# questions about six stripe soapfish



## mstnquaw (Jan 8, 2009)

Hello all, I'm really glad to have found this site. I am freaking out right now. My WONDERFUL husband was trying to surprise me by bringing in some new fish for my aquarium. It was a lovely idea only, I am very picky about my fish and always try to learn as much as possible about them BEFORE purchasing them. Well here in lies the problem, he brought home a six stripe soapfish. I started doing research right away and what I've found says that these secrete venomous toxins when stressed or annoyed that can kill my other fish. Well I have a large yellow tang that in very territorial to my other fish already and I am scared this is not going to end well. My question is how likely is it that this new fish could kill all or any of my other fish? I have a 55 gallon setup with a yallow tang , porcupine puffer, huma trigger, and a 4 striped damsel. any input would help, should I just take this fish back ASAP or is the risk minimum?


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

I have absolutely no experience in S/W but others here do. I just wanted to say hi and tell you how thoughtful I think your huband is! At least he tries, right?? 

That fish is beautiful but not sure I'd want to keep it based on what I just read about them....


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## mstnquaw (Jan 8, 2009)

Hi Aunt Kymmie nice to meet you. And yes I thought it was very nice of him. I have been having a couple of bad days lately and he was just trying to make me smile. But I am scared I would just be devastated if my other fish was hurt. I've care VERY much for my fish. My aquarium is my baby.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

There are some good reefers here and one is bound to jump on soon! I hope your bad days are behind you now.


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## Kellsindell (Sep 15, 2008)

Welcome to the forum. With all agressive fish it should be taken with very much caution. The only issue i see here is if you don't feed it a meaty diet it may go after you damsel (assuming it is the smaller of the bunch).

You should be impressed that he didn't get any of the toxin into the tank in the first place, unless you acclimated the fish. If he did though he deserves a nice congrats for that. They normally secrete in the transfering bag. 

Try not to stress the fish out and make sure it's fed. Other then that, it's a great find and i hope you have much success. I'll see if i can get anyone else on here with more exp with this fish.


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## Kellsindell (Sep 15, 2008)

Oh, and they do get up to a foot in length. That's really big, but so will your other fish( aside from the damsel). 

I would evaluate what your tanks capasity is. Think it over and if you can achieve all these things then keep is, if not then take it back. Eitherway, you can say you owned one.

I'm very pertective of my tank too. i told my wife not to impulse buy on any fish or corals or inverts cause we all know how that can play out... LIONFISH... :lol:


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

welcome to the forum.

a few things here, if you werent aware the puffer itself is venomous. just dont eat it. ;-)
based on your stocking list im guessing this is a FOWLR (fish only with live rock)
not to try to stray off of the topic the yellow tang and trigger should really be housed in a larger system. 

anyways what kind of filtration are you running? if you have a sump i would add on a reactor with carbon or if it is a canister, add carbon there.


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## mstnquaw (Jan 8, 2009)

Thanks all for your input. And to answer some questions, Yes its a FOWLR. I have had it for about 6 years now. I started out with just a clown fish and some damsels, but when hurricane Katrina hit us we were without power for 17 days so I lost most everything. Then I too learned the lesson about impulse buying because I went out and bought myself the beautiful Lion Fish, and let me tell you I loved this fish like no other fish I've ever owned!! (Talk about personallity) He was more like a puppy than any fish I ever owned. But he stopped eating and I would have to literally make him eat by putting the food directly in his mouth and even then sometimes he wouldn't take it. Long story short I lost him after I had owned him for about 2.5 years. Then I bought then Tang. I've only had him for about a year or so but he is SO shy that you really cant enjoy him. So my husband gave me a gift certificate and I went and bought the puffer, trigger, and damsel (large 4 stripe damsel). Now my husband has brought home the 6 line soapfish and I would not have added any more right now. But I am in the process of upgrading my system to a 180 gallons tank. Right now they have room and by the time I finish setting the new tank up they will have plenty of room to grow. Anyway sorry for the long post but it's very nice to have someone to share my interest with. And thank you all so much for your input. I look forward to building my new system with all of you as my sounding board.

