Dr. Tanaka

[UH_OH_5_OH]

I sent you a PM but you haven't replied yet so I suppose I will just post my question here. I know as a Dr. you must be very busy so I will thank you in advance for your assistance.


This past Sunday I purchased a Carpenters Flasher Wrasse and a Fairy Flasher Wrasse. (Is there such a thing....?)

The Carpenters is being rather bullish with the Fairy and I can see some little nicks in the tail and dorsal fin. I don't want him to get beaten up or Ich out so I was curious if I could put him in my refugium to heal up ?

I had read that you keep many of these fish in smaller tanks but my refugium is only 12" X 12" X 12". It has live sand, Fiji mud, LR with shrooms on it, red filamentous algae and chaeto algae. It gets great lighting and he wouldn't be harassed by anyone else.

Do you think that this size of a tank is too small for him....?

Once again Dr. thank you for all of your contributions to our hobby.

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

In my oppinion the catching and the small tank would strss the fish much more then leaving him in the display tank. The herassment should stop soon, dont worry.

 

[H.Tanaka]

I am so sorry for my delay in replying, and thanks for your reply, Peter.

The tank size is not adequate for any fairy or flasher; they need larger tanks of at least 60x30x30 cm. As Peter says, smaller ones can cause a trouble for these wrasses. They will exhibit colors of fear, often with spots or lines that are not seen in good condition.

At first newly introduced fishes will tend to hide and older inhabitants will be curious about the new comers. In many cases they will threat each other but soon any fighting will disappear after they settled down, within some four to five days after addition of new fishes.

The wound of fins will be cured in time if it is small but injury on body like "holes" will need time to be healed. Or infections will attack such deep injury and some specimens may perish. You need pick it up and leave it alone to a quiet, dim-lighting tank with some hiding places for a while. Most of the seriously damaged fishes would not recover in any tank.

Now I hold four tanks of fish community type, and I am sorry; I have NO great refgium tank or reef now, so my answer would not complete. The largest one I have is 120x40x40cm with some live rocks only.

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

Dr....A thousand thanks for your response. It is a great comfort to have hope that they will relax with each other over time.

I will keep a close eye on them and let you know how things progress.

Again, Thank you for your assistance.

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

Dr. Tanaka and Peter......as predicted the Carpenters and (what I believe might be a McCoskers...pictures tomorrow) have settled down. The Carpenters is much larger than the other and swims about freely not intimidated by anyone else in the tank.

The McCoskers (?) is a bit more shy but has started venturing out further for food and for exploring !

Gentlemen, Thank you again for your assistance. I don't know how I missed seeing these beauties before but I must say I am hooked on them now and will get more in the future.

 

[UH_OH_5_OH]

Peter and Dr. Tanaka; I would like your opinions on this fish. I think it's a McCoskers...but I would like your opinions ! ! !

and this image as well...

Thank you both for your help.

 

[Peter Schmiedel]

Check page 4 of the thread " Let them flash" there you see pictures wonderfull pictures form H. Tanaka which clearly show the differcence of P. flavianalis vs. P.mccoskeri.

According to me the red anal fin of yours indicates the P.mccoskeri

 

[H.Tanaka]

Thank you very much for your pics and comment.

Yes, it is a male of P. mccoskeri as mentioned. It has a single filament and an anal fin with red area on outer part. Kenyan specimens are slightly differing from those from Maldives and Andaman Sea.

 

[CeeGee]

definitely McCoskers. Looks exactly like mine. Great fish.