Day 7 - New SUPERMALE FLAME WRASSE MISSING MIA - NEED Courage, HAVE YOU SEEN HIM?

[myluckydogs]

Added the most beautiful Flame wrasse to my tank last saturday. First five hours -Day one- he had a great time, was eating frozen shrimp like a champ. He is the largest fish in the tank by far, and no one was bothering him. This was the last time I have seen him..... Let the worry begin.


Did almost 2 hour acclimation and the other 2 fish I purchased that day are very happy and thriving. I have had my glass lid on since I put him in, no chance of escape, checked overflow and sump and sock. Feeding around 2am even though he has not been seen. Added a photo, this is just a rendering of what he would look like 8 days older then the last time he was seen. Just looking for support , as I know in my heart he is in there still healthy.

 

[fishhuman]

Check carpet and under stand, they will hide in the rocks at first, did you quarantine him? I hope you find him I would be crying if I was in your situation.

 

[myluckydogs]

In my 90g tank , Escape is near impossible in my setup. Kinda like fort knox. I have read many places that these fish will hide for a week to 3 weeks, they make a mucous cocoon. I have also read that its even a good sign when they dont re appear too quickly. LFS had hime for over 2 months. No Quarantine but I assure you , from this day forward I will be quarantining.
S

 

[eatbreakfast]

I dont like being the bearer of bad news, but while fairy wrasses do create a mucus cocoon, they dont usually hide for that long. Sand burying wrasses hide longer because of not being familiar with a lighting schedule, rock hiding wrasses can see when the lights are on so should be out soon thereafter.

The only reason a flasher wrasse would still be hiding tis long and still be alive would be from aggression, possibly from another wrasse or dominant fish.

Also a 2 hr acclimation is a bit long, as there can be a dangerous amonia build up, usually a 20min acclimation is all that is needed.

 

[snorvich]

They are initially very reclusive. What other fish are in the tank?

 

[myluckydogs]

So far...

Chevron Tang 2"
Radiant Wrasse ( Peaceful )
2 Designer clowns
Flame Hawk
Long nose hawk
2 helfrichi firefish

no fish have shown any aggression, even flame hawk is peaceful. In fact surprised how well everyone gets along. I put flame wrasse in last as he has an inch in size on everyone in the tank....

 

[myluckydogs]

If he is hiding on account of an aggressive fish , wouldn't I have seen him poke his head out or something by now??

 

[Rea17]

I had 2 flashers in hiding for 10 and 12 days, second just came out yesterday. No aggression whatsoever, but I have an active tank with some big fish and I think they were just intimidated. Both are cruising around like they've been there forever now.

 

[ca1ore]

Nothin useful to add other than that is one spectacular fish. I'm red and yellow with envy!

 

[pktech]

If it is alive & hiding, you could kill 2 birds with one stone by rearranging the rock work - confirming it's alive or not & creating a space where no ones territory is defined. And you might get a little sleep, lol....

 

[myluckydogs]

80 lbs of live rock and ton of coral , this would not be an easy task. Also do these guys hide in the sand??? If so I wouldnt want to cover his current location and trap him by moving rock around. Any other ideas??
S

 

[albano]

I dont like being the bearer of bad news, but while fairy wrasses do create a mucus cocoon, they dont usually hide for that long.

The only reason a flasher wrasse would still be hiding tis long and still be alive would be from aggression, possibly from another wrasse or dominant fish.

Also a 2 hr acclimation is a bit long, as there can be a dangerous amonia build up, usually a 20min acclimation is all that is needed.

+1... Max 20 min acclimation... Even if you do QT, the fish should be added to DT with use of 'acclimation' box

I had 2 flashers in hiding for 10 and 12 days, second just came out yesterday. No aggression whatsoever, but I have an active tank with some big fish and I think they were just intimidated. Both are cruising around like they've been there forever now.

Flames are fairy wrasses not flasher...

Also do these guys hide in the sand???

No, they do not hide in sand

 

[Rea17]

Flames are fairy wrasses not flasher...

I know that, my comment was more in addition to what eatbreakfast said.

 

[pktech]

80 lbs of live rock and ton of coral , this would not be an easy task. Also do these guys hide in the sand??? If so I wouldnt want to cover his current location and trap him by moving rock around. Any other ideas??
S

Not sure what else you could do to ease your concern. It's work like anything else, lol. What are you feeding the fish? Maybe turn the antinics on & see if he comes out? Personally, I'd grab a 6 & move the rock around gently. Sunday footballs on too ... Good luck & hope he's just being a ninja

 

[myluckydogs]

RIP . Game over. Never found corpse or any evidence. Will remain a mystery

 

[CoralsAddiction]

Day 7 - New SUPERMALE FLAME WRASSE MISSING MIA - NEED Courage, HAVE YOU SEEN ...

Day 7 - New SUPERMALE FLAME WRASSE MISSING MIA - NEED Courage, HAVE YOU SEEN ...

Sorry to hear. Beautiful fish. Will always remember the one I saw at Waikiki aquarium. Only fish that really stood out in addition to the peppermint angelfish there.

 

[Nina51]

bummer he never showed back up. sorry you lost him.

on another note, 90g is way too small for your chevron tang.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

RIP . Game over. Never found corpse or any evidence. Will remain a mystery

It may have succumbed to the ammonia build up from the long acclimation. Your clean up crew would have made short work of it. Such a shame, such a beautiful fish. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Deinonych]

Also a 2 hr acclimation is a bit long, as there can be a dangerous amonia build up, usually a 20min acclimation is all that is needed.

+1

If this fish came via mail order, the salinity difference between the transport bag and the DT could have been too great. Another advantage of QT - you can match the QT salinity to that of the transport bag without having to worry about lengthy acclimation. Just match temps, add some QT water to the bag a couple of times and transfer the fish to the tank.

 

[snorvich]

+1

If this fish came via mail order, the salinity difference between the transport bag and the DT could have been too great. Another advantage of QT - you can match the QT salinity to that of the transport bag without having to worry about lengthy acclimation. Just match temps, add some QT water to the bag a couple of times and transfer the fish to the tank.

this is by far the best way to acclimate. Long acclimations to match specific gravity are not a good idea, especially when trying to raise the SG of the transport water.