why do my wrasses always die

[spskid01]

I have had raident potters coris and leopard wrasses all die within two days of being in my tank. The coris lasted the longest. One week. I drip all new fish for over two hrs have fine sand. All other fish are fine. When the coris wrasse died he had white bumps on him when I found him dead. Is there a trick to have a wrasse live?

 

[sneaton]

that sounds like a long acclimation,maybe too long

 

[jcw]

Out of all the fish i have, including "difficult" fish like multibarred angel and indian teardrop butterfly, my impression is that wrasses have one of the lowest tolerance to stress. I've tried about 6 times to keep a radiant wrasse and they have been either doa or die within 2 days. The yellow coris has been pretty hardy, though.

 

[reefjunkie42]

id say if you cannot keep a coris alive. then you will have no success with a leopard. they need to just be left alone, with lots of rock. and sand to hide in. how deep is the sand btw. also what size tank are you putting these fish in? and yea 2 hours is wayy too long. float for 15-20, then drip acclimate for about an hour. always qt btw. no reason to introduce parasites and kill your current fish off.

 

[rgentry123]

I have had raident potters coris and leopard wrasses all die within two days of being in my tank. The coris lasted the longest. One week. I drip all new fish for over two hrs have fine sand. All other fish are fine. When the coris wrasse died he had white bumps on him when I found him dead. Is there a trick to have a wrasse live?

well, of the wrasses you listed the leopards(the potters is different type of leopard) can be VERY difficult to acclimate to captive conditions even for seasoned aquarists. I've kept leopards and a radiant before, i've had mixed success with the leopards, the key is to find a healthy one to begin with and have lots of different foods on hand to find something that they will eat as soon as possible. PE mysis is typically a good choice as is live brine shrimp to get them started with eating. The radiant was a relatively hardy fish but would spook pretty easily. What are the tankmates you keep these fish with?

 

[rgentry123]

id say if you cannot keep a coris alive. then you will have no success with a leopard. they need to just be left alone, with lots of rock. and sand to hide in. how deep is the sand btw. also what size tank are you putting these fish in? and yea 2 hours is wayy too long. float for 15-20, then drip acclimate for about an hour. always qt btw. no reason to introduce parasites and kill your current fish off.

i would agree with this with the exception of the leopards - IME they do better going into an established DT with a good pod population. just my 2 cents.

 

[spskid01]

Tank is a 125. Only fish are three dispars some cleaner shrimp and snails. Once I add the wrasse they dive into the sand maybe see them out once or twice than find them dead.

 

[Seths Dad]

Here is a thread about acclimation. I had the same thing happen to me with my first radient wrasse, acclimated about 2 hrs, taking extra care......turns out that is the worst thing you can do. Sushigirl put me on to this thread and my new radient is doing great. I hope the link works.

http://web1.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1959576

 

[powrsurg]

I have a Lunare that survived a mystery ammonia spike that wiped out the rest of the tank. Ive heard these are hardy fish but what he survived was amazing. The ammonia spike fixed itself within a few days and the fish came out of the process like he never went through it. SInce then Ive added a Mystery Wrasse.

As far as acclimation is concerned I hear a different opinion from each person I ask. So Ive decided to use airline tubing with a valve and have the valve drip 4-5 drops per second until the water in the bucket is doubled in size. THis takes about 1.5 - 2 hours depending on how much water the shop puts in the bag. I have never lost a fish within a week of adding him to the tank. I dont mean any disrespect but I realy dont care what anyone says, Ill stand by my method until it screws me. LOL

Seriously though, Ive never seen such a well established hobby like aquaria, which lacks objective answers to so many basic questions. Maybe its because these fish are alive and each tank is different. I dont know.

 

[jcw]

THis takes about 1.5 - 2 hours depending on how much water the shop puts in the bag. I have never lost a fish within a week of adding him to the tank. I dont mean any disrespect but I realy dont care what anyone says, Ill stand by my method until it screws me. LOL

The dangers of long acclimation periods apply to fish that have spent extended periods in that bag, ie overnight shipping, and NOT fish you buy at the local fish store.

It's not all bad information. You just need to know who to listen to and who not to.

 

[Dizzle63]

I have found that the biggest issue is temp acclimation to the tank. When dripping for that long, the water often changes between the bucket and the tank. Even a small difference can be stressful to wrasses.