Yellow assessor--great fish!

[otrlynn]

Just thought I'd share my experience with this fish. I purchased him from a great local fish store about two months ago. After a 4 week QT (no problems) I put him in my 58 gallon DT. I was very concerned when I only caught glimpses of him, mostly at night. For the first two weeks, he mainly hung out under a bridge, dashing out only to eat. Now he is out all the time, though he swims mostly in a somewhat limited area in the front of the tank. This fish needs to be in a peaceful tank and would be a great candidate for a small tank.

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee19/lflemming/IMG_1966cropped.jpg

[barnett8]

Beautiful fish, I love assessors. :thumbsup:

[Wolverine]

I do too. I wish they were available more regularly. They always seem to come in waves.

[steelersfan]

Great fish!!! I have one in my tank, and he is one of my favorites.

[mikenam]

Those small fishes are expensive. 99$?

[otrlynn]

Umm, yeah, but I have occasionally seen them for 89.00. I suppose it seems like more rational to pay more for a larger fish-- although there are some pretty expensive smaller wrasses out there as well!

[snorvich]

I have a blue Assessor that is also excellent and peace loving. Mildly reclusive but no personality issues.

[Bret61081]

I have a pair! I love them! never hid from the day I got them

[basser1]

otrlynn...... I agree with you about this fish. I have one as well and I would highly recommend them. The Yellow just "POPS"! Mine is a little quircky, every once in a while mine will swim upside down or vertically.

[Wolverine]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15465746#post15465746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by otrlynn
Umm, yeah, but I have occasionally seen them for 89.00.

Yikes. Last time I saw one in this area, it was around $30.

[otrlynn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15467281#post15467281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Wolverine
Yikes. Last time I saw one in this area, it was around $30.

In that case grab it, cause they are 89-99 on the online sites I have seen. I snagged mine for 79.00 but it was a special price at a LFS.

[otrlynn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15466790#post15466790 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by basser1
otrlynn...... I agree with you about this fish. I have one as well and I would highly recommend them. The Yellow just "POPS"! Mine is a little quircky, every once in a while mine will swim upside down or vertically.

I have seen mine swim upside down occasionally, and also swim "tilted" so that one lateral fin is higher than the other. I do love the color!

[Terra Ferma]

Great picture

[criccio]

I grabbed the two blues that were on sale on DD. It cracks me up at how content they are to swim upside down under the rock and pick away at it. I was a bit worried about pairing, but they are slowly hanging around each other more and more...great little fish.

[650-IS350]

I love those fish especially a mix of the Yellows and Blues. good color contrast in a tank.

[otrlynn]

Anyone keeping a blue and a yellow in the same tank? Any aggression between the two?

[Bondrake]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15472480#post15472480 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by otrlynn
Anyone keeping a blue and a yellow in the same tank? Any aggression between the two?

I'd like to know too. Think it would be really pretty to have both if they'd get along

[Wolverine]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15472480#post15472480 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by otrlynn
Anyone keeping a blue and a yellow in the same tank? Any aggression between the two?

In a smaller tank, yellows will often harass blues, as they are slightly more aggressive. I've seen them work together fine if the tank is large enough. Yellows also don't work as well in groups as blues do.

[zemuron114]

yellows and blues are actually caught in different location on the reefs, meaning most likely the divers will catch yellows one day and move down the reef and then catch blues. Apparently, they very very rarely catch blues and yellows at the same time in the same vicinity.

Blues get a little bigger, but IME are much more reclusive than yellows. I think ORA was breeding them a while back as well. hear they are pretty easy to breed if you can find a pair.

[Uncko Macko]

Just picked one up for $60 yesterday. It immediately ate frozen mysis while being drip acclimated. Cool fish!

[doggydoc]

I have a yellow and I just added a blue two days ago. Yellow is on one side of the tank, blue on the other side. So far NO PROBLEMS

[rssjsb]

I have a blue Assessor that is also excellent and peace loving. Mildly reclusive but no personality issues.Hey Steve, how is the color on your blue assessor? Do you have a picture?

