My incredibly stupid Wrasse

Studjunior · Nov 9, 2012

I was mounting a frag onto a frag plug using coral glue and as soon as I put it into the water for the glue to harden my pyle wrasse decided to try biting it and now has a long piece of glue stuck to it's mouth. It is clear that it's bothering it but I have no way of catching it to remove it. Anyone ever have this happen to them??? Any suggestions on what to do??? Will the glue come off on its own or should I be concerned for the fish!!! I've heard of stupid fish but this one takes the cake. I took a picture with my phone and will load it in the morning.

Studjunior · Nov 9, 2012

kschweer · Nov 9, 2012

I have no personal experience with this but have seen a few threads about fish biting at glue and having it stuck to them. They all seem to have made out fine and the glue came off after time. I would do a quick search on the site for the threads

bige · Nov 9, 2012

I had this happen with a clown. The glue eventually fell off.

gmoney243 · Nov 9, 2012

I've heard this story before and usually ends with good results
It should come off on its own from what I've heard. Just nxt time let em dry a bit first. Superglue dries fast enough that the corals wont b affected being out of the water. Some also drip tank water on frags to help keep them wet and oddly enough dries superglue faster.

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NanoNathan · Nov 9, 2012

lol stupid fish funny tho. my guess as others said it will sooner or later just come off

tinctorus · Nov 9, 2012

It shouldn't be a problem, That being said I have had this happen to my fish on 3 different occasions and only once did I lose the fish and that was ONLY because he got such a good bite of the fresh glue that he actually glued his mouth totally shut and couldn't eat so he ended up starving to death since I couldn't catch him to at least attempt to get the glue off

FWIW this happened to a harlequin tusk and I think the only reason it glued his mouth shut the way it did was because of the teeth that the tusk's have

Studjunior · Nov 10, 2012

After reading everyone's posts I was very optimistic so I went to bed and figured I would check on it yesterday once the lights came on. I checked on my tank a 3:00pm just before the lights turn on and I saw it swimming around with no glue which got me very excited. I then got busy with the kids and next thing I know I hear my wife scream at 4:40 that there was a fish on the flood. I tried putting back in the tank right away but unfortunately I was too late and the fish passed on. I think the stress from the glue must have brought it to the point of jumping out or the tank as I've have it for over a year with no incident.... I'm really going to kiss this fish and it's beautiful colors. I'm going to have to find something equally or more beautiful to replace it with now.... At least I know it was not the glue directly that killed it but I will be a lot more cautious for stupid fish going forward. Thanks everyone for your responses.

Blake11rebel · Nov 10, 2012

Sorry to hear about you loss. Most wrasse are notorious for jumping so if you plan on adding another one I would make sure you have a tight fitting canopy or a screen top to prevent this happening again.

evolved · Nov 12, 2012

Studjunior said:
After reading everyone's posts I was very optimistic so I went to bed and figured I would check on it yesterday once the lights came on. I checked on my tank a 3:00pm just before the lights turn on and I saw it swimming around with no glue which got me very excited. I then got busy with the kids and next thing I know I hear my wife scream at 4:40 that there was a fish on the flood. I tried putting back in the tank right away but unfortunately I was too late and the fish passed on. I think the stress from the glue must have brought it to the point of jumping out or the tank as I've have it for over a year with no incident.... I'm really going to kiss this fish and it's beautiful colors. I'm going to have to find something equally or more beautiful to replace it with now.... At least I know it was not the glue directly that killed it but I will be a lot more cautious for stupid fish going forward. Thanks everyone for your responses.

ALL wrasses are jumpers. Keeping one in an uncovered tank or with any opportunities for escape is keeping one on borrowed time. Glue or not, it was a matter of time before you found the fish on the floor.

These are not stupid fish. They know where food comes from, so when you put anything in the tank it's instantly viewed as food.

I find humor in irony.