Freaky Rabbitfish

[Reeses]

Good evening all,

I would like some advice/reassurance on the behavior of rabbitfish. I have a two-bared, or scribble (siganus doliatus) rabbitfish that I just purchased three days ago. She is currently in QT and so far, seems quite healthy. The only thing is that she really freaked out when I did maintenance on the tank. While I was siphoning the bottom, she was darting around so fast and furious that I was really concerned that she was going to hurt herself. After, she snuggled up with the piece of LR I gave her and was exhausted to the point that I thought she might die from the stress. I know that they can be a bit high strung, but this seems really excessive.

She is suffering from jet lag, and is currently awake mostly at night and rests during the day. Might it be better if I performed maintenance during the later hours? Late at night, she's very personable, and will interact. During the day, she's in desert camo mode in the corner. I just don't want her to stress so badly that it adversely affects her health.

Many Thanks

 

[graveyardworm]

Rabbitfish tend to be very shy and elusive when first introduced. If you dont have a large enough shelter for it hide during the day you may want to add something. This will give it a safe place to go while your doing maintenance.

 

[Reeses]

She does have a hiding place besides the rock. I've got a PVC pipe in there, too.

 

[Sk8r]

She's just a rabbit, is all. It's not just their habit of eating greens that gives them their name. They spook, constantly, and be careful of those spines. They're venomous, the more so when they've been noshing on caulerpa, one suspects. They're a wonderful fish and a hard worker, but they are spooks, all of them. The eyes, you'll note, are opal, and I think this is because they do hang in lowlight areas looking for edibles: it's a very specialized vision, and I'm not sure they see things as we do. Move slowly and wear gloves. WOrking when light is low is probably a good thing, but know where she is when you put your hands in there. The sting is about like a fiddleback spider bite, not a happy thing.

 

[Reeses]

sk8r,

Thanks for the reassurance, I suppose I am just jumpy because I really don't want to lose her. She's such a beautiful fish.

 

[DKKA]

I bought a doliatus a while back and it was, as you say, in desert camo mode for quite a while. Almost a week, if I remember correctly. Eventually, it's true colors started to come thru and it became less skittish and was out most of the time.

Funny story: The silly rabbit went over the overflow a day or two after purchase. I used a flashlight and chased it up and down the overflow until it jumped back into the tank. They really are skittish.

Unfortunately, mine started chomping on my Monti Caps. It was more than just an occasional peck, too. And the fish never really showed much interest in grazing off the LR. So, it had to go.

Dan

 

[Johnbob]

It sounds just like typical rabbitfish behavior. I have had several specimens and three different species. Currenty, I have an Ispy Rabbitfish and this one is the least skittish of all that I have had. This one pals around with my mated pair of Tomato Clownfish. It flicks it dorsal fins periodically during feeding when competition is a little close and/or heated, but as has been noted above, it can take several days for them to settle down and display their "calm" coloration. I would give more hiding places (the PVC pipe may be too confining dependent on the size you have provided) and minimize the disturbances.