Rabbit fish driving me crazy!

[phil5613]

Does anyone own one?
I bought a fox face 3 weeks ago and within 2 days he was stuck to the closed loop intake. Now I bought him from a store who had recently redid their systems so I chalked it up to immature systems and my own negligence in not watching the fish in the store for couple of days before buying. I also bought a yellow coris wrasse from the same store same tank and its doing great. After the death I tried using a net to remove the fish from the intake and good ole Murphy kicked in and the dead fish fell behind and underneath the rock wall to be come critter food.

Testing every day after never even showed a blip in the tank parms. All other fish and critters doing great.

So I went to a different store where I have been watching a scribbled rabbit fish for 2 weeks and watched him eat cualerpa before buying him. i took him home and drip acclimated him like I do all my fish and released him into the tank. ( no I don't quarantine and haven't ever. Considering it but never needed it) I watched the fish interact, eat and navigate the tank fine.

Now this morning he is alive but stuck to the closed loop intake! So I carefully netted him and put the highly stressed fish into the refugium where he is hiding in the cheato right now.

The water test out fine, the tests are new so no concern there all other fish are fine and eating well. The fish all have left the rabbit alone showing no signs of aggression.

Ok with out the scolding about quarantine is there something else special about this fish that they would act this way?

TIA

 

[bigevill1]

sounds like you need a cover on your closed loop intake to me.

 

[kimoy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10532036#post10532036 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bigevill
sounds like you need a cover on your closed loop intake to me.

i second to that.

 

[seachel71]

There have been posts on the CIMA board about a foxface being sucked up against the powerhead. The guy lost 2 that way. No apparent cause. Both of his died as well.

 

[hoosierpat]

When rabbitfish stress they usually lean up against structures or corners of the tank and darken up to hide. Maybe you ought to restructure the rock work so that the fish can't get near the intake for your closed loop.

 

[phil5613]

I can try and restructure but te intake is like a bunch of holes drilled into a 2 1/4 pvc. I will have to see what I can do. I find it odd they tehy are stressing at lights out? Not in full ligt but after lights out.

Thanks for all the feedback it helps!

 

[RobTop]

Might not be stressing, just finding that a nice place to hang out at night, well seems like a nice place. I would see what you can do about the intake. You say it is a pcs of pvc pipe with holes. So I am guessing this is not drilled, but over the wall. If this is the case and you have a large tube of pvc in the tank, how about getting some black egg crate and build a box around it. It will not restrick the flow and keep the fish away

 

[Sullyman]

How about a yellow foxface that I believe took out a butterfly and a Bellus angel, this guy likes to lead with his dorsal fin. I'm working on catching him and trading him in. He doesn't graze, just eats my food and is fat and happy, lazy bum.

 

[hoosierpat]

Can you replace the pvc? If you can I would try drilling many more, smaller holes to reduce the amount of suction on any individual hole. This would make it more difficult to actually get stuck to the intake.

 

[mhurley]

IMO, fish that get stuck like this aren't a victim of the intake...they are sick to begin with and they are floating/meandering and don't have the strength to get away. A healthy fish should not get stuck like this.

 

[phil5613]

That is my other thought and i may get one of those intakes like Oceanic uses

 

[phil5613]

Another update the fish is still doing ok in the refugium so he may make it. we will see what tomorrow brings