China pearl wrasse problems

[jmanzzz]

So yesterday I went to my Lfs and saw a China wrasse that I ended up getting after seeing it eat frozen and flake food off the floor of the tank. I put it in my tank and it did awesome all of yesterday, but stayed up through the night picking at all my rocks but not eating frozen or flake food. Went in the sand around 8 this morning, female melenarus wrasse showed some slight aggression to it but nothing major, and fins and color are still great, but it came out of the sand around 14 hours after and hasn’t left the corner where it burrowed but is up, didn’t eat again and only picked off the rock once. It was actually just on the floor and then picked itself back up and started swimming again. Haven’t seen him go back on the ground but hasn’t left the spot since it woke up 2 hours ago and isn’t acting how it was yesterday. Looks well fed, but I got it the day my lfs got the fish shipment in so it was in the sand all morning in the lfs then I got it in the afternoon. I’m wondering if the fish is jetlagged since these fish come from a opposite timezone where it would be day for them and night for me. Just want to know if that could be the case because it looks to be well fed and colorful, No fin clamping. Pics below (first video is it now, second is when I got it) going to bed now, it’s late won’t be able to give more footage until morning

 

[fishguy242]

hi , lights are out, lets see what morning brings.
how is breathing rate ?

 

[polyppal]

I always wanted one but stayed away from them because they are notoriously difficult to keep at home, like some of the leopards. I think all you could really do is try to make it comfortable and hope for the best.

if you didn’t QT Id keep an eye out for possible disease from the stress, with wrasses IME they seem much more likely to succumb to bacterial issues than ich/etc

 

[jmanzzz]

hi , lights are out, lets see what morning brings.
how is breathing rate ?

Breating rate is normal maybe slightly elevated, haven’t looked in a bit

 

[jmanzzz]

hi , lights are out, lets see what morning brings.
how is breathing rate ?

Just checked it out, breathing looks elevated and swimming is a little weak, but colors and fins are still good

 

[i cant think]

That sounds like she’s facing aggression from a melanurus. Anampses are the hardest genus of wrasse you could pick.
If it was only in the LFS one day. I don’t think it would’ve been pecking at the frozen/dry food but instead the pods and microfauna in the sand. This species comes from much of the Pacific Ocean so yes she will have a more “jetlagged” body clock. So yes, it makes sense why she was out in the night and not much in the day. Being stuck in a corner the whole time she was out in the day says to me she is undergoing aggression, what other wrasses are in the tank?

 

[i cant think]

@SaltyT @Crabby48 @Sean Clark may all have some insight on this

 

[jmanzzz]

That sounds like she’s facing aggression from a melanurus. Anampses are the hardest genus of wrasse you could pick.
If it was only in the LFS one day. I don’t think it would’ve been pecking at the frozen/dry food but instead the pods and microfauna in the sand. This species comes from much of the Pacific Ocean so yes she will have a more “jetlagged” body clock. So yes, it makes sense why she was out in the night and not much in the day. Being stuck in a corner the whole time she was out in the day says to me she is undergoing aggression, what other wrasses are in the tank?

1 1-2 year old melanarus wrasse (female) and a baby male carpenter wrasse that it gets along with well. It’s swimming around the tank now that it’s morning

 

[jmanzzz]

That sounds like she’s facing aggression from a melanurus. Anampses are the hardest genus of wrasse you could pick.
If it was only in the LFS one day. I don’t think it would’ve been pecking at the frozen/dry food but instead the pods and microfauna in the sand. This species comes from much of the Pacific Ocean so yes she will have a more “jetlagged” body clock. So yes, it makes sense why she was out in the night and not much in the day. Being stuck in a corner the whole time she was out in the day says to me she is undergoing aggression, what other wrasses are in the tank?

Also my melanarus has been one of my most peaceful fish and never bothered my carpenter wrasse but I think it was because of how small he was but didn’t like my two line snapper for a couple of days when I put him in the tank. Think it’s more my sapphire damsels as my melanarus wrasse’s aggression has been rather moderate and I’ve only seen a slight nip from her twice. I’ll try to take a video

 

[i cant think]

Also my melanarus has been one of my most peaceful fish and never bothered my carpenter wrasse but I think it was because of how small he was but didn’t like my two line snapper for a couple of days when I put him in the tank. Think it’s more my sapphire damsels as my melanarus wrasse’s aggression has been rather moderate and I’ve only seen a slight nip from her twice. I’ll try to take a video

Even small bits of aggression can scare anampses wrasses IME, Id keep a close eye on the two.

 

[MeanGreenStompa]

Keep the lights off for a few days, just let the ambient light give them a sense of day and night. They won't eat dried foods, my two won't touch dry, only a very mixed diet of frozen and occasional live. Watch for aggression from established fish and consider adding another new fish so your wrasse isn't the only newbie target in the tank. I personally think you did the right thing not quarantining this delicate species, avoiding the additional stresses that involves. I've had my two a little over 6 months now and I added them both with a pencil wrasse, a yellow halichoeres, an orange back fairy and a pink edge fairy, so many fish at once gave the established fish a lot of new faces to meet instead of just one 'new kid in class' to bully. I definitely noticed with the China and Pencil wrasses that they were not on our daylight schedule but adjusted over time.

 

[jmanzzz]

Even small bits of aggression can scare anampses wrasses IME, Id keep a close eye on the two.

I am going out today so this might be my last update but I’ll keep an eye on the forum and will respond, but can’t update you. Right now my melanarus has not bit it today (as far as I’ve seen) and the agression is just a push out of the way and she won’t purse my China wrasse, but my two line snapper I saw be a bit more aggressive but only twice, and I don’t think it was biting. My medium maroon fit chase it out of its side of the tank, but the damsels I believe are a main culprit, as one of them put my carpenter wrasse in bad way yesterday, as both wrasse are new.

 

[jmanzzz]

Keep the lights off for a few days, just let the ambient light give them a sense of day and night. They won't eat dried foods, my two won't touch dry, only a very mixed diet of frozen and occasional live. Watch for aggression from established fish and consider adding another new fish so your wrasse isn't the only newbie target in the tank. I personally think you did the right thing not quarantining this delicate species, avoiding the additional stresses that involves. I've had my two a little over 6 months now and I added them both with a pencil wrasse, a yellow halichoeres, an orange back fairy and a pink edge fairy, so many fish at once gave the established fish a lot of new faces to meet instead of just one 'new kid in class' to bully. I definitely noticed with the China and Pencil wrasses that they were not on our daylight schedule but adjusted over time.

This is probably the best advice I’ve seen on a forum. Thank you I will buy some mystis shrimp asap can’t today as that’s what I saw it eat at lfs. Didn’t eat fish eggs when I fed the tank yesterday but picks pretty good and I think ate 1 or 2 flakes off the floor just now. I don’t quarantine most of my fish as I usually wait until they are at the fish store for a while, look good and eat good, but this one wasn’t even in the lfs for 12 hours, so I will be buying more live rock and pods just in case it doesn’t want to eat live foods and will give it more hiding places. I also added a chocolate tang with it, he’s around 4 inches and he’s taken some aggression, more than the China wrasse in general, from my purple tang and blue tang, also my tomani tang, but they aren’t interested in my China wrasse. China wrasse still looks good, pic below

 

[i cant think]

This is probably the best advice I’ve seen on a forum. Thank you I will buy some mystis shrimp asap can’t today as that’s what I saw it eat at lfs. Didn’t eat fish eggs when I fed the tank yesterday but picks pretty good and I think ate 1 or 2 flakes off the floor just now. I don’t quarantine most of my fish as I usually wait until they are at the fish store for a while, look good and eat good, but this one wasn’t even in the lfs for 12 hours, so I will be buying more live rock and pods just in case it doesn’t want to eat live foods and will give it more hiding places. I also added a chocolate tang with it, he’s around 4 inches and he’s taken some aggression, more than the China wrasse in general, from my purple tang and blue tang, also my tomani tang, but they aren’t interested in my China wrasse. China wrasse still looks good, pic below

Where’s the sand?
It looks to me as though she’s stressed out as there isn’t much sand to burry into. Upside down swimming isn’t great news unless she was pecking for pods. If she swims like that then it’s a possible swim bladder issue.

 

[jmanzzz]

Even small bits of aggression can scare anampses wrasses IME, Id keep a close eye on the two.

I saw your response on the melanarus wrasse jet lagged forum and was saw you said wrasse and mandarin will destroy a pod population. Will this be a problem for me if I have a melanarus a carpenter the China wrasse and tangs?

 

[jmanzzz]

Where’s the sand?
It looks to me as though she’s stressed out as there isn’t much sand to burry into. Upside down swimming isn’t great news unless she was pecking for pods. If she swims like that then it’s a possible swim bladder issue.

That’s about 3-4 inches of sand do i need more? I’ll get some if I do but my melanarus wrasse has always been quite happy with that amount

 

[jmanzzz]

Where’s the sand?
It looks to me as though she’s stressed out as there isn’t much sand to burry into. Upside down swimming isn’t great news unless she was pecking for pods. If she swims like that then it’s a possible swim bladder issue.

Oh ok I see what happened the picture is flipped to the left of you turn your phone you’ll see that is the glass wall of the tank

 

[jmanzzz]

Where’s the sand?
It looks to me as though she’s stressed out as there isn’t much sand to burry into. Upside down swimming isn’t great news unless she was pecking for pods. If she swims like that then it’s a possible swim bladder issue.

Swims good no upside down swimming pic is flipped

 

[i cant think]

Oh ok I see what happened the picture is flipped to the left of you turn your phone you’ll see that is the glass wall of the tank

Ohh, sorry for the confusion )

Also 3-4 inches is perfect for wrasses. As for decemating pod populations, the mandarin will do most of the work, as long as your population is high and kept in check you should be alright.

 

[fishguy242]

if still home tape a mirror to glass to try to curb aggression for both the tang and the wrasse,
opposite side of tank china is taking hiding .
may help a bit.