Purple firefish hiding

Triggerfish

Triggerfish

Active member
added to a 75g 4 months ago.. comes out to eat and that's about it.
when its out to eat and any other fish swims by it darts back in. i see no aggression towards it by anything.
i thought these were more bolder than the red which i have and stays out more. there is a lot of fish movement in there with 4 wrasses..

anyone have one that hides as well?
 
Firefish in general are very skittish fish. I never see mine and it's the only fish in the tank, well refugium. Pops out to grab some food and gone before you even have a chance to enjoy it.
 
I've had two starve from hiding. No aggression towards them, but there were plenty of larger fish in the tank that may have intimidated it just by being around.

This was in my 120g before I upgraded to my 225g...
 
i've had various experiences with the redfire fish over the years.

i had one that was out all the time with another for months.. then one would not come out and then both of them eventually stayed hidden. again, nothing really harrassing them. one would come out randomly. then i didnt see them for 6 weeks or so figured they were gone. soon after one poked out. i then added antoher to see if it would entice the other to stay out and it did. it was amaciated. over the next month it fattened up and then it got sucked in a maxijet that didnt have a stainer on end.. stupid i know. what a bummer that was..damn.
know the one comes out randomly..saw its tail was damaged..wonder if hte purple is getting at it..they share burrows very close if not the same one.
strange fish to say the least..
 
what are the other inhabitants....larger or more aggressive fish will often scare them to a slow starvation. Not by being aggressive, but just by the nature of the dartfish.

good luck.
 
They are easily intimidated. Most often with more than one, only one will survive because the more shy one has been intimidated and starves to death. However a second firefish is not the only fish that will intimidate them, almost any planktivore can do so.
 
once the upgrade to the 110 is done i will add one more to see if they stay out like before. then if not,that will be the end.
 
After reading this post, I all the sudden don't feel like putting a dart fish in my 30 gallon as the main fish.

Sounds like it's a hit and miss sort of deal. Maybe I'll just do a red firefish to test it out, $8 red firefish versus a $20-30 purple or even a $75+ hellfrichi.
 
yeah.. something to thnk about.. had i any idea the purple would be like this no way would i have gotten it.. such a beauty too.
 
ya..that's another thing on occassion they can just dart out of the water if they get freaked. so something enclosed would be needed.. if you care not to find them just next to the tank almost under the rug. any simple search function should indicate that.
 
My purple firefish is out 90 percent of the time I would say. He is in a 20 long with a false perc who has a duncan that hosts him on the left side of the tank. Pretty much has 3/4 of the tank to himself and swims in the current of my mp10 all day. He isn't very afraid of my clown and even though she will try to attack the firefish when he gets near the duncan he still swims next to the clown just out of her kill zone!

I got my firefish at a very young age so perhaps that has something to do with it?
 
I think the OP's active wrasses are spooking his fire fish. I don't know that there is anything you can do about that.

I have a bonded pair of Purples in a 65g tank with small peaceful tank mates and they are the kings of the tank. Out all the time and even occasionally dart at my yellow assessors at feeding time to drive them back into the rocks! All the books portray them as the wimps of the fish world, but not in my tank.

I feed my Purple FF pair a few times a day with small amounts of frozen food like cyclops & fish eggs & occasionally live food via a turkey baster. They definitely recognize me as the food sorurce and are always out & about and ready to eat when they see me in the room, almost begging. I can even put my hand in the tank and they don't usually run for cover. Even the mag cleaner usually doesn't faze them. Being well fed with a lack of anything that could eat or harass them plus being thoroughly conditioned to seeing the giant that feeds them is the key I think. Also being in a bonded pair probably gives them confidence and could be another reason for this atypical behavior.

Maybe the OP could try conditioning his fish with frequent feedings if he has the time and desire. A squirt in the morning, when you get home from work, a few times while watching TV or puttering around the house.
 
maybe keeping in pairs like mentioned is something that makes them feel safer..
like i mentioned when i added a 2nd the original began to come out and stayed out all the time and fattened up.
but even my single red ff comes out and stays out occassionaly..the purple wont stay out any longer than it does to take in a pellet.
 
Mine are out & about all the time. They used to hide during a water change or if my hands were in the tank. Now they just hang out while I'm doing things & one was a few inches from my hand today like a dog hanging around for someone to pet them.
 
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