New leopard wrasse concern

[fishnchips17]

So the black leopard wrasse is a fish I've always wanted but I know it's a really hard fish to acclimated to tank life. On Saturday, I pulled the trigger and bought a black leopard wrasse that was looking good at the LFS.

I dripped acclimated and released it in my tank. He immediately disappeared into the sand and stayed buried for 4 days. Finally he came out of the sand today.
My concern is that he's spending 95% of his time swimming at the top of the waterline. Doesn't looking like normal behavior. The only good thing is that he is pecking at food in the water column that floats by him.

So is there anything I can do to help him?

 

[Rappa]

They can act very odd for a while.... I have a friend who didn't see his come out of the sand for a month. He feared it was dead, and bought another one. Then one day he noticed two of them swimming around. Try to time your feedings for when he comes out, and get him eating. If you do that, you should be ok.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Is the water oxygenated? Fish at the surface can indicate low oxygen, oxygen content is higher closer to the surface. That flat water surface cuts the gas exchange, it should be agitated with a powerhead to help oxygenate the water.

 

[fishnchips17]

Is the water oxygenated? Fish at the surface can indicate low oxygen, oxygen content is higher closer to the surface. That flat water surface cuts the gas exchange, it should be agitated with a powerhead to help oxygenate the water.

Yes the water is oxygenated. I have sump with a skimmer. No other fish is displaying this behavior.

 

[fishnchips17]

I'm thinking this maybe is a swim bladder issue? If so, is there anything I can do to help?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I'm thinking this maybe is a swim bladder issue? If so, is there anything I can do to help?

Unlikely to be a swim bladder issue, but if you can post a video, I can tell you if it is, or you can see it yourself; a fish with positive inflation swim bladder issues will bob, head up, trying to stay down. With a negative swim bladder problem, the fish will sink when it isn't actively swimming.

 

[fishnchips17]

Unlikely to be a swim bladder issue, but if you can post a video, I can tell you if it is, or you can see it yourself; a fish with positive inflation swim bladder issues will bob, head up, trying to stay down. With a negative swim bladder problem, the fish will sink when it isn't actively swimming.

Here's a video. He's still spending 95% of the time at the waterline. I never see him foraging in the rocks for pods. Thanks for your help.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Here's a video. He's still spending 95% of the time at the waterline. I never see him foraging in the rocks for pods. Thanks for your help.

That doesn’t look like a swimbladder issue to me. That’s called “piping” and it’s a stress response seen in some fish. Trouble is, there isn’t any way to tell from the video what the stressor might be.
To confirm it isn’t a swimbladder issue, check it at night after lights out. If it’s still floating, it could be the bladder, if it is sleeping on the bottom like wrasse usually do, then it isn’t.

 

[fishnchips17]

That doesn’t look like a swimbladder issue to me. That’s called “piping” and it’s a stress response seen in some fish. Trouble is, there isn’t any way to tell from the video what the stressor might be.
To confirm it isn’t a swimbladder issue, check it at night after lights out. If it’s still floating, it could be the bladder, if it is sleeping on the bottom like wrasse usually do, then it isn’t.

Thanks Jay, it's great to hear that it's not the swim bladder. I can think of one reason he might be stressed, I have a jerk flame angel that always give new fish a hard time, but the angel usually backs off after a few days.