Yellow tail tamarin strange behavior

[BoonieMoe]

My yellow tail tamarin that I have had for close to a month has been acting weird tonight. I caught him multiple times for the last 30mins of lights just lying on his side on the sand. He would get up and swim around. It looked like he was swimming kindve lethargic but I might just been nervous due to the laying behavior that he hasn’t ever displayed. He always swims kindve slow and loafs around so. I have not got him consistently eating prepared foods yet. He’s tried frozen & pellets for one bite here and there but I have seated the tank multiple times with a couple bottles of dinkins pods and him & my radiant spend all day and night hunting and picking at them off rocks and sand. The only other off behavior I’ve seen was lastnight & tonight after lights out he is shallowly buried, with some of his lower half and tail poking out the sand. Is this cause for concern & worry or just normal wrasse being weird behavior? (I know second video is very blue, it was more so included just to see him laying there strangely)
View attachment 20260423_203802_BB66FD38-6968-43AC-BC31-A89A7D0D22E1.mov

View attachment 20260423_203815_D5DEEB8F-F462-4082-BB18-7803845447F8.mov

 

[W31Olds]

Yes, this is a cause for concern and not normal. It sounds like a feeding issue as he looks somewhat thin in the Video. How often are you feeding and what Frozen specifically? Say for example brine shrimp. He should be eating 50 to 100 at a meal.
@Jay Hemdal
@vetteguy53081

 

[vetteguy53081]

My yellow tail tamarin that I have had for close to a month has been acting weird tonight. I caught him multiple times for the last 30mins of lights just lying on his side on the sand. He would get up and swim around. It looked like he was swimming kindve lethargic but I might just been nervous due to the laying behavior that he hasn’t ever displayed. He always swims kindve slow and loafs around so. I have not got him consistently eating prepared foods yet. He’s tried frozen & pellets for one bite here and there but I have seated the tank multiple times with a couple bottles of dinkins pods and him & my radiant spend all day and night hunting and picking at them off rocks and sand. The only other off behavior I’ve seen was lastnight & tonight after lights out he is shallowly buried, with some of his lower half and tail poking out the sand. Is this cause for concern & worry or just normal wrasse being weird behavior? (I know second video is very blue, it was more so included just to see him laying there strangely)

Beautiful wrasse and I dont see signs of neurological issues abut suspect the water flow may be strong and if so, reduce flow rate slightly. Fish is not quite thin but also not proportionate. In this case feed meaty diet such as LRS fish frenzy. Light was a little dark... is fish breathing normal or labored?

 

[Nordy]

I have heard great things about Seachem Entice. I recently had good success with a Divided Leopard Wrasse that came out of hiding on day 4 after arriving, that liked ROE and has been progressing to other frozen foods and getting a touch thicker. Today I soaked LRS with Brightwell’s garlic additive and she went for it.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

My yellow tail tamarin that I have had for close to a month has been acting weird tonight. I caught him multiple times for the last 30mins of lights just lying on his side on the sand. He would get up and swim around. It looked like he was swimming kindve lethargic but I might just been nervous due to the laying behavior that he hasn’t ever displayed. He always swims kindve slow and loafs around so. I have not got him consistently eating prepared foods yet. He’s tried frozen & pellets for one bite here and there but I have seated the tank multiple times with a couple bottles of dinkins pods and him & my radiant spend all day and night hunting and picking at them off rocks and sand. The only other off behavior I’ve seen was lastnight & tonight after lights out he is shallowly buried, with some of his lower half and tail poking out the sand. Is this cause for concern & worry or just normal wrasse being weird behavior? (I know second video is very blue, it was more so included just to see him laying there strangely)

Can you repost a video under white light? It’s tough to see, but the wrasse looks like it might be thin, and that can cause lethargy. Just to forewarn you, it can be difficult to bring this species back if it is that case.

 

[BoonieMoe]

My yellow tail tamarin that I have had for close to a month has been acting weird tonight. I caught him multiple times for the last 30mins of lights just lying on his side on the sand. He would get up and swim around. It looked like he was swimming kindve lethargic but I might just been nervous due to the laying behavior that he hasn’t ever displayed. He always swims kindve slow and loafs around so. I have not got him consistently eating prepared foods yet. He’s tried frozen & pellets for one bite here and there but I have seated the tank multiple times with a couple bottles of dinkins pods and him & my radiant spend all day and night hunting and picking at them off rocks and sand. The only other off behavior I’ve seen was lastnight & tonight after lights out he is shallowly buried, with some of his lower half and tail poking out the sand. Is this cause for concern & worry or just normal wrasse being weird behavