The previous time I was there I noticed a nice Balistoides trigger and set my eyes on it although I have not kept fish-only tanks for some time now. I kept looking at it and looking at it and John Walch said: why don't you get it Albert and quoted me a price.

I really did not have a fish-only tank ready at that time so I said hold it and I will get it the next time.

Well, this time my tank was ready and OOP went oops into a bag!

OOP was named because of my present interest in Object Oriented Programming if case you wonder.

As you all know or most of you anyway, these are most interesting fish to watch. The KOSMO series of articles in MFM was a good example of how "funny" these fish can actually be.

OOP is no exception. He is a "trip"!

I fed him crabs at the AWC and this morning got him a treat, a large cooked shrimp. He devoured the meat over a period of one hour, as I fed him little bits at a time, in between doing other things.

His first real funny act was to attack power head in the tank as I guess he did not like the strong current it is making so the attacked and attacked until he must have figured out that it was useless. Not being a parrot fish he was not able to destroy it, thank God.

He also decided to do a little rock rearranging in the tank (I keep live rock in the tank). Well a little is an understatement ! He played tank architect for about an hour and made all sorts of rock tumble over. Since I really don't care where they are I just left them, only to find that OOP did not like his own architecture and now he is trying to move rocks around (not easy with that small little mouth of his though). I will just let him play for a while and then do some rearranging myself and see what happens. Believe me, if you want a fish that is fun to watch OOP is the type you should get. Of course be careful what else you put in the tank as he will make a meal out of crabs and snails.

The set up includes a 30 gallon tank, internal powerhead Visijet 1000, a 10 gallon sump with Eheim pumps for the skimmer and the water return. The Top Fathom 110A installed on the tank is doing a real good job. I did modify the venturi slightly to allow for more air to be drawn in. Pulling out real nice "muck" (oxymoron I guess).

I will keep you updated on how OOP does from time to time. 

Part II

After rearranging the tank somewhat to better accommodate OOP's wishes and making more open spaces for him to swim through, OOP decided to leave the rocks alone. Seems like he is now satisfied.

He devoured a whole large shrimp in the afternoon and seemed to want more. OOP is a big boy and needs lots of food it seems! Right now he is about 4.5 inches (without the tail measured).

The tank has some empty hermit crab shells in it that I added from leftovers that were laying around. I cleaned them and then added them to the tank right on the bare bottom.

OOP thinks this is funny and "plays" with them, arranging them one way and then a few minutes later rearranging them all. Interesting to watch how he moves them as he has to grab them and that is not always easy with his small mouth.

If he cannot grab them, he will just push them around until he seems satisfied for a while anyway.

He may do this for half an hour at a time. Funny is the least I can say.

OOP likes to move into the higher currents and then go somewhere else where the current is lower, only to return to the current areas over and over again.

I checked him thoroughly and he is "clean" and, of course, the tank is dosed with vitamin C as I have found that this not only increases color, keeps parasites away but also increases appetite. Not that he needs it increased as he seems to want to eat and eat and get more. I dose at 5 ppm once a day.

OOP sure produces a lot of waste material as the skimmer is really foaming and doing a good job. That Top Fathom is a pretty good skimmer for a smaller tank and I have heard that it is actually rated for larger tanks so you may wish to consider the 110A even if your tank is larger than 30 gallons.

I add the usual supplements for fish-only tanks (in my case Vital Gold mostly).

Somehow a little strip of white plastic got into the tank and he thinks that it may be food so he keeps going after it, especially when it is being moved around by the current, holds it in his mouth and soon spits it out. Then somewhat later the will try the same, over and over again. I finally removed it but it was neat to watch him chase it and then taste it and decide it was not food and spit it out.

Right now there are no other fish in that tank so he is a bit lonely I guess. I will be adding some larger fish in a few days and see what happens. From what I know from previous experience this is not a problem.

In a few days I am going to add some Grunge and live sand. That should be an interesting experience as I have a feeling OOP will be rearranging that too in heaps. I have seen other B. conspicilum do this in different tanks so I kind of know what to expect.

OOP loves crabs. Small ones. If some come out of the live rock, they are history in no time actually. He first crushes them and lets them get away but eventually he just decides that he should have a meal and proceeds to break them bit by bit and eat them. Since I do not find the shells themselves he is obviously crushing those too.

OOP is kind of docile and can be stroked but I do have to watch out as he can turn around real quick and take a nip at my fingers. Eventually he should eat out of my hand. I have seen it done by others so I know it is only a matter of time. Be careful though if you have this fish as their nip can be pretty strong and you could have a fish hanging on the end of your fingers. And with those little teeth, he may be hard to get off.

He does swim through the holes in the rocks but seems to prefer the open space of the tank more. When I put my hand in the tank he does not panic but watches closely what is going on. Surprisingly enough he will not attack. Others I have seen do and make a real fast dash for the hand. Better be fast if yours is a little more aggressive.

Today's food is going to be scallop meat. I feed in the afternoon around 15:00 and feed him only once a day. I do feed a substantial amount though as this kind of fish does need a lot of food indeed.

More to follow. 

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