Top of the World

While the tank lights were out, I noticed small snail attached to big snail, with big snail's foot fully extended, on the highest rock in the tank. I guess they like the current up there at night.

Clown at home

Survey says....he likes it!

Mantis Shrimp / Shako (蝦蛄) / Lai Liu Ha (攋尿蝦)

Since I don't have a quarantine tank, I drop my Live Rock directly into my tank, after drip acclimation. The LFS in Tokyo I go to told me that that was fine. So far it hasn't been too much of an issue, in terms of zero deaths-caused-by-LR-nitrate-stank-pollution. However, I have had a couple of interesting hitchhikers.

This one here is a Mantis Shrimp, about an inch long. I didn't know what these were til I did some research... weeks after I bought my LR, I noticed some googly things moving in the dark. The reason why it was so compelling was probably because of this:

• "Mantis shrimp possess hyperspectral colour vision, allowing up to 12 colour channels extending in the ultraviolet[10]. Their eyes (both mounted on mobile stalks and constantly moving about independently of each other) are similarly variably coloured, and are considered to be the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom.[11][12]"
  (Source: see below) The independent eye movement was definitely interesting, and weird.

I couldn't get a pic, but this sucker was peeping out of his hideout in the LR. After id'g it on this out online, at TalkingReef, I quickly found that this species is a deadly one, which kills other things in your tank. What sealed the deal for me was this video, of a pet Mantis Shrimp (a huge one), killing a crab.

Nicknames: Thumb Splitters, Sea Locusts, Prawn Killers



Also interesting, is that Japanese eat this as Sashimi (Shako 蝦蛄), and the Cantonese eat this stir fried (affectionately called, Lai-Liu-Ha, "pissing shrimp" (攋尿蝦) due to the fact that they spray water when taken out of the tanks live). I remember the stir fry, these suckers have sharp shells, and can easily cut your fingers.

(Right: This is what I call "Mantis-Style")

(Left: Mantis-Style 2. Right: Playing Dead - these critters are smart. I think it was doing that so it could bolt if I gave it a chance).

How to catch a Mantis Shrimp:
I grabbed the Live Rock it was in, put it in the sink, and used a hypodermic-type thing I bought in the 100 Yen shop (in the makeup section) to spray room-temperature water at the hole. It slithered out, like a millipede, into another hole. Sprayed again, and it fell onto the sink. That was it.

The fish store agreed to take it back (no credit of course :)). They were like, "Shakko...!"

Source: Wikipedia

Chitons

Check out these Chitons. I didn't know what these were either, until I posted the photos to an aquarium message board. These critters are supposedly harmless, and graze on algae. However, they have multiplied quickly, so I may need to do a bit of "cleansing". I'm also paranoid that they will one day crawl out of the tank, crawl into my ear and latch onto my brain stem. You can understand my fear when you see these prehistoric badboys upfront. Check out this research publication with different species of Chitons. Definitely gives me the heebie jeebies... *Brrrrrr*

If you've had any experience with Chitons, let me know...

Crab pictures

(Below L to R): Crab on Coral, Crab eating a pc of scallop upside down, Crab eating dried shrimp)

(Below L to R): Crab hitching a ride on Crab, Crab eating dead shrimp, Crab wandering

Canine Crustaceans

(Original post date: May 1)
My "fish" tank has been relegated to a crustacean tank, as parasites run rampant in Hong Kong fish (maybe that's why $50 fish in the US cost $1-2 in Hong Kong). Anyways, I have 3 inhabitants.
1) Cleaner shrimp
2) Hermit crab (Plain orange)
3) Hermit crab (Fluorescent blue, with black stripes)

The cleaner shrimp was originally purchased in order to de-parasite the fish I was buying. Since all the fish have since passed, the shrimp is left to eat algae and whatever microorganisms are in the tank. That said, it has molted healthily, and survived without much care. The crabs have done just as well. I just returned from a 2-week trip, and all three were still thriving in my 29-gallon tank.

Although raising crustaceans may seem (it is) a tad boring, they actually do have interesting quirks. For instance, I just put some dried shrimp at the bottom of the tank, and just a few moments afterwards, the Blue hermit crab smelled it and rushed over to start at it. It was like a dog finding a bone!

Frog/Toad

Interesting Frog or Toad in a Taipei pet store.

Hell in Hong Kong = Ocean Park

I hadn't been to Hong Kong's Ocean Park in 10 years... and I probably won't go back for another 10. I had heard it had been doing well since Disney opened, but this was ridiculous. Maybe it was due to the Chinese New Years weekend (Feb 24, the second one), but I was basically able to see China with a 15 minute bus ride to Aberdeen.

The pictures below are indicative of the horror we faced as long lines and huge and unruly crowds. The China aspect was due to 95% of the visitors being from the mainland, and bringing their local customs along. I was pushed countless times, had my butt hit, my head brushed, had my shoulder grabbed from behind (by a Singaporean).

There are a few potential strategies for waiting in line the mainland way.
1. One is just to keep cutting people, even though you're in a 2-3 person-wide line, within enclosed ropes. Just shove your way through, it's OK. You don't know any better.
2. Another common method is to keep intense pressure on the person in front of you. This means you want to keep bodily contact with that person at all times. When the line shifts forward, you close the gap with the person in front by bumping into their back, and maintaining physical contact. Gender does not matter - you don't care, because you are on a goddam mission and failure is unacceptable. Keep doing this until the person can't take being violated anymore, and lets you take their position.

No matter which method you choose, be sure to "act" oblivious when somebody yells at you or talks down to you. It's OK, your skin is thick. Further, it doens't matter how old or young you are - be confident that you too can annoy the hell out of someone into advancing your line position.

The best part of Ocean Park was the Aviary, where there weren't many people (probably afraid of the Bird Flu). Here are some pictures from there and a CNY pic.

HK Fish and Geckos

There are two places in Hong Kong that fish hobbyists congregate.

• Kowloon side: Mongkok's Goldfish Street (金魚街)
  There are a few blocks worth of fish stores (saltwater and freshwater), where you'll find fish cheaper than you ever imagined (vs. US). The stores are usually packed with hobbyists.
• Hong Kong side: Tai Koo place's Hong Kong Aquarium Plaza
  This is an enclosed building, where you can shop in a quieter and cleaner environment than Mongkok. The prices are pretty much the same, perhaps a tad higher for equipment. The pictures you see below are from this plaza, not Mongkok.

So how cheap is cheap? Just look at the floating styrofoam price of HK$ 15 (US$ 1.92) for the Pearlscale or Auriga Butterfly. You'd pay about 25-35 in a fish store (online it's cheaper by a bit). You see full grown dog-face puffer fish for ~$3-4. As you can also see, they pack the fish in tight, and allow you to catch your fish yourself (so you can choose the one you want). Unfortunately equipment is oftentimes more than the US, for the same brands. However, if you feel like gambling, you can go with the China products.

Here you see how they see those sad Goldfish. Just like clothing on a rack, but they're fish in bags. They also sell 'em this way outdoors in Mongkok. On the bottom right you see the cheap freshwater guppies.

Because the fish are so cheap, I rushed my tank setup which probably resulted in several premature deaths. This is a Heniochus butterfly fish which was doing well in my tank for 2 weeks but then caught ick (I guess it was in its body, since there were no fish in the tank before) and died a nasty death. White dots lead to not eating for 2 days, and then he lost balance and died. His body at the TOD was splotched with red marks, which I'm not sure what disease that is.

I came back to my apt at 2AM one evening and went into the bathroom. I was startled by the sight of a swiftly moving gecko (or whatever it is) on my shower wall. It's apparently normal for this to happen in HK. Anyways, I caught it in a box and kept it overnight. I planned to release it into the park, but due to time constraints I ended up "releasing" him into the elevator. I know it sounds cruel, but I didn't spot a cadaver later that day, so he should be fine.