tusk wrasse acting funny

ws6envy

ws6envy

Member
Properly intruduced an aust. tusk wrasse in the tank 2 days ago. By day he hides and breathes really hard with his mouth open about 25%. but when the lights go out and the lunars come on he cruises around a pretty frequently. He eats well but in hiding getting scraps the others discard. Is this common???
tank list...
humu humu, pink tail and niger triggers, porc. puffer, green bird wrasse, lionfish, and a damsel.
 
kjr_trig

kjr_trig

Active Member
His breathing fast is a bit concerning but I wouldn't worry too much yet, you have some bold fish in there, and Harly Tusk's are somewhat shy by wrasse standards, your Tusk may take awhile to get comfortable, as long as he is getting some food....All your parameters ok? How big is the tank?
 
ws6envy

ws6envy

Member
all the parameters are good. its a 135g and nobody is messing with him. we'll see...what a beautiful fish though.
 
hammerhed7

hammerhed7

Active Member
nothing you describe is abnormal behavior except for the rapid breathing tusks are usually pretty shy until they get established, then they will remain in the open most of the time, just keep an eye on him and make sure none of his tank mates are stressing him out
 
ws6envy

ws6envy

Member
looks today like his scales are swolen, individually raised up. still breathing hard and still at the bottom hiding behind a rock :(
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by ws6envy
http:///forum/post/2523025
rip
Sorry to hear the news; sometimes even the healthiest fish fail to acclimate. For future reference; tusks are almost always very shy at first; especially for a wrasse. Gradually, the get bolder and usually become very visible; while staying close to shelter. IME, the bigger they are, the longer they take to "emerge"...and small ones are almost impossible to find. BTW, I believe almost all of the Australian tusks are caught on barbless hooks by divers, with no apparent ill effects; which probably explains the shortage of small ones.
 
ws6envy

ws6envy

Member
i honestly do not know what happened. the online fish store i bought from had scheduled another fish to come out thursday and I really hope this goes well...nothing makes me feel worse than having a fish die due to essentially my greed. I go through many steps and take my time to acclimate...just got unlucky. hope it never happens again. felt so helpless.
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by ws6envy
http:///forum/post/2523369
i honestly do not know what happened. the online fish store i bought from had scheduled another fish to come out thursday and I really hope this goes well...nothing makes me feel worse than having a fish die due to essentially my greed. I go through many steps and take my time to acclimate...just got unlucky. hope it never happens again. felt so helpless.
Please don't beat yourself up; this has happened to just about anyone who has been around the hobby for long. Look at what these fish go through. As sad as it is; some are simply not going to survive the incredible stress that results from capture, transportation, drugs, acclimation, etc. Very few aquarium fish are in short supply in nature; and while I only speak for myself, if I do everything I can (including research) and still lose a fish---I don't go on any guilt trip. It might not be what a lot of folks want to hear; but, a lot more fish are lost during capture, shipping, holding, etc., etc, than by hobbiests. The marine tropical fish business, IMO, is extremely efficient and goes to great lengths to reduce fish death; but, getting fish from a tropical reef to your tank isn't easy. Good luck with this one, I'll bet it does just fine!
 
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