Gethsemane and the Dead Sea tours may not be available to us in October. I'll mention Palau to Susan if you're comfortable with the idea. We'd like to know if you are going to be on a live aboard; and since Susan doesn't dive, is there anything there for her to do? The four of us should talk off line soon.

BTW, No picture or link came up. with your inquiry above...?

Rainbow Reef is one of my favorites: looks pretty awesome. Are you doing a live aboard, or are you staying at the Coconut Grove?

Thanks for putting the places you're planning on diving.

I think you'll be seeing a large number of mantas and sharks in Kavadu (the world's fourth largest reef)....

Fiji, Palau and Papua New Guinea are at the top on my list. I'm pretty sure Susan and I will make it to Bonaire before the previously mentioned as we are in that area every just about every year.

I know you hit some great places, so I'd be interested in your experience/s.

 

[screebo]

I think that everyone loves diving and can find a way to visit Palau should do it! Good luck putting things together for a trip there. It's always on the list of possibilities for us but I also remember, so many places..............so little time..

 

[Reef Keeper]

I think that everyone loves diving and can find a way to visit Palau should do it! Good luck putting things together for a trip there. It's always on the list of possibilities for us but I also remember, so many places..............so little time..

Okay????

 

[screebo]

We're still in the talking stage about Christmas since we've just completed making plans for Sprng and Summer of this year. It would be great fun to see friends on any trip. If we go to Palau, we'd likely plan to make it a three island visit, Kosrae, Yap and Palau. Let's continue our thinking and see what works out. I'll keep you posted!

 

[Reef Keeper]

We're still in the talking stage about Christmas since we've just completed making plans for Sprng and Summer of this year. It would be great fun to see friends on any trip. If we go to Palau, we'd likely plan to make it a three island visit, Kosrae, Yap and Palau. Let's continue our thinking and see what works out. I'll keep you posted!

:bigsmile: