Wrasse Acting Funny????

[aj102485]

I Got Home Yesterday To Find My Wrasse That I've Had For About 6 Months Now Resting On The Sand Bed Of My 75 Gallon Reef Tank. I Have Been Told That My Wrasse Is A Melanurus Wrasse . He Has Been Eating Fine Even To This Day But The Thing That Concerns Me Is That Its Never On The Sand, Its Always Swiming All Over The Tank. It Also Drags Its Behind A Bit. Has Anyone Experienced This Before??? Is This Normal Or Should I Be Worried. --i Have Checked My Water Levels And They Are All Good.

 

[leebca]

Thanks for posting.

I haven't seen a Hoeven's Wrasse (a.k.a. Tail Spot Wrasse, the Yellow-lined Wrasse, the Orange-tipped Rainbowfish, and the Pinstriped Wrasse) (Halichoeres melanurus) around the trade for a while. They are neat. It's got more names than a dirty body part. Not unusual for wrasses to have so many names.

Actually, this wrasse should enjoy the sand. They often hide in the sand. The more worrisome behavior is why it didn't take to your sand originally. :eek2:

If the sandbed is truly a fine sand, this Wrasse will make it a hiding place, especially just under or near a rock. If the substrate isn't really a sand, then it may have some doubts, or if the substrate is chunky or otherwise problematic, the Wrasse may avoid it.

Nonetheless, the Wrasse should not be 'dragging itself' around. This is not normal behavior.

We may be able to see if something is wrong or off, but you will need to provide much more information. Not sure you want to go there. But I can give you a list of a couple dozen things to let us know, if you're interested.

 

[aj102485]

yes, any help would be great. And about the sand, the wrasse always hides in it as soon as the lights go out, it then come back out 10 min after the lights com back on. It is a sugar size sand. My goby and wrass loves it. ---now something off topic but do you think feeding the wrasse might influence different behavior. i've notice that when i feed it mysis it swims all over the place looking at the rock and when i feed it pellets, it just likes to stay on the bottom. Now i've ran out of mysis and have only been feeding it pellets, for the last 3 days. Do you think this might have to do with something?

 

[leebca]

Types of food and feeding frequency were going to be a part of the list of questions.

Fishes can react to different foods. Pellets are not the best foods available. Wheat and wheat gluten is usually used to bind the other pellet ingredients. Sometimes a bit of a cheat, but the 'wheat' ingredient is counted in the analysis for protein, fiber, etc. The fact is, our fishes don't eat wheat. Ever hear of a farmer complain about his wheat field being ravaged by a rouge school of coral fishes? I recommend only an occasional use of pellets and flakes, keeping the diet close as possible to frozen, whole, and more natural seafoods. Marine fishes should be on a strict seafood diet.

I think you may have found a possible problem. Maybe the fish is telling you it's not happy with the menu.

Review this post: http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=294728#post294728

Now the fish sounds more 'normal' that you report it hides in the sand. You have provided this fish with its proper substrate. Good job! I hope you have a tight cover on the tank. They like to jump now and then. They seem good at finding 'holes' in the cover.

 

[aj102485]

well i fed him mysis over the weekend and i put some algae sheets for my tang and it actually ate both??. i also gave him a piece of silverside that i feed my anemone with and he started picking at it as well and almost finished it. he is swimming normal now. I guess pellets are not the best choice. The one thing im confused since i get different answeres is if its ok to feed it squid or raw shrimp as well??? any idea? thanks a lot for the advice. this is my first experience in this forum and it has been a great one. Thanks again.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Pellets? Most wrasses are seafood carnivores yet will eat about anything when hungry. They like to search out worms, pods, little shrimps, and what not. Very active in the wild and in a tank when healthy. Feed it a variety of meaty seafoods. Raw squid and raw shrimp are great. I like them in sushi and fresh rolls. Your fish will prefer them chopped up in bite sized pieces or whole from a clip for occational sport. Try to boost your pod production. Perhaps your wrasse was underfed, sad and weak, now fuller and more mobile. As Lee said much better, pellets can be full of empty calories such as wheat and who knows what. Read the label, it might surprise you.

 

[leebca]

Shrimp and squid are okay in moderation. They are not 'whole seafoods' in the general sense of the term. So they should be limited to about 25% or less of the entire diet.

Good luck!