Bicolor dottyback

[pkirby]

I have a new 75 gallon, soon to be reef tank. I added my first fish to the tank, it is a bicolor dottyback.

I added the fish to the tank and he was doing fine all day. He'd stay very close to the rockwork, but he was swimming around and could be seen. The next morning he looked happy still and was swimming fine. I tried giving him food and he'd swim to it like he wanted to eat it, but then didn't... I left home for a few hours, and when I got back I couldn't find the guy anywhere. I looked a few times yesterday trying to spot him and still couldn't! I looked again this morning and again, couldn't find him?

I know these fish like to hide, but do they stay hidden pretty much all the time? If I don't seem him today at all, then tomorrow I'll consider moving rock around in case he died...

Anyone have much experience with these? Also, I tried feeding both frozen food and flakes with no luck, what are you feeding yours?

Thanks

[MrTuskfish]

Your CUC could have gone to work and eaten the corpse. These fish will eat about anything. IMO & IME; frozen (like mysis) is the easiest way to get most new fish eating. I'd ditch the flakes, IMO, they're for goldfish---too much waste. I'd defiantly set up a QT before stocking your new tank. Not only can a QT prevent introduction of parasites and disease; but they offer a secure place for new fish to acclimate You'll probably never know; but your dottyback could easily have died from something contagious.

[Monkeyfish]

He may just be hiding or he could have perished. I wouldn't worry yet. If you don't find him in a few days then he may have been eaten by your CUC upon his demise.

On a side note - bicolor dottybacks are extremely aggressive fish. Were you planning on having other aggressive fish in the tank? If not, and he's still alive, he could be problematic for any fish such as darts, gobies, etc.

[snorvich]

Good advice in the two posts above.

[pkirby]

Thanks for your replies so far!

I didn't realize how aggressive they were when I got him/her and mainly got it because my wife really wanted it! Not to sound mean, but since they are aggressive it may be best if he died...Then I won't have to explain to my wife why I took her fish back! Lol... :-/... I personally am fond of gobies, I really like a yellow watchman I have in my 30 gallon reef tank!

I knew better than to buy a fish without knowing much about it...

[Monkeyfish]

You could get a royal gramma to replace the dottyback for your wife (if it's a goner). Grammas have a similar color scheme though they aren't as bright/boldly colored IMO. Still a nice fish though and it will get along with gobies.

[MrTuskfish]

You could get a royal gramma to replace the dottyback for your wife (if it's a goner). Grammas have a similar color scheme though they aren't as bright/boldly colored IMO. Still a nice fish though and it will get along with gobies.

Yeah, and not nearly as aggressive as the dottyback. Many dottybacks, especially when introduced first, can make life miserable for small newcomers. I have to admit though, dottybacks are probably my favorite smaller fish.

[pkirby]

So I moved a couple rocks and found the guy... I had to litterally turn the rock upside down for him to swim out though!... Anyways, he's still hiding so I can't see him. Is there some food I can maybe draw him out with? The frozen food doesn't seem to be interesting him much... I'll probably talk to my wife tonight and see if she's ok with me taking him back to the petstore and trading for another fish... Not what I planned obviously, but whatever

Thanks for mentioning the royal grama, it may work as a compromise...

[pkirby]

All hope for him is lost... He didn't make it through the night. Thank you all for your comments and advice!

[snorvich]

What are you water parameters?

[pkirby]

My levels are testing 0 across the board. My salinity is 1.022 and my ph is 8.1...temp is 77-78

In the 3 days I had the fish I never got it to eat. There are no visible signs on it's body, I looked closely for any spots or faded color, etc... I definitely don't understand what would have caused it to die unless it was unhealthy when I got it... But like I said, the first day I had it it stayed out where I could see it. It was about 15 hours after introducing it to the tank that it started hiding and not showing itself at all.

[Monkeyfish]

May have been the fish then. I've always found them to be hardy and good eaters, quick to acclimate to a new tank.