Longnose Hawkfish QT Woes

adoptaspork

adoptaspork

New member
Hey all!

I am at a loss as to what to do right now. I started up a new (bigger!!!!) tank and transferred everything from my old tank into it this year. I bought a longnose hawkfish and put him in quarantine with pvc pipes to perch/hide on. He has been absolutely refusing to eat and acting super stressed out despite my best efforts to keep him happy. Initially, he was a very perky guy. He also refuses to do anything but sit on the bottom of the tank. Today I came home and he was SUPER pale and looked skinny and not great at all but he hasn't been eating either. He literally looked about to die. I have both tanks still running (though I will be breaking down the small one) so in a last ditch effort to save him I tossed him into the tank without any fish in it. After sitting for a while, he is now colored up and swimming/perching around as if he's perfectly fine. What do I do?! I wanted to quarantine him but it looks like quarantine just almost killed him with stress. Do I not quarantine him? I've heard they are very disease resistant but I don't want him to be a carrier. I also don't want to kill him by stressing him in quarantine either though! I wanted to at least run him through a prazipro series and possibly do TTM on him just to be sure... But I'm not willing to kill him either. Please help!
 
Note: after moving him to the tank, he has perked right back up and looks perfectly happy, coloring back up and perching on things. Do I put him back in quarantine and start the whole process over again? Water parameters were all fine in QT and I hadn't started using any medications yet on him (had just been observing) but he looked like he was knocking on death's doorstep. I'm afraid I am going to kill him if he goes back into the QT tank and starts looking poor again. :(
 
moving him back to qt might stress him more. if he is the only fish in the tank, i would just leave him there and observe for 4 or 5 weeks, at least. if you can stand to wait it out, 8 weeks would be better. i have 2 in my 75g reef. they went through qt fine but i just observed for 8 weeks instead of doing ttm.
 
Thank you! He seems very happy in the tank right now, a complete 180 from how he looked in the QT tank, so I guess that's what I'll be doing.
 
Quick question concerning this hawkfish -

He is still in the tank apart from my other fish and he eats like a pig now! I am very happy about this!! He seems to act normal otherwise as well. HOWEVER, he does seem to have two teeny protrusions from between his eyes. They are very fine little "hairs" it seems. I did a google search and found a macro shot that is similar, but haven't found any other pictures showing it. Is this some sort of ectoparasite, or is it a normal part of the fish? I have to look REALLY closely at his head to even see it.

Picture: note the little protrusions in the "forehead" area of the fish.

516_Underwater1963__MG_1411_11.jpg


Thanks in advance!
 
neat picture!!

how big is your tank? i totally LOVE my hawkfish! i loved my first one so much, i decided to add a second one. held my breath when i added it to the tank hoping they would get along. my fears were unfounded. once they hooked up, they fell in love. i have no idea what gender either of them is but they are like 2 peas in a pod. i rarely see them apart. if one swims away from the other, the other one follows it and perches next to it.
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/TANK/1897913_928435573843673_4661975812997950994_n_zps479e88c1.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/TANK/1897913_928435573843673_4661975812997950994_n_zps479e88c1.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1897913_928435573843673_4661975812997950994_n_zps479e88c1.jpg"/></a>

i can't explain the color difference in them but it is very obvious. one is much darker than the other. because it's very hard to distinguish gender in these fish, they very rarely breed in captivity. too bad, i bet the babies are flat out adorable! :)
 
Nina - your pair inspired me to get my own. I ordered a bonded pair from DD but one of them constantly chased and harassed the other one. I divided the tank - but sadly I lost the one :(

I'd love to get another one eventually - but do you just order one and hope it's the opposite sex?
 
that's a shame, sorry you lost one!

my first one was one of the first fish i bought. got it at a local lfs about 4 years ago.
i think i added the second one (from DD) about 4 months later. i had no idea what sex either one was (still don't know). i'd say it's probably a crap shoot and all you can do is add a second one and hope for the best. what size is your tank? i'm guessing the bigger the tank, the better your chances are of being successful.

better pic of the color difference.
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/TANK/2hawks_zps1e1c1b14.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/TANK/2hawks_zps1e1c1b14.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2hawks_zps1e1c1b14.jpg"/></a>

gravid female? your guess is as good as mine!
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/TANK/fathawkfish_zps8e9f3c48.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/TANK/fathawkfish_zps8e9f3c48.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo fathawkfish_zps8e9f3c48.jpg"/></a>

obligatory fts. LOL
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/TANK%202015/tank_zpskbub6gp0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/TANK%202015/tank_zpskbub6gp0.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo tank_zpskbub6gp0.jpg"/></a>
 
Beautiful tank! The one is way darker for sure - I am clueless as to differentiation. I read one article that said the males have darker lines on their fins, and are usually larger - but who knows. They were going to go in a 100 gallon - they were in a 30 gallon QT. It was strange - when I first added them to the QT, they swam and stayed right next to eachother, then I noticed the male (larger ?)was perched as far away from the female as possible - then she would just charge and harass him for no reason. I emailed LA and they said separate them, then they should pair back up. Even after dividing them he wouldn't move - or eat, just lay on the bottom of the tank. One night the divider came loose, and the next morning he was dead :( It's possible she harassed him all evening and the stress of the shipping, and not eating did him in. It just didn't seem right. I might try again much later - but in the meantime I have many more fish to purchase. Thankfully it was within the 14 days and LA refunded my money for him.
 
thanks. can you tell i like anthelia? LOL

i suggest if you decide on a second hawkfish, you use an acclimation box. i have used one for every fish i have added. a couple of them needed a day or two but most were released after several hours at night with lights off. my second hawkfish was only in it for a few hours. the first one kept swimming up to it but there was zero aggression, just curiosity. they paired up pretty much instantly.
 
Good deal - thanks for the tips, I will definitely add an acclimation box to my ever growing "to be purchased list!"
 
it doesn't have to be anything fancy. i use this. found it in the freshwater section, think it was about 3 bucks. it's actually for raising fry from livebearing freshwater fish. it's all plastic, no metal parts, attaches to the inside of the tank with suction cups. you just have to make sure the top is right at the surface so the fish can't jump out.
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/TANK/Picture001_zps90aeb145.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/TANK/Picture001_zps90aeb145.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Picture001_zps90aeb145.jpg"/></a>

here it is with my red velvet fairy wrasse. :)
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/TANK/wrasse_zpsda109732.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/TANK/wrasse_zpsda109732.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo wrasse_zpsda109732.jpg"/></a>
 
^^^

I like that idea a lot. I have an acrylic acclimation box (from Elite Aquatics) that works well, but it collects detritus due to its solid bottom. The mesh one seems like it wouldn't have this issue.
 
nope, it doesn't. since most (if not all) of my fish poop what looks like sugar, all of the waste goes right through the bottom of the box. :)
 
Your hawkfish photos are so adorable! I love the pair! The color difference is definitely noticeable. When I picked my little guy out there was another one at the store which was a slightly different color also. I find the slight variations from fish to fish to be intriguing.

I have him in my 40 gallon right now. He's eating like a pig and has been really great. I don't think I even realized how amazing he'd be when I decided to get one, but I am very happy when I look over and see him peeking up at me. What a character! He does the same thing yours does! He loves to perch on top of the powerheads and has recently decided that he also particularly likes to sit on my green and purple toadstool leather.
 
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