[Patrick Cox]

These seem like interesting fish but are they out and about much? I was thinking they spend most of their time hidden under rocks and in caves. Do you get to see them much?

THanks.

[zooty]

These seem like interesting fish but are they out and about much? I was thinking they spend most of their time hidden under rocks and in caves. Do you get to see them much?

THanks.


Depends on the size of the tank and other inhabitants.
In a small peaceful tank they will be out and about. In a big tank you may not see it much

[Higgy2010]

Just picked one up for $60 yesterday. It immediately ate frozen mysis while being drip acclimated. Cool fish!

Good deal! I bought mine - rather small, about 1" - from a local wholesaler through a reefer for $80 out here in SoCal about 10 days ago. I saw him for the first time yesterday, dashing out from under a rock and quickly hiding again. Great little fish though - he already swims upside down.

[bobbychullo]

i've had 2 in a 34 gal solana for about 6 months now. they're cool little fish to observe.

they still swim upside-down and sideways all the time. they still hide in the caves pretty often too, they'll come out after feeding in the morning and evening if i lay perfectly still for a bit. they will kind of leap frog each other around the open space in the tank, darting in and out of the rock at various points. my rockscape has a lot of small connected caves and access holes.

when i first put them in i did not have enough rock in there for both of them to be comfortable, i had to add some to create more cave space.

they are not out in the open most of the day. i'm wondering if i should add another fish the "help" them out? im happy with them and have kept them alone until now just so they are happy and have plenty of time to get used to my tank. there is an obvious pecking order. the bigger one sometimes bumps the smaller one out of his space.

[Korrine]

I love these cute lil fish too! Swimming upside down is perfectly natural for them. That's how they hang out in the rocks in nature.

bobbychullo, what about getting a pair of firefish? Not sure on the compatibility but I would think they would be fine. Both peaceful, except for others of the same kind in their tank. Maybe they would help each other come out. I'd watch for pair off DD.

[DeniseAndy]

I got two little guys from my LFS and they are still hiding a bit, but when they come out, they are adorable. They swim upside down and sideways. Very funny to watch. It has only been a week in the display, so waiting for confidence to build in them. One is out a lot. The other I hardly see.

Oh, ORA now breeds these guys. Those are the ones I got (don't like to pull from ocean if can help it). :)

[snorvich]

Hey Steve, how is the color on your blue assessor? Do you have a picture?

the color has remained. Impossible to photograph, unfortunately.

[bobbychullo]

mine are both ORA

@Korrine: i was thinking about that. my local LFS has numerous firefish in stock constantly. its just a matter of when i want to get them...

two helfrichi would be sweet but expensive, can i keep pairs of those? i was trying to avoid a cryptic fish so they didn't fight with the assessors for cave space...

i paid $43 each for my assessors :)

[bigsink]

I got some from ORA. I have seen them once in the month since I got them. I have a big tank with a lot of rock though.

[Gogandantess]

Will someone post pics of theirs? :fish1:

[el aguila]

mine are both ORA

@Korrine: i was thinking about that. my local LFS has numerous firefish in stock constantly. its just a matter of when i want to get them...

two helfrichi would be sweet but expensive, can i keep pairs of those? i was trying to avoid a cryptic fish so they didn't fight with the assessors for cave space...

i paid $43 each for my assessors :)

It seems to be easiest to find pairs of Helfrichis. DD occasionally has pairs of other fire fish. I would think twice before adding firefish if you are not sure that they are a mated pair.

I bought 2 purples from a LFS that had a group. Watched them for 10 minutes, picked out two that were hanging out together away from the others, and thought that I had a mated pair or at least male and female.

They continued to swim everywhere together in my tank for a month or two. The all of a sudden they were not together. The more dominant one now chases the more timid fish every time he sees it. This has been going on for four months. In a smaller tank the timid one would probably be dead, but I have different areas broken up by rock work and plenty of places to hide.