Wendy


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## Kellsindell (Sep 15, 2008)

not a problem, and we're here to help. With your long exp. i'm sure you can give sound advise as well. When you do set up the new system, please post pics and let us know your progress.

After you do set up the tank, the fish would be more then happy, i would venture to say... just don't pet it :lol:


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

onefish2fish said:


> anyways what kind of filtration are you running? if you have a sump i would add on a reactor with carbon or if it is a canister, add carbon there.


this was never answered.


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## mstnquaw (Jan 8, 2009)

Sorry I did miss this. Well right now I have a Marineland 400 Bio wheel hang on filters with no sump or protein skimmer, but I am looking for a skimmer as we speak. I have had really good water quality, but never had so many fish before. My water parameters last night showed:

Salinity 1.021
PH 8.1
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20 ppm
Ammonia 0

I plan on testing every other day just to make sure nothing changes.

Also I have live sand and 30 lbs live rock.

With just the basic light hood that came with the aquarium.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

if you can read reviews on skimmers i would, alot are great and alot are a waste of time and money


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## mstnquaw (Jan 8, 2009)

Well I plan on upgrading to a 180 gallon tank within the next year so I want to make sure I only need to buy it once. At this time I have been researching sumps and the different ways to build them and I feel like I'm on information over load from all I've read lately about them. So any ideas for a good one would be appricated.


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## Kellsindell (Sep 15, 2008)

I don't favor the bio-wheels, but it sounds like you have everything under control. Your nitrates are a little high, but other then that, looks good.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

http://www.fishforum.com/member-submitted-articles/understanding-sumps-15930/


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

I think you have a very high risk situation, with no skimmer and very little carbon. Any toxin released into the system, which could occur at any moment with the territorial nature of your fish selections, could provide a total wipeout.

I would personally suggest that you begin to use large amounts of carbon immediately. This could be accomplished a number of ways, as you are familiar with i am sure. 

I would avoid the purchase of a skimmer until you upgrade in tank size. You want to save every dollar possible to purchase the best quality skimmer available for your 180, especially with the bioload you will have as these fish grow.


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## mstnquaw (Jan 8, 2009)

Pasfur, WOW total wipeout! Thats what I was thinking but hoping wouldn't be the case. I would just be devistated if that happened. I am going to call my LFS and see if they can take him back. I just cant risk everything! Way to much time and love invested in my tank. Thanks for your opinions.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

wow, when i first starting reading your post i thought it already happened!!!

whew, but not to take credit from pasfur i suggested running carbon back on page 1.

hope you can catch this sucker with the live rock work without stressing him to much.
unless he is still in QT.


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## mstnquaw (Jan 8, 2009)

onefish2fish said:


> wow, when i first starting reading your post i thought it already happened!!!
> 
> whew, but not to take credit from pasfur i suggested running carbon back on page 1.
> 
> ...


Lol, after reading my post again, I can see where it sounded that way, sorry. 

I just got off the phone with my LFS and the guy there (Bill) has always been a treasured resource to me. I knew right away that he was not the one who sold my husband the soapfish the other night, because he definitely would have made sure he was aware of the risks, I'm sure. Anywho, when I talked to him about my situation he said, that in the twenty years he has had his business he has never seen any knid of trouble with these fish. He said while they can secrete toxins when provoked, it would take a predator fish really making him feel very threatened. He told me that he felt very confident that this fish would do fine in my tank with the fish I have, especially since I would be upgrading soon, because he is so small now, that in a 55 gallon tank it would not be a high risk. 

I really have always trusted Bill, but never had to trust him with the survival of my entire tank. So now I do feel somewhat better but still very guarded. I will definitely add extra carbon and I guess this will light my fire about getting the larger tank started sooner. 

