H. Chrysus possibly still alive?

[mikellini]

Hey there, I recently added an H. Chrysus to my aquarium... it's a 93 gallon cube with a sand bed, other inhabitants are an ornate leopard wrasse and solon fairy wrasse. So, it has been 5 days, and I haven't seen him once in that time. I was a bit concerned that the fairy wrasse might bully him, but I truly haven't seen him; could this still be the case, and be why he hasn't come out? I'm considering sweeping through the sand bed to try and find him and pull him out, but I'm wondering if I should give it a few more days. What do you think?

 

[eatbreakfast]

Definitely do not go in the sand looking for him. Wrasses can stay buried for over a month,(not in most cases, but it certainly happens). They will stay buried out of fear because of a stressful situation, often a quick turnaround between collection, holding facility, wholesaler, pet store and you. Digging for it will only make it stay buried longer. Also they often have to adjust their internal clocks, so if you do see it swimming around after lights out try and offer some food.

 

[mikellini]

That's the thing, it was out and swimming around, eating at the lfs. There was another wrasse in the tank (flasher), but much smaller than my two. Do you suspect the fairy wrasse is causing him to stay buried? If so, should I try and remove him for a bit?

 

[eatbreakfast]

Usually fairy wrasses dont bother Halichoeres species too badly, though if that were the case you would likely see more obvious signs of aggression and the new wrasse would show itself periodically.

 

[mikellini]

OK, I'll wait. Thanks!

 

[mikellini]

Well, he has come out twice now to eat, once before lights on and once after, two days apart. He did eat well both times but was chased a bit by the ornate leopard... Guess I'll just wait and see?

 

[mikellini]

Just an update, it was a solid three weeks before he stayed out the whole day, there was some aggression from the ornate leopard at first but now they eat mysis side by side with no issue at all. Hardy little fish!