- Fish Questions -
I have a few questions I was wondering if you might be able to help me with; I just recently bought a 2 inch specklefin grouper (Epinephelus ongus) for my fish only tank; I was wondering if they keep their color as adults? <Their coloration does change a bit as they get older.> And if you think he'll be less aggressive than my old miniata grouper (I recently donated to my local aquarium)? <Hard to predict. Is still a bass with a large mouth...> Also you think in later years him and my blood red hawk fish will ever have problems? <Again, depends on what size it tops out at - in the wild you can expect about 12" - even at half this size it could easily consume the hawkfish. Personally, I don't trust groupers/basses with anything smaller than them.> Thanks for your time....
<Cheers, J -- >

- Giant Mouth with an Appetite -
Hi all!
Just got done reading some more articles on your wonderful site, the last being about groupers and such.  I have a "black tipped grouper" (Epinephelus fasciatus). It is about 7" in length.  Knowing the general rule of "if it can fit in it's mouth...", I purchased  another fish recently that I assumed the grouper could not eat.  
This was a particularly large damsel (about 4") and mean as can be imagined- if you put your face near the tank he would come charging and slam into the glass about 5+ times trying to get your eyes!..  same with reaching in the tank..
Anyhow, the groupers mouth opens fairly large- about the size of a quarter.. the damsel being nearly 3" tall not including fins obviously is much bigger than that.
To make a long story short- the grouper apparently got mad about the damsel bugging him and is now in the process of digesting him....
So the moral of the story is if ya gotta grouper, make sure other fish are bigger than the grouper- I would have bet anyone or anything that there wasn't a chance of this happening -  but the fin in the throat and the big fat belly prove it I guess.
PS: can this kill AHHHHHH? <Doubtful.>
PSS: My wife asked our two year old daughter to name it - she looked at it covered her eyes with both hands and screamed AHHHHHHHHHH at the top of her lungs.  She does this whenever we ask her the fishes name.
Thanks
<Ah yes... thanks for sharing. Is a common tale, and one that few people think their little groupers are capable of duplicating. Cheers, J -- >

Fw: Fish Story
http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,3531653%255E421,00.html
<Thanks for sending this along Kel... any interest in hauling down to here with us in March/April? I am not petting (or pestering) this grouper! Bob F> 

Re: Fw: Fish Story
Giant groper eh? I would hate to be groped by a grouper.
<Me too. Bob F>
Jason Kim
President
AquaC, Inc.

Epinephelus marginatus en Deutschen
Dear Mr. Fenner,
I am searching for the German name of Epinephelus marginatus.
Could you be so kind to help me?
<Riesen-Zackenbarsch Mein Herr:
http://www.fishbase.org/ComNames/CommonNamesList.cfm?ID=6rginatus&stockcode=6792
Wiedersen. Bob Fenner>
Awaiting your answer
Sincerely
Dr. Bruno Weyers

Yellowfin blue grouper
Bob, last June i bought a 3-4 inch flavocoeruleous grouper not surprisingly it has grown quickly and is now about 9 inches long but my question is is it usual for them to lose the yellow in their fins so quickly mine was almost completely blue within four months , i ask because i have pictures of these fish in some good divers guides and they still have yellow fins and going off the scale of the pictures are clearly larger than mine but with magnificent amounts of yellow, thanks for your time....Graham Hannan
<Yes... Epinephelus caeruleus can have very nice color for years, many inches in size (approaches three feet in length in the wild)... I have a pic of a two foot plus individual taken a few years back at the Wilmelma Aquarium in Germany that is gorgeous still... You may be able to reverse the color loss by supplementing the fish's foods with vitamin preparations (soak in Selcon, Microvit, Zoecon or such for a good fifteen minutes ahead of offering.) And of course, the usual statement here concerning keeping water quality optimized and stable... 
Bob Fenner>