[Elysia]

I have an ORA yellow assessor. When I started in saltwater tanks the assessors were the number one fish that I wanted to have, and being able to purchase one that was captive bred was a real bonus (plus they are less expensive than wild caught.) For months the assessor shared my 93 gallon cube with a small yellow goby, and the assessor was out and about all the time (at which time he swims normally.) The rock work is mostly pillars with some overhangs, and he oftens swims vertically against the pillars and at night swims into small openings in my live rock. When I added a fairy wrasse recently the assessor was picked on a bit, but it did not take long for the assessor to reclaim his "night rock" and swim out in the open again.

My tank will now revolve around my assessor; only extremely peaceful fish are going to be stocked in there with him, and likely very slowly. Has anyone added an assessor to an established assessor before?

[amheck]

Tagging along here for a discussion. I've recently added a few new fish to my Solana (a green clown goby and a tailspot blenny). Although the blenny has only been in there since Saturday, I don't see him a whole lot. Very skiddish. I also wanted to add a yellow assessor, but I'm worried about having too many "hidden" fish.

[basser1]

Just curious but... For those of you that have ORA or captive bred yellow assessors, how is the color?

I've owned wild caught assessors and the yellow was very vibrant in color. I've read where the ones from ORA are not as bright, (more of a mustard color), as the wild ones.

[Korrine]

I agree. I haven't owned a yellow assessor, but I've seen both wild caught and captive bred. Captive's don't have quite the same color. I wonder if it's something lacking in their diet? They all come from bright colored wild stock. They wouldn't breed them if they weren't good stock.

[amheck]

I've read the same FWIW. I've seen the ORA's and the color is nice, so I'd be curious to see how much more vibrant the WC ones are. Although I'm not sure I can shell out $100 for a WC assessor.

[el aguila]

Just curious but... For those of you that have ORA or captive bred yellow assessors, how is the color?

I've owned wild caught assessors and the yellow was very vibrant in color. I've read where the ones from ORA are not as bright, (more of a mustard color), as the wild ones.

I recently asked this question and the general consensus was that juveniles are mustard color regardless of wether wild caught or captive bred.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1970703

[Korrine]

blue assessor

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/itemdisplay.cfm?c=2733+3&ddid=112663&ref=4282&subref=AI&cmpid=E-_-TR-_-DDN-_-PRDCT

[Coraldomination]

Very pretty! I have a black cap, it is one of my favorite fish. They are very similar.

[PiXieCath]

I wonder if I can add another YA to my tank if I already own one for few months...someone have an idea about it? My guess is that I can't, but if it's possible, I'll be really glad about it.:-)

[Korrine]

^its on wetwebmedia.com Read their FAQ's about this fish.

[bobbychullo]

Just curious but... For those of you that have ORA or captive bred yellow assessors, how is the color?

I've owned wild caught assessors and the yellow was very vibrant in color. I've read where the ones from ORA are not as bright, (more of a mustard color), as the wild ones.

as stated earlier, I have 2 ORA and their color is fine. i think as long as they are not stressed and eating well, they color up nicely. at first mine were dark and since they are a timid fish i believe it took a good few months for them to truly acclimate to my tank, in fact its been 6 months and i think they are just now fully acclimated, totally comfortable in the tank swimming in and out of holes in the live rock. they slowly expanded their territory within my tank. and i dont even have any other fish in there with them lol

but yes, my big guy is really healthy, fat and bright yellow, i can see him from across the room. the little guy took a little longer to brighten up, the big guy can be a jerk sometimes

[James983]

I was thinking of adding 2 yellows or blues to my 180 reef, but I have 2 nut job tangs and a Copperbanded who thinks he's a tang in my tank already. Do you guys think adding them would be a bad idea?

[niter]

We do not have a yellow acessor, but here are two attempted photographs of the newest addition to our tank: MacNeil's Blue Acessor. Really delightful fish though a really hard fish to photograph with his speed, shyness, and funky swimming.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5133/5570821523_88c043eaaa_z.jpg

To give an idea of how tiny he is right now and how fast he darts out of the way!

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5139/5571415356_c407059f60_z.jpg