New Harlequin Tusk

runn3rb3an

runn3rb3an

Active Member
I picked up a nice looking Tusk yesterday for about 40 bucks
didn't think that it was such a bad price.

I got him in at about 12 last night after about 2-2 1/2 I would have done the acclimation for longer but I had to be up early.
Anyway when I woke up today he was going up and down the glass preatty fast and wouldn't stop haha. When i got home about a half hour ago he seemed more docile. how do these fish usually act? I thought they were a little reclusive?
I tried feeding a mixture of artci pods, mysis, angel formula, and clams soaked in vita chem in the morning and he got exited and swam to where i was feeding but didnt eat anything. the same thing happened the second time I fed, (mysis about 10 min ago) is there anything else I should try or just give him time?
I was also concerned about how it was caught. I forgot what exactly its called but its common with these excpecially non australian is what I heard. (mines not aussie i think) what would be some symptoms of this?
 
olemiss

olemiss

Member
The philipine tusk are generally cyanide caught, and therefore have a dismal survival rate, hence the low price. Australians will have blue teeth, more blue in the body and a much much higher cost. My LFS will only carry Aussie tusk but I assume they are pretty simliar. Mine is pretty mellow. I feed krill, mysis, clams, silversides, and sand eels. I read that frozen krill (the large ones) will supposedly make their color sharper.
 
runn3rb3an

runn3rb3an

Active Member
Yea I'm 98%shure its not a Austalian. should I try feeding it something else though or let him get use to the tank first?
 
rdub62

rdub62

Member
austrailian harleguin tusks are in the wrasse family. therefore are very active fish.
my lfs sells them for 150+ $ as a 1-2inches juvi...
so if that is the type you got you should feel blessed!
if you got one of the other types i've never heard of until reading other's post on this thread i don't have any info about those^^
 
runn3rb3an

runn3rb3an

Active Member
I'll get some pics up later. Its very nice looking, just not australian, and he ate mysis like crazy today btw.
I think Im more worried about the cyanide poisoning because he keeps going up and down the glass and he bumps into the other sides kinda
 
littlej2455

littlej2455

Member
Are these fish usually able to hold their own ground? Like putting them in the main tank, are they able to withstand tangs and triggers until they get use to him being there? Basically are they aggressive enough?
 
rdub62

rdub62

Member
Originally Posted by littlej2455
http:///forum/post/3058199
Are these fish usually able to hold their own ground? Like putting them in the main tank, are they able to withstand tangs and triggers until they get use to him being there? Basically are they aggressive enough?
i'm not sure at all what type he has.
they are very able to hold their own in semi aggressive fish only tanks. but i wouldn't risk putting with any huge puffers, triggers or sharks. deffinately not with any other of the same species.
just keep in mind that this is a WRASSE and the more fish you have in the same tank the more water you will need.
i've seen one at LFS about 7.5 inches at least! they have it in 1000g+ tank for show with a couple tangs, angels, and other pretty fish haha.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
There is a tremendous color difference between Aussies and IO tusks; both are gorgeous, but the Aussies have much more blue. IMO, they are also more robust. Check out the 2 vets site for a good side-by-side pic of both. SWF.com sells the IO tusk; but their pic is an Aussie---I wish they'd change it, its very misleading. $40 guarantees an IO tusk; or a dumb dealer. Tusks are generally shy, for a large wrasse; but (IME) don't hesitate to be plenty aggressive at feeding time and will not often let themselves be bullied. They get bolder with time. The up & down the glass is common for many new fish and I wouldn't associate it with cyanide. Eating well is a good sign; give him lots of meaty stuff. Raw shrimp, squid, clam, etc.
 
rdub62

rdub62

Member
Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/3058238
There is a tremendous color difference between Aussies and IO tusks; both are gorgeous, but the Aussies have much more blue. IMO, they are also more robust. Check out the 2 vets site for a good side-by-side pic of both. SWF.com sells the IO tusk; but their pic is an Aussie---I wish they'd change it, its very misleading. $40 guarantees an IO tusk; or a dumb dealer. Tusks are generally shy, for a large wrasse; but (IME) don't hesitate to be plenty aggressive at feeding time and will not often let themselves be bullied. They get bolder with time. The up & down the glass is common for many new fish and I wouldn't associate it with cyanide. Eating well is a good sign; give him lots of meaty stuff. Raw shrimp, squid, clam, etc.
haha thanks i will change my post now. i was quite curious about that. there are a couple other mistakes they have that i notices on the blue face angel's descriptions as well. but hey no one's perfect.
 
runn3rb3an

runn3rb3an

Active Member
Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/3058238
There is a tremendous color difference between Aussies and IO tusks; both are gorgeous, but the Aussies have much more blue. IMO, they are also more robust. Check out the 2 vets site for a good side-by-side pic of both. SWF.com sells the IO tusk; but their pic is an Aussie---I wish they'd change it, its very misleading. $40 guarantees an IO tusk; or a dumb dealer. Tusks are generally shy, for a large wrasse; but (IME) don't hesitate to be plenty aggressive at feeding time and will not often let themselves be bullied. They get bolder with time. The up & down the glass is common for many new fish and I wouldn't associate it with cyanide. Eating well is a good sign; give him lots of meaty stuff. Raw shrimp, squid, clam, etc.
Cool thanks
the reason I asked about him swimming up and down the glass is because I thought I read somewhere that a sign if cyanide poisoning was blindness and I didn't know if he was going blind or something LOL.
He is still doing it but less and less. He is eating great now too. Not too shy unless I move quickly by the tank.
Thanks!
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by Rdub62
http:///forum/post/3058246
haha thanks i will change my post now. i was quite curious about that. there are a couple other mistakes they have that i notices on the blue face angel's descriptions as well. but hey no one's perfect.
Your right, nobody's perfect. But there is such a dramatic difference between tusks that they almost appear as different species. I think SWF.com is great; but if I ordered a tusk and expected it to look like the pic...then got an IO tusk, I'd have a right to be very PO'd. This is not a minor thing. HEY MODS, CAN YOU FIX THIS?
 
runn3rb3an

runn3rb3an

Active Member
when they come in swf usually says where they are from. If not just ask them what type they are when they come in but you can't order one specifically.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by littlej2455
http:///forum/post/3058955
Do you know if you can ask for the Australian tusk?
I've never seen an Aussie on this site. This is prime season for them and there are a couple of online dealers that do have them now. Not cheap, but well worth the extra $ (IMO). A major online dealer usually has them as a weekly special every few weeks this time of year. BTW, almost all Aussie tusks are caught by divers with barbless hooks---just a bit of worthless trivia. I use barbless hooks to catch fish I want to move all the time. Safe & effective; but most folks just don't believe it.
 
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