Fairy wrasse Photo Library

[microbubbles]

bronco- hey thanks again... i'm going to keep picking your brains whenever possible

so for the hypo-salinity thing- how extreme do you go and over how long a period of time do you do this treatment?

 

[microbubbles]

also, you think that scale medication you mentioned might be what the x factor i need to keep powder blue tangs and achilles tangs healthy?
i kept an achilles before for about 3 months before it succomed to a major bout of ich out of nowhere.

 

[bronco7777]

microbubbles,

I keep all my fish in QT for a minimum of two weeks. How long they stay in QT is determined by the fish's health problems. Even if I buy a fish that looks perfectly healthy from a great source I still QT for a minimum of two weeks. As far as hyposalinity goes I recommend you read this thread link as this is the method I typically follow:

http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=348271#post348271

As far as your questions on tangs go....I can't really answer that. I don't keep tangs and I really don't have an inclination to do so. I'm almost 95% dedicated to wrasses and that takes up most of my time and space.
I'm sure tangs are great SW fish but they just don't capture my attention and as I heard from many SW experts....they are an ick magnet. Seems like they are more prone to the problem and its hard to get rid of with them. So I really wouldn't be doing you any favors to give medication suggestions on fish I know little about.
I'm sure some of our friends in RC can give you better suggestions than me on this subject.

mike89t,

glad to hear things went well with your formalin dipping. I'm sure you were very concientious about how you dipped your healthy fish. I don't mean to say that formalin is unusable. But it can be a very dangerous liquid to use with wrasses. Specially since wrasses for the most part don't ship well in containers and end up having a lot of stress induced illnesses in the shipping process.
If your wrasse has been in a healthy tank at a LFS and he comes home with you healthy....then they very well may handle a very quick formalin dip as the one you mentioned. However, most wrasses that have been shipped roughly won't handle a formalin dip.
All anti-parasite medications or procedures (hyposalinity , copper, special dips and formulas) are stressfull in one way or another to the fish. But IMO Hyposality in mild cases of ick is probably the least stressfull. I certainly wouldn't suggest dipping a wrasse in formalin as soon as he comes out of the shipping box or shipping bag.
As a matter of fact, unless the fish has an extreme case of ick or velvet I think the best thing to do when he comes out of a shipping box is to place him in a QT tank where the water has not been treated yet. What I mean by this is the salinity has not been lowered, there is no medication. Simply clean system water from your main tank that has been poured into the QT. Acclimate the fish and then release him into the QT with clean system water. Have a good filter running and a strong air stone going. Immediately shut out the lights and let the fish sleep in the dark for a day without bothering him. After a day or so assess his health and then start lowering the salinity or adding medication as needed.
In my experience wrasses are at there most vulnerable spot health-wise when transfering. Therefore I think they should be "babied" through this process. Once they are healthy and installed in a tank they become nearly bulletproof putting up with mild parasite outbreaks as if they were just a mild headache.

 

[mike89t]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7430639#post7430639 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bronco7777
mike89t,

glad to hear things went well with your formalin dipping. I'm sure you were very concientious about how you dipped your healthy fish. I don't mean to say that formalin is unusable. But it can be a very dangerous liquid to use with wrasses. Specially since wrasses for the most part don't ship well in containers and end up having a lot of stress induced illnesses in the shipping process.
If your wrasse has been in a healthy tank at a LFS and he comes home with you healthy....then they very well may handle a very quick formalin dip as the one you mentioned. However, most wrasses that have been shipped roughly won't handle a formalin dip.

Yeah both of my Wrasses had been at the LFS for a few weeks and appeared healthy. Still I've seen how this LFS works so I wanted to make sure these guys were clean of parasites. I agree that if I had got one from online I would probably just skip the Formalin dip due to the extreme stress caused by shipping.

What about Fresh water dips? Would you recommend them for fairies?

 

[microbubbles]

so with the hyposalinity treatment, bronco... (sorry for all the questions)... assuming i start at 1.025 SG, how fast should i lower it and to how low? and should i bring it up back to 1.025 at the same pace?
tiy

 

[bronco7777]

microbubbles,

Slow pace of salinity adjustment that drags over 2 to 3 days or approximately every 12 hours.

Here is the exact time schedule that the article stated:

"Your starting point should be between 1.025 and 1.027. Replace about one fifth of the volume with RO, RO/DI or aged freshwater that has been well aerated. Repeat this 12, 24 and 36 hours later, monitoring the specific gravity along the way. After the fourth water change the specific gravity should be 1.010 or pretty close. Wait a few hours to make the final adjustment to get down to 1.009. Note that you can estimate the resulting specific gravity. If you are changing one fifth of the water and the current specific gravity is 1.025 the result will be:

((1.025*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.020 approx.
Then, after 12 hours:
((1.020*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.016 approx.
After 24 hours:
((1.016*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.013 approx.
After the 4th change:
((1.013*4)+1.000)/5 = 1.010 approx.
Water temperature influences specific gravity and if you heat water without changing the salinity the specific gravity will decrease. As the goal is to keep the salinity between 12 and 14ppt it is important to know the temperature as well as the specific gravity."

I go a little faster when bringing the salinity up. It's just a feel thing.....just work your way through it per the instructions on the link and once you've done it, it becomes second nature.

 

[bronco7777]

I really don't use fresh water baths on fairy wrasses. I have used them on Angels with success. But I still feel that its a bit of a pain getting the temp right for the dip and I think the wrasses stress out more. Just an opinion on this one.....not that I have a very firm stance on that, because I just don't practice that.

 

[microbubbles]

awesome, bronco. many thanks

 

[ghever]

guys (BRONCO), I have a p.severnsi in my current tank. Have had him now for around 6months, he is doing great.

However, I am going to a 180BB SPS tank, and since he loves sand, I am faced with a challenge.

I was thinking of a small circular container (big enough for him to fit into, maybe 6inch diameter) that would be liftedd off the bottom using acrylic rods or something of the like , that would hold a few inches of sand. This container would then be surrounded by live rock, essentially inside a cave.

Do you think the severnsi would find his "bed" eventually and it should be ok for him? Or do I need to build a couple of these?

I guess the second question is more regarding the SPS corals, and whether this small sand "BED" would have any detrimental effects to the reef, i.e. trap detritus.

thanks
G

PS: If I have to get rid of him, any of you on here interested? I am in so cal area, prefer local pick up...hate to see him go though, he is doing so well and I know how delicate these guys can be.

G

 

[Rothie]

ghever-
The wrasse will find the sand,but I think a container the size of a shoebox would be more appropriate.The container will not be a detriment to your SPS tank-just siphon off any ditrius that collects during your weekly water changes.Depending on the amount of flow in the tank,the sand could be a problem.
If you can find him a good home with someone who has a deep sand bed,I'm sure it would be the most appropriate choice for him.

 

[bronco7777]

ghever,

The black hat will find the sand bed. Even if it's a single cup. What you my want to do is go to a place like a Garden Ridge or a Target and go to the Tupperware sections. There are many small round or rectangular plastic containers that you can buy in a variety of sizes. Regardless of the length of the container what you want to focus on is Depth! Give the wrasse a 2-3" bed to totally cover himself with. As far as detritus goes, I doubt that will be a problem. Think about it. every time the wrasse goes to bury himself (or wake up in the morning) he will be churning over the sand thus tossing up whatever detritus is there. The water flow should easily take that away for filtering.

 

[zemuron114]

well, i just got 60 fairy wrasses from Australia I'll post some pics soon!

 

[jimsflies]

I added a male flame to my system last week. Within two days it set itself up as the tank boss and was seriously picking on my existing solar wrasse which is only slightly smaller. I have removed the solar because it sustained damage to the left pectoral fin. But I'm wondering if flames are notorious for being bullies? Any suggestions to try to reintroduce the solar wrasse at some point to the system? Normally, its the existing fish that are more agressive...I am somewhat suprised the new fish is as bold.

It doesn't seem to be picking on the other fish in the system at this time. Which include a carpenters and an adornatus pair.

 

[zemuron114]

flames are not notorious for being bullies. I find that odd. Maybe take out the flame, and put the flame and the solar in a bucket or small tank for a little while and see how hey do. It may freak the flame out which will decrease aggression.

 

[ghever]

zemuron...whats up dude..are these fairys for sale?

my flame is doing well still..too bad he needs a WOMAN since his kicked the bucket

Bronco...thanks man, that is encouraging.....I know exactly the type of tupperware u are talkin about...im gonna make him a nice bed to sleep in then After hearing how hard they are to keep, I am going on like 6months and no probs yet...keep fingers crossed...which leads me to next question.

I am taking down my 120 and setting up a new 180... how long do you think I could keep the wrasses in a 30gal rubbermaid for?

thanks
G

 

[bronco7777]

ghever,

If you have a good filter running on that rubbermaid tub you could pretty much take your time. Even several days to allow your new tank to settle in a bit. However, the biggest problem that you have to be concerned about is not how long you have to keep them in a holding pen but how you are going to cover that holding pen while you finish setting up the new tank.

I suggest that you get your 30g rubbermaid tub with a lid. If you need to add a hang on filter to keep the water clean then just cut the lid to provide just enough space to accomodate the filter. Be very precise cutting this lid to keep the edge of the cut right up against the filter. As I've said a million times before, they are great jumpers finding even the smallest of holes to jump through.

In the tub place alot of rock or PVC tubes for them to hide. Next, keep this tub in an area of your house that has low light. This will have a calming effect on the fish.

If you keep their water clean and you keep them calm, you could take about as long as you need to get your new tank set up right.

 

[ghever]

thanks man....the rubbermaid does have a lid, but I was thinking of using eggcrate instead, to allow for better ventilation.. I was going to just use my reef octopus 3000 recirc skimmer for filtration, is that enough? Then probably a couple of powerheads in there for circulation.

So lighting really isnt necessary?? Should I lower salinity at all to help out with the stress, or just keep as is?

G

 

[Flipturn88]

I just wanted to show off my new male C. laboutei...after only a few minutes in the tank, he was out strutting his stuff. Don't worry - I learned the hard way that it's essential to cover every inch of the tank's top for these gorgeous fish.

 

[tedmc2]

I need some tips on how to get my male Flame Wrasse out from hiding. I bought a pair from Brian at Twilight Aquatics and they were delivered on Tuesday last week. I floated them in two Lee's 3-Way overnight and let them out into the tank the next morning. The female was out by the next day.

The male has not come out from hiding and I have not seen it eat anything since I put it in last Wednesday.

The female swims around it. Food bounces off its head. It will not come out. I'm afraid it will waste away. Any suggestions?

 

[zemuron114]

males are alot more shy after acclimation then females. He will come out. Mine didn't come out for 2 full days.. then not really until a week later did he come out and eat in front of me. Give it some time.. he will be fine