Success of Hawaiian Flame Wrasse

kirstenk

kirstenk

23.5 Degrees
I am 1 for 5 on this fish. :(

I have the opportunity to try again from a direct importer but I am sooooo leary. I know they need to be QT'd and de-wormed.

I would appreciate knowing who has had success and who has had failure. Sometimes I think this fish needs to be put in the Moorish Idol catergory.

Help me decide...........Please.

Luck....or No Luck????
 
Kirsten,
My I ask where are you getting him from, and are you getting a pair? How long do you consider a success? You can send a PM if you want. I do have a trio and they are doing great.
Pat
 
Hey Pat,

I got them from a reputable LFS that QT's all incoming fish for 2 weeks. I got a pair...lost the male. Got another pair.......lost the female. Then I tried another female and lost her in my QT after she had been at another LFS for over 2 weeks.

So I had two and was happy until the male died between 4-6 months after being in my tank. From what I have heard, this is kinda the senario if the fish has internal parasites. Parasites are common with species from Hawaii and more so recently. I did not de-worm any of my fish in the past.

I do not consider success until a fish has been in my tank for over 6 months. How long have you had yours?

Hey hawkfish.............I lived in Denver for 13 years. :)
 
KIRSTEN,

I have mine only 4 months. I think a lot of the problems are from improper decompression when they are collected. Most are caught at 75 to 100 feet. I got mine from a guy who catches them in Hawaii very good guy just hard to get a hold of. He goes on collection trips for extended periods of time. His fish are some of the best I have ever seen, I bought the Flames and a Mystery wrasse all very healthy and were eating all foods from day one. I was concerned about shipping stress but the fish were out in the open in my QT as soon as I released then they never hid.
HTH
Pat
 
I have had a pair for 10 months now. Male is doing great. Actually bullies everyone else (small hippo tangs, lineatus pair)

I've shipped many.. They ship well for fairies, but have a harder time acclimating them most do (which is odd) females tend to do better. I think Bronco has had his for 2 years now. I know a guy in Hawaii (works at a LFS there and collects some fish) that kept one for 4 years then sold it...

I still dont know what to think about them. The 1 and only 1 i tried has been doing incredible since day 1 (he took 3 days to acclimate then slowly started coming out) But i've shipped some to a few clients who do great for 4 months then die all of a sudden.

Treat with Prazi pro in a QT. I have heard it does great with flames (although i have no personal experience using prazi pro)
I however am against QTing fairies since i know from personal experience they do much better in well established reefs/tanks with live rock.

How much will the Pair be if you get them? If they aren't to much (yeah yeah i know.. they are pricey!) i would try it. they are gorgeous fish.
 
I would be willing to QT in a tank with live rock and sand even thou I know I would have to dump the sand and rock after. I have heard that Prazi pro is the way to go.

sreefs.........your at the turning point. I hope all goes well for you!!!!

improper decompression...... that makes sense too.

I think the price is going to be good but to think I may have to watch another one die...........I just don't know if I can do that.
 
Hawaiian Flames are the hardiest Flames you can buy..And they usually carry a much higher price tag..Are you sure your getting Hawaiian Flames?
I have tried 2 Flames from elsewhere in the past, no luck.. I was done stocking my tanks and ready to take my qt down when we got some Hawaiian Flames in at work:eek: I resisted on the first shipment but caved on the second:rolleyes: I just Love Flames !! The Hawaiians are sooo pretty, I like the more red color. I have had mine for a month now..I did move him out of qt early [2 weeks] He is in my 75 reef and doing well. I hope to have him for a long time!
Good luck to you!
If you like to keep them in pairs, check out Inland Aquatics..They hold there fish for a month or so before they sell
 
My first male i bought was about 3" had him for 3 months and then i gave him to my friend recently and unfortunately it died but we're not sure of the cause, he seems to think an emerald crab killed it but thats another story. When i bought this first male i also purchased a female that only lasted 9 days...

I currently have a 3.5" female that i've had for 2 months and a 4" male that i've had for a month. The female ate and came out right away the next day after acclimating, the male however took one week to come out and eat. I really didn't think he was going to make it, but now he is eatting like a pig. I believe he possibly still has some external parasites but not sure. Couple weeks ago i noticed that his skin was peeling and i believe zemuron mentioned that he was doing this to get rid of the parasites. Now he looks good and no more skin peeling.

Question, should i take him out and treat with prazipro or leave him be? I soak all foods in vitachem, selcon, etc...

Just want to take every measure possible to in sure his good health.

Thanks,
Steven
 
Butterflygirl, we are talking about Flame Wrasse, not Angels. Flame Wrasses are endemic to Hawaii. :)

But hawaiian flame angels are indeed the best! Marshall island ones are very nice as well. But just to let you know, if the shipment came in from Hawaii the flames were probably from christmas island. Thats where everyone gets their flames from in HI and very very very rarely do wholesalers have an ACTUAL hawaiian flame. Christmas island is still a very ncie flame though!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7957684#post7957684 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zemuron114
Butterflygirl, we are talking about Flame Wrasse, not Angels. Flame Wrasses are endemic to Hawaii. :)

But hawaiian flame angels are indeed the best! Marshall island ones are very nice as well. But just to let you know, if the shipment came in from Hawaii the flames were probably from christmas island. Thats where everyone gets their flames from in HI and very very very rarely do wholesalers have an ACTUAL hawaiian flame. Christmas island is still a very ncie flame though!
Click to expand...




:eek2: :eek2: :lol: I need to learn to read more carefully:lol:
 
Flames (and most other wrasses) are very resistant to depth changes and really easy to decompress. I'd be surprised if that was the cause of you guys' mortalities.

Practically all wild-caught fish have parasites. Flame wrasses aren't any different in this regard.

IMO it's probably something in the environment. Although they're usually very hardy, they sometimes react badly to stress. I've had flame wrasses die mysteriously in the collection bucket while still at depth, and they ship poorly unless given a lot of water.
 
Matt, im glad you chimed in. You have more experience then me with them :) any more insight? I've been wondering a lot about this as well.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7963258#post7963258 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zemuron114
Matt, im glad you chimed in. You have more experience then me with them :)
Click to expand...

Probably not, actually. I have experience catching them, but have never kept one long term.

IMO, QTing fairy wrasses is fine, as long as the holding tank is large enough to keep them happy. They're planktivores, and as such won't get much benefit from live rock.
 
Every time i've kept a fairy i always see them pick at the rocks. I didn't feed my lineatus for a while (kept forgetting....) and they were still fat from eating the pods i had... I personally think adding them directly is better, but that is comparing holding them in a large QT system for re-sell, and adding them to a reef directly... I would keep live rock if i could :)
 
What tank temperatures are people keeping their's at? Since they are caught in deep waters in Hawaii I'm assuming the water temp. down there is mid to low 70's? I keep all my fish at 81°F and I've also had some mysterious deaths of flames, but nothing else out of my wrasses. The flames have been from various sources like LFS, online, Brian Greene and another collector in Hawaii. I'm just wondering if the success rate is better at cooler temps.
 
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