Most effective sand stirrer I’ve ever seen

[ChaetoFarm_Kai]

So I went and stayed at my moms house on the intercoastal on FL’s east coast, brought some size 16 hooks to see if I could catch a new pet for this 75g reef I was gifted, and currently rebuilding. Among the handful of wild fish I brought home was this 4.5” pigfish. He was a little bigger than what I was planning on keeping and not a species I was really interested in either. When I put him in the tank I was disappointed to see how washed out his blue and yellow markings were. I kind of thought that I would end up fishing him out and cutting him up to be eel food… until he settled in, and saw his work. This guy cruises around all day and night burying his face in the sand up to his eyeballs looking for food. He keeps the entire sand bed looking freshly stirred and because of that, he’ll be a permanent resident. I will say that my Kenya tree is not appreciating the extra detritus floating around, but doesn’t seem to be bothering anything else. If you live on the East coast or gulf coast and don’t mind seeing a boring silver fish in your tank, go catch a pigfish! He’s great though, seemed completely relaxed after only 12 hours and eats whatever I throw at him.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

So I went and stayed at my moms house on the intercoastal on FL’s east coast, brought some size 16 hooks to see if I could catch a new pet for this 75g reef I was gifted, and currently rebuilding. Among the handful of wild fish I brought home was this 4.5” pigfish. He was a little bigger than what I was planning on keeping and not a species I was really interested in either. When I put him in the tank I was disappointed to see how washed out his blue and yellow markings were. I kind of thought that I would end up fishing him out and cutting him up to be eel food… until he settled in, and saw his work. This guy cruises around all day and night burying his face in the sand up to his eyeballs looking for food. He keeps the entire sand bed looking freshly stirred and because of that, he’ll be a permanent resident. I will say that my Kenya tree is not appreciating the extra detritus floating around, but doesn’t seem to be bothering anything else. If you live on the East coast or gulf coast and don’t mind seeing a boring silver fish in your tank, go catch a pigfish! He’s great though, seemed completely relaxed after only 12 hours and eats whatever I throw at him.

Nice! I’ve heard these guys can be pretty skittish, so it’s cool to hear yours is being so active in the open. I’ve also heard these are nocturnal, so I’m doubly surprised.

I know they’re supposed to get up to 7-9 inches when full grown, so I’d be curious to see if it outgrows your 75 or not in time.

 

[exnisstech]

I just looked up what they look like. Body shape and mouth remind me a lot of a freshwater fish I used to keep called a rainbow earth eater. It was a great sand sifter

 

[i cant think]

So I went and stayed at my moms house on the intercoastal on FL’s east coast, brought some size 16 hooks to see if I could catch a new pet for this 75g reef I was gifted, and currently rebuilding. Among the handful of wild fish I brought home was this 4.5” pigfish. He was a little bigger than what I was planning on keeping and not a species I was really interested in either. When I put him in the tank I was disappointed to see how washed out his blue and yellow markings were. I kind of thought that I would end up fishing him out and cutting him up to be eel food… until he settled in, and saw his work. This guy cruises around all day and night burying his face in the sand up to his eyeballs looking for food. He keeps the entire sand bed looking freshly stirred and because of that, he’ll be a permanent resident. I will say that my Kenya tree is not appreciating the extra detritus floating around, but doesn’t seem to be bothering anything else. If you live on the East coast or gulf coast and don’t mind seeing a boring silver fish in your tank, go catch a pigfish! He’s great though, seemed completely relaxed after only 12 hours and eats whatever I throw at him.

He doesn’t look boring! He looks stunning even as a just silver fish, the patterning is stunning.