Sixline lying on sand bed??

[sue711]

Hi all,
I've had this wrasse for 3 months and other than the fact that I have witnessed him three times in the last 2 weeks lying on the sand bed in the corner of my tank looking like he is dying :eek1: then he acts perfectly normal afterwards. He will only be there for a minute or two, his eyes looking all over the glass while not moving, not breathing abnormally, but his color looking slightly faded, and then he swims off and cruises the tank. Could he be showing a startled response to something. All my parameters are fine, no new additions to the tank except the MP10 power head - which I have set on 1/3 rd full in the reef crest mode so it's not even a strong flow. He is eating well. I am worried, should I be?? Thanks

[snorvich]

And the parameters which are fine are? How old are you pair of clown fish?

[sue711]

The clownfish and the sixline were added at the same time to my tank. The clownfish are doing well and displaying spawning behavior. They don't mind the sixline, and the female actually lets him touch her to nibble whatever he sees on her.

Parameters: I check most daily, and all of them ever other day
NH3 0
No3 0
Po4 0
Dkh 9-10
Ca 420-445
Temp 78.4 - 79.8
Salinity 1.025
PH 7.93 - 8.14

The tank is 5 months old.

[snorvich]

I am perplexed. The only thing I can think of is that you copepod population has dropped and the sixline is getting improper nutrition. But if your clowns are exhibiting spawning behavior, they will become very aggressive towards any other fish in such a small tank.

[sue711]

The clowns are territorial about their favorite rock, and they don't like the wrasse to swim through their neighborhood where that rock is, but otherwise all three of them swim around the tank together from time to time. Sometimes I see some domination going on and a raised dorsal fin, but everyone goes about their business after a few menacing glares, and they are friends again.

I too thought about the copepod population, as a matter of fact this week end I purchased a container of live Tiggerpods from Reef Nutrition, and dumped it into the display tank. I know the wrasse was having a field day! I don't know how many survived his eager feasting or the clowns, or the filter sock on the sump for that matter, but I plan to do this again next weekend. (I turned off all pumps for 30 minutes, so hopefully the pods got a chance to hide in the rock work) I feed my fish twice a day, and at each feeding the wrasse eats well, enough so that he is bloated! I feed flake or pellet in the AM then a mixture of two thawed foods from the freezer: bloodworms, krill, mysis, daphnia, cyclopeeze, or Rod's food for the PM meal.

Thanks for your help thus far though! :)