Any comments?



Oh and onefish2fish thanks for the link about understanding sumps! Hands down the best and most helpful article I have read about sumps. He really breaks it down so its very easy to understand.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

lol i was kidding when i said i told you about the carbon first, who cares who told you and when they told you as long as the point gets across right?
i must say i do NOT have experience with the soapfish but i would imagine running carbon will only benefit the tank in removing organics. to be extra safe you may want to have a batch of salt water made up, ready to go incase you do see something off. i prob. would do this before adding him to the display esp. (unless already done) because the move into a new tank may just be enough stress. again i dont have experience with this fish but that sounds logical to me.

i think a larger tank will greatly increase the health of these animals. without skimming back you have a tang right? they need alot of swimming room and a 55 doesnt cut it. a larger tank will also mean more stable water params esp. when adding a sump. glad the sump link helped.
feel free to ask more questions
-OF2F


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## cerianthus (Jul 13, 2008)

I don't think it will cause a problem. It is there defense mechanism to deter predation. As a precaution, I used 
Hang on Rim Clear Plastic container w/ bunch of holes punched for circulation to hold new fish in main tank for few days after acclimation. When they have seen each other for few days, i would release the any new fish in the middle of the night. This method have given little edge to hold its own as newbie in the tank


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

your method sounds interesting but new fish should be put into QT after purchased to observe eating habbits and health.

the issue here is that when startled this fish can release a toxin that will "nuke" a tank


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## mstnquaw (Jan 8, 2009)

cerianthus said:


> I don't think it will cause a problem. It is there defense mechanism to deter predation. As a precaution, I used
> Hang on Rim Clear Plastic container w/ bunch of holes punched for circulation to hold new fish in main tank for few days after acclimation. When they have seen each other for few days, i would release the any new fish in the middle of the night. This method have given little edge to hold its own as newbie in the tank


Are you saying you had one of these fish before?

I added him to the main tank yesterday and he is eating well and getting along with the others so hopefully no problem. He really is a cool fish, when I get up close to look at the tank he comes right to me and watches me. I think I like him alot. Cross your fingers for me!


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

I really hope it works out. Would love to see some pics of your tank & your fish. Do you have any you can post??


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

Stress comes in a variety of forms. Perhaps it is just a power outage that causes a temporary decrease in oxygen levels. Or maybe stray electricity in the aquarium water caused by salt creep you didn't notice from your light bulbs. Who knows? But stress happens in an aquarium, so why take the chance?


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## cerianthus (Jul 13, 2008)

Yes, kept it w/many of other fish including their relative leaflip soapfish. Never had them soaped-up toxic slime. It is, i believe, their defense mechanism to deter predation. Have kept with triggers also and lionfish w/o problem. Only scenario I could think of when introduced to tank for firsttime where other fish might pke around and/or agitate the soapfish out of curiosity. Just monitor water conditions and observe the behavior of all the fish including new arrival.

For this reason, I've always let new arrival ajust to my water w/o being physically bullied by inmates. Like I said, isolating in clear container or even floating lage, clear plastic Jar w/ holes is better than adding directly into tank to attract attention and bulliness of inmates. It is actually one of easier fish to keep.
Enjoy. 
As far asf fish personality goes, I find no different from us in many ways (territorialism, competitions, etc), LOL.


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## cerianthus (Jul 13, 2008)

Dont want to go off-topic too much, what i meant was to use this method when fish are transferred b/n tank. Even Q/T fish has be acclimated when added to main tank since no 2 tanks are alike!
Have kept these soapfish ( even two together) and never experiences crash due to toxic mucous. They can hod their own and wil leat anything that will fit in their mouth. Just monitor the tank to see if any harrassment takes place by other tankmates.


onefish2fish said:


> your method sounds interesting but new fish should be put into QT after purchased to observe eating habbits and health.
> 
> the issue here is that when startled this fish can release a toxin that will "nuke" a tank


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