Harlequin Tuskfish

emperior911

emperior911

New member
I was just wondering everyones experence with harlequin tusk's. I've had 3 myself... Every tusk seems to end up hiding in the corner or hiding at the top of the tank wedged on a powerhead. I've had one die the other 2 i gave away because i didn't want a fish that wouldn't move. Never had any other problems with any other fish but this one.

they're my favorite fish and i'm considering getting one.

tank size 210, all glass sump 4, 30 gallon refuge, huge euro reef, UV, sieo's etc.

currently i have limited down my tank to:

Purple tang
Naso tang
Queen angel
stars and stripes puffer

p.s. I want experences with HARLEQUIN TUSKS, not people saying i'm overstocked.
 
how much rock work do you have in the tank? How did you acclimate the tusk? If all the other fish are established then move around the rocks turn off the light and even chase the most aggressive fish around with a net so all the fish are in a state of confusion
 
One HUGE - HUGE thing in a tank is to aquascape the rock so that there are caves for the fish to feel "hidden" or at least secure in. A couple piles of rock in the middle of the tank dont qualify for anything other than you probably spent too much on LR.

Give your tusk a few hiding places and he will come out eventually. Personalities vary but within a couple weeks he should feel comfortable enough to be a regular outgoing member of the tank (perhaps too outgoing for smaller fish) but the list you gave sounds like he'll do just fine unless one of them is a real nazi.

That said, I'd get at least a medium tusk, preferably of Austrailian origin.

Hope this helps...

PS I don't think you are overstocked just use a protein skimmer. You can also do water changes but between spending on equipment or spending on salt its up to you... (pay now or later) A good skimmer will cut your water changes in half if it is properly sized to the bioload (note: not tank size)
 
I agree, aquascape is important, lots of caves and hiding places. I had a tusk for over three years, it was outgoing and the coolest fish in the tank. It swam all over. I think it is a good idea to add a tusk first though. Rearrange the aquascape, net and isolate the most aggressive fish if you can. Like The Carson said, confuse the established ones.
 
I bet the purple tang or the puffer are the reason. Tangs are pricks literally, and puffers are fin nippers to anything that rests. HT's love resting, even upside down!
 
I had a tusk for about 2 years with a same-sized clown trigger in the tank, and the tusk always seemed a little nervous. The trigger was moderately aggressive, not horrendous. He was boss, but once that was established he never really bullied the tusk. Yet the tusk seemed to never look comfortable, so I removed him.

Thus, my advice is to make sure the tusk is in with mellower fish than himself, so that he can feel comfortable. My 2 cents.
 
I agree with stevebydac, the HT must feel comfortable. The aquascaping will go a LONG ways towards that and so will his tankmates. Sounds like you have PLENTY of live rock, just need to make sure it is scaped properly (proabably are, just being thorough....no sweat)

Tusks are super cool fish, they sometimes take a couple weeks to really come into their own but they are ALWAYS worth it. Think of him/her as the life of the party that just needs to get a social foothold first.

One thing many people forget, a HT is a wrasse that when it feels threatened will be an introvert. (IE, will bury, hide and otherwise stay out of affairs in the tank) As soon as he/she feels comfortable they can easily be the "life of the party". Just takes a week or three sometimes. If nobody bullies him give it a couple weeks and he should be quite social.

That is why when you change around the rock structure you give everyone (new guy wrasse included) a fresh start. This helps their social standing quite a bit.

As ms. LisaD said, if you can isolate any trouble makers that will help immensely. You would be suprised the amount of psychological force a week in a submerged critter keeper can have on any troublemakers. (just ask my toby puffer aka mr fin nipper....hehehe)

Hope this helps...
 
LisaD- If your tusk was added first, did it ever become aggressive towards other fish in the system? I want to add this fish to my new 180 and would like to add a tang or two once the tank becomes more established. Is the recommendation for this fish to not have it housed with Tangs? It sounds like they get easily stressed...
 
It was never aggressive toward any other fish, but could always stand up for itself. I even had it with smaller fish, such as a royal gramma and a few clowns. It was also with larger, more aggressive fish - a mimic tang and imperator angel. It was a great fish, perfect personality, and really nice looking too. It had a cute habit of picking up pieces of coral rubble and swimming around with it in its mouth, then dropping the pieces on the other side of the tank.
 
I'll have to agree with everyone on the fact that this fish , (and others for that matter) have to feel comfortable. Here is my thread on my tusk when I had him in my 55 QT tank with a few other friends. There was only pvc pipe for him to hide behind, although there was enough large pvc for everyone, my HT still did'nt feel comfortable enough..........I then cut his qt time short and put him in the display, I will NOT ever do that again though. I lucked out this time .........but I know the place that I got it at keeps their copper levels up to check , and tests for it everyday, so I took a chance and put him in the display. I could'nt stand seeing a $140 aussie tusk looking like he did.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=757798
 
I have had mine for over a year in a 70 gal. SPS reef tank. Other than being somewhat shy, it's been a great reef inhabitant. It's never bothered my CBS or cleaner shrimps, although the HT was added after the shrimp had established themselves.
 
I got mine when it was a juvi. That way he had plenty of time to grow up. Try a juvi, if you can find one, you might have better luck.
 
I got a tiny one a few weeks ago. It was not cheap, but I never saw a little one before. It's enjoying the 120 right now, will go in a 210 soon...
 
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