Yellowtail Wrasse- PLEASE HELP!

[FishFatty]

On saturday, i bought a yellowtail wrasse. it was swimming all around until tonight...i cannot find him. I think i saw it earlier today, but cant find it now. I know they like to bury themselves in the sand, and they like to jump. I checked around the tank, and he did not jump out. i searched the sand for like 25 mins, and could not find him. My sand bed is not that deep. Can someone please help me? I really have no clue what to do, and hope i didnt loose $45. Tankmates are (2) oscelrious clowns, and (1) strawberry pseduchromis.

PLEASE HELP ANYONE!!!

[kirstenk]

Did you find it?

Check the overflow. They are good at hiding so I would not get too worried yet.

[FishFatty]

YES! i found him this morning...didnt even think he was in there! How long can they hide at a time? Thanks for your help!

[kirstenk]

Glad he showed up. Ya may want to put some eggcrate on top to prevent jumping and the pseduchromis may have spooked him so he went AWOL for a awhile. Some fish can hide very good. I have a goby that went AWOL for 1 1/2 months. :)

[FishFatty]

Thanks, and sorry, but what does AWOL mean? Thx.

[Bebo77]

military term

abscent with out leave...

[FishFatty]

Okay, now he just kind of lays in the sand, acting like hes dead. Is this normal? Thanks

[socalreefer73]

Well if you'd stop poking at him with a stick....

[FishFatty]

im not poking at him with a stick...where did it ever say that on this post except in the beginning? Did it say I was continuing to poke him?

[socalreefer73]

So you Were poking it with a stick? :rollface:

I apologize.. my humor fell flat on that one. The only fish that I've read that lays on it's side sometimes and plays dead is a blue tang, and that's usu. because there are insufficient hiding places for them.



It sounds like he's been through a lot in the past few days.

[FishFatty]

he hasnt been through alot really in the last few days...i dont know why he is acting so odd'y??:confused:

[FishFatty]

so is this normal??

[zemuron114]

they can be burried for weeks without any ill effect. digging them up to find them is very very bad for them because it causes unneeded stress. If he isn't in the overflow or on the carpet, he is in the sand, so let him be until he comes out on his own :) He will be much happier!

[FishFatty]

thankyou so much! i wont bother him!

[zemuron114]

how big is he? If he is just laying on the sand, the sand bed might not be deep enough for him. A LFS in Hawaii gets in big yellow tail coris wrasse and puts them in a tank with a 3-4" sand bad, but sometimes i see them laying down on their side because they are use to digging 8+ into the sand.

Just a thought. Is he eating at all?

[FishFatty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7778545#post7778545 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zemuron114
how big is he? If he is just laying on the sand, the sand bed might not be deep enough for him. A LFS in Hawaii gets in big yellow tail coris wrasse and puts them in a tank with a 3-4" sand bad, but sometimes i see them laying down on their side because they are use to digging 8+ into the sand.

Just a thought. Is he eating at all?

He is about 3 1/2 inches maybe... My sand is about 1" deep, and he does bury himself in it...i plan on getting more sand...just waiting on the guy to give it to me. I havent really seen him come out and eat when i feed the tank...is any of this a problem? Thanks!

[zemuron114]

sounds normal for these guys. If you can get some live feeder shrimp it will entice him. These wrasses always eat the shrimp!

[FishFatty]

Thanks!

[FishFatty]

alright...now for 2 days he has been laying ON the sand, sideways, and not IN the sand. I did add some more sand...thinking it would help him out a bit.He seems to be breating a little quickly. Should i be worried?? Someone please help!!! Im really worried!!!!!!:( :( :( :( :( :(

[FishFatty]

thanks...now its dead:(

[socalreefer73]

((I know these may sound like silly questions))

Did you make sure it was eating before you brought it home?

Have you purchased from that LFS before without issue? Was it a mom-and-pop store or a retail chain?

How long was the wrasse at the LFS? ((it's very stressful for a fish to be captured, shipped, unpacked, then soon repacked and taken home)) It's better to pick up a fish still packed when their order arrived or let the fish recover and regain it's strength at the LFS (and eating again) for a week or so before taking it home.

Do you have the right grain size on the gravel? Will those type of wrasses perish without proper gravel?

Did you acclimate the fish properly?

Maybe he just went through too much stress and couldn't come back. (not necessarily from your 20 minute poking around in the sand)

It's a frowned upon practice, but some collectors still use cyanide to capture fish. They may survive for a few weeks after that, but most perish soon after. This fish just could have been doomed to die, regardless of your care.

[FishFatty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7803168#post7803168 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by socalreefer73
((I know these may sound like silly questions))

Did you make sure it was eating before you brought it home?

Have you purchased from that LFS before without issue? Was it a mom-and-pop store or a retail chain?

How long was the wrasse at the LFS? ((it's very stressful for a fish to be captured, shipped, unpacked, then soon repacked and taken home)) It's better to pick up a fish still packed when their order arrived or let the fish recover and regain it's strength at the LFS (and eating again) for a week or so before taking it home.

Do you have the right grain size on the gravel? Will those type of wrasses perish without proper gravel?

Did you acclimate the fish properly?

Maybe he just went through too much stress and couldn't come back. (not necessarily from your 20 minute poking around in the sand)

It's a frowned upon practice, but some collectors still use cyanide to capture fish. They may survive for a few weeks after that, but most perish soon after. This fish just could have been doomed to die, regardless of your care.

No, i meant to ask if it was eating, but didnt:( ... The pet store to me has been the most reliable, besides their warranty. it was a petland. I believe the fish was at the store for a day or so...if i wouldnt have gotten it then, it proally would have been gone. I have some southdown sand, and more bahamas ooginate(sp?). Yes, i acclimated for 2hrs 15mins. What does cyanide mean? Thanks for your help! i appreciate it.

[socalreefer73]

You can't merely ask if they are eating. You should ask to see them eat before purchasing. Almost all pet stores don't have a warrantee on salt-water fish. I know liveaquaria.com has a 14-day guarantee. A good, non-retail chain LFS should let you put a deposit down on a fish so that they won't sell it to anyone else till you come pick it up...

Cyanide (CN) is a poison. I think it was big as rat poison, but it is used to temporarily stun fish for capture.

I think the sand you're talking about is Aragonite?

I would recommend that you get a few books on Marine Aquaria and read them. I'm not trying to put you down by saying that, but I'm sure you'll find them hard to put down and you can bet money on everything that has been said in them is backed up by scientific fact, unless otherwise noted. Look for newer books not too much more than a couple years old, but there are a few classics out there that are still good reading. If you want some suggestions for reading, I can point you to a few that I read and know are interesting and have very good information in them.

Glad to help,
-M