Purple Firefish Hiding when Wavemaker is On

[AnxiousReefEnjoyer]

He's still new but he's out and about when the wave maker is off during feeding but hides the entire time it's on. He's only been in a few days so I know he's still adjusting but I thought it was an interesting coincidence that he's only hiding when the wave maker is on. It's a reef casa mini surf. Intensity 6 out of 20, frequency is 2 seconds and on pulse setting. No corals until the 19th but I'm planning a LPS + Softies

 

[KrisReef]

I hope you have a full lid. These fishes are jumpers and yours seems a bit skiddish?

 

[Reefering1]

Is he hiding when the pump is on, or is he coming out when you feed?

 

[AnxiousReefEnjoyer]

Is he hiding when the pump is on, or is he coming out when you feed?

Hiding when the wavemaker is on. I turned it off and he's out

 

[AnxiousReefEnjoyer]

I hope you have a full lid. These fishes are jumpers and yours seems a bit skiddish?

I do have a lid

 

[Jamie9]

My purple fire fish was super skittish the first week or two, and the spot he would hang out in was very flow dependent. He’s still not out all the time, but after a few weeks he seems more comfortable going wherever he wants (especially if there’s food involved).

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I don't know but I think its curiosity. When I turn my flow off for extended time even the super shy fish come out to look whats going on..

 

[ScottJ]

After more than a year, my purple fire fish still dives for cover when I get up next to the tank. He's out all other times, though.

 

[AnxiousReefEnjoyer]

My purple fire fish was super skittish the first week or two, and the spot he would hang out in was very flow dependent. He’s still not out all the time, but after a few weeks he seems more comfortable going wherever he wants (especially if there’s food involved).

That's reassuring but I'm a little puzzled by how confident he is when the wave maker is on vs off. On he hides in a low flow spot, Off He's exlpolring the tank

 

[Jamie9]

That's reassuring but I'm a little puzzled by how confident he is when the wave maker is on vs off. On he hides in a low flow spot, Off He's exlpolring the tank

I have a theory too that often when we get new fish, they’ve been so stressed and not eating well that they have very little energy.

A trout in the wild will hang still in a pocket of still water for days waiting for a tiny insect meal because it can’t afford the energy to just go swimming about all day.

Until we’ve been feeding our fish regularly for a week or more, the new ones probably have very little energy for swimming, especially if the flow is high. (Except clown fish, those fools will swim!)

 

[AnxiousReefEnjoyer]

Update: He's out and about. Very brave now that he's settled