New helfrichi firefish hiding/missing

[Realamerican13]

Purchased a helfrichi firefish from live aquaria. Salinity in shipping bag was 1.016, temp acclimated in my tank then drip acclimated bringing salinity to 1.025. Fire fish was out in the open in the tank for a 5 hours with light off mainly staying by an acan colony on sandbed, he’s small, max 1.5”. My wife saw him getting bullied a little bit by one of my two clowns. No biting or anything just a little show of force. He was put in the tank on the 12th and I haven’t seen him since that night. Plenty of places to hide and I MAY have caught a glimpse of his bright yellow head deep in the rocks but I’m not positive. I have been target feeding that area with mysis but my shrimp and nassarius snails bumrush the hole which is probably freaking the fish out even more (if he’s alive). When/should I pick up the rocks to see if he’s ok. Besides the welfare of the fish. I don’t want to lose out on the 14 day guarantee from live aquaria. I suspect the fish couldn’t have been doing well to begin with if the salinity was that low (1.016). I checked this with refractometer and Hannah salinity checker. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[melanotaenia]

4 days is a little unusual but not unheard of, they are very shy at first, but I would think by now you would see him come out for feeding. Try feeding the tank right when the light comes on or right before it goes out and see if he comes out. If you don't see him after a couple more days, then I would start looking at night when the lights are off. You can use a UV flashlight or red flashlight so as to not disturb the other tank inhabitants.

 

[LisaAP]

You could try offering live Tigriopus pods to try and tempt it out to eat. Mine cannot resist the treat of live food jigging about the tank. Lobster eggs are another irresistible firefish snack too.

I hope he turns up soon.

Regards

Lisa

 

[William Mumford]

Do you have a lid on the tank. Firefish are carpet surfers.

 

[Biokabe]

It's not that unusual for firefish to hide, especially when they're on the small size. I haven't had a Helfrichi, but I've had the other three species at various times and smaller members were always very hide-y to start off with.

That said, they are very vulnerable to certain things:

1) Carpets. Long, slender bodies and a habit of short, quick movements can send them flying out of a tank that isn't covered.

2) Predation. Again, long, slender bodies make them a tempting target for piscovores. You didn't mention whether you have anything that could eat him, but lionfish or anglers would definitely think he's delicious.

3) Anemones. Their skin seems to be a little thinner than most other fish. I've lost firefish to aiptasia anemones before - they couldn't eat it, but it backed into them and their stings killed him within 15 minutes. Any other anemone would likely be a risk for him as well.

Unless you're convinced that he's dead, I wouldn't try to move the rocks - moving them usually does far more harm than good.

 

[Realamerican13]

thank you all for the input. I moved the rock and found him right where i thought he would be, alive. He came out and i did notice that someone (most likely my clown) nipped at his rear fins at the top a bit. It doesnt look terrible, but parts of the gold trim that line that top rear fin are missing. While he was out I fed the tank heavily giving the 2 clowns , cleaner shrimp and my possum wrasse plenty to keep them busy. I also fed some reef roids at the same time. The firefish swam around a bit, ate alittle, then hid for 15 min, came back out for 15, and is now hiding again. The only other livestock I have in the tank is some lps coral, various snails, and hermits. I feed primarily frozen mysis/brine soaked in selcon and pellets a few times a week. Hoping he can recover from his injuries, they dont look too serious and the clown showed no aggression while the fire fish was out. I didnt know anemones would eat them, I was considering adding a bubble tip down the road (tank is only 3 months old) to see if the clowns would host it. Thank you all again, I'm relieved he is ok, anything else I can do to ensure his injuries heal? I will put the large clown in a breeder box if I see him messing with the firefish again.

 

[melanotaenia]

I am wondering if he is hiding from the clown's aggression; it may be a good idea to observe tank with lights out or before lights come on/right before they go out, to see if the clown is hanging around where the Firefish is hiding. He may not feel comfortable going out into the open areas of the tank (even acclimated Firefsh can be timid in reefs)

 

[cmoore806]

How did your firefish do after this? I’ve had an issue acclimating from low salinity and was surprised to read drip acclimating worked for the 1.018 to 1.025

 

[Eva Rose]

One thing you can try, (as you watch to see if clown is still bullying) is to soak a good quality frozen food with a few drops of a vitamin like Selcon or Vitachem. It will help as its fins heal. Mix it in a little tank water in a ramekin. Take a turkey baster & gently blow bits of food toward/into cave where it is hiding.
I've fed timid fish hiding this way. Encourages them to be able to take a bite in safety of their cave, until they are ready to come out.