Coral beauty tendencies?

[vessxpress1]

I've only had one coral beauty before and it didn't make it after my move. So it's been over a year now and I just bought a new one yesterday. LFS said it had been feeding since Tuesday. I bought it yesterday, acclimated for an hour, and dropped it in the tank. It immediately swam down and hid behind the rocks. Did not come out at all yesterday and did not eat.

Today, I only noticed it come out a few times to chase away my purple dottyback/strawberry gramma. So far, it's explored the left half of my tank a little bit, but still spends most of it's time hiding behind the rocks. I fed the tank with some frozen mysis and formula 2. It came out but did not eat anything. So it hasn't eaten in 2 days. What do you guys think? Could something be wrong? How long until I should get concerned? I can't remember my last one being this shy. It's a great fish. I'm really hoping to see it swimming around tomorrow.

 

[Bax]

It took my CB about a week to begin to show its real poersonality.

Keep on offering the mysis, it'll come out.

 

[vessxpress1]

Day 3:

Still hiding most of the time. I know it's not getting picked on because it has held it's own. It did come out when I fed the tank today. Offered frozen brine shrimp, vibra gro pellets and Formula 2 flakes because I know it has some garlic in it. Everything else went crazy but it still didn't eat. It would swim to the food but wouldn't eat it. So we'll see what tomorrow brings. LFS said it's pretty common for them to take a week to settle in. Everything else is doing great. Just did a 20% water change yesterday.

 

[jiggy]

mine didnt eat plankton for a month or so.. it just picked at the rocks until one day it just ate plankton and flakes from the water column when i fed the tank

 

[bemmerc]

The 1st thing that comes to mind to me is the following. What other fish do you have in the 38 Gallon tank? I know you say he is holding his own but maybe he is not too comfortable.

I am not preaching to you but I feel that I should tell you that I had a lot more problems with new arrivals before I began to Quarantine. I really see making sure the fish is disease free as secondary. The most important thing to me is letting the fish gain strength. You learn the fish's feeding habits and he learns yours.

Sorry for the rant, but these guys are so right around here. Do everything the RIGHT way and you never have a quarter of the problems in the 1st place.

That being said, I would try to isolate the fish and give him a little individual scrutiny. Let him relax and see if he will accept food.

Good luck

 

[vessxpress1]

The only other fish is that purple dotty back and my maroon clown that basically stays in the BTA. The interaction so far has been interesting. If anything, the dotty back is intimidated by the CB. The maroon clown and CB have looked at eachother but pretty much ignore eachother. Other than that I have a few peppermint shrimp, hermits, starfish, and coral. Haven't been home to see if it's out today. It was kept with a handful of other fish at the store. I'm pretty sure it isn't bothered by the other fish.

 

[DylanE]

maroons can be pretty aggressive cant they? maby you just havent seen him in action yet

 

[vessxpress1]

Day 4:

Just to keep this updated, still no activity. The only reason I know it's alive is that it peaked out for a moment, one time since I got home. Didn't come out when I fed frozen plankton today. It was swimming all over the place at the LFS. I know it's only been 4 days but the odds aren't getting any better for it.

I saw the CB go nose to nose with the Maroon clown the other day and neither did anything. They just went back and ignored each other. The few times I saw the CB come out, the other two fish haven't shown any aggression at all. The gramma has claimed a small area on the opposite side of the tank mainly, but will roam a little.
The CB is small but bigger than both other fish. I'm starting to wonder if it doesn't have something wrong with it. I don't know why else it would want to stay in the dark all day and not eat.

 

[vessxpress1]

Well, day 6 came and went with no sign of the CB. It's just dissapeared. Looked in all the dark areas with a flashlight and did not see it anywhere at any time of the day. I'm pretty sure that it's a goner. I hate this. I haven't bought a fish in a long time and finally decide to drive 100 miles to get one more and it screws me. It's like a double kick in the pants. Spending 30 dollars to basically pollute your tank. Don't know whether to tear everything apart now or not.

 

[cristhiam]

Sorry about your CB, but don't tear the tank apart. A mature tank should be able to hold 1 dead fish just check your amonia levels. Next time just set up a cheap QT tank and your fish should have a better chance of survival.

 

[Merredeth]

I'm sorry to hear about the coral beauty mia.

Next time you buy a coral beauty, I'd do drip acclimation for about an hour and a half.

Before putting him in the tank rearrange some rocks and corals so everyone is confused. The other fish will look for the new hiding places and will not bother the beauty as much, thus preventing him from stressing out over the change to your tank from the LFS and the bag you brought him home in. Feed your fish and then turn out the lights for the day. Then add the coral beauty.

The following day, when feeding it, soak some Fomula One frozen food in some freshly pressed garlic or use Garlic Extreme and soak the food for about half an hour before feeding it to the tank.

I prefer using fresh garlic and a garlic press. Just take part of a clove and press it in the garlic press. Then add about a tablespoon of tank water with a cube of Formula One. You could also mix in some frozen brine shrimp and let it soak as well. While the brine has little nutritional value, the concern is to get him to eat something first so it will become a habit.

My Beauties were each shy when they were first introduced to my tanks (I have multiple tanks and they are a favorite of my hubby's) but adding the garlic is your best bet.

Hope those ideas help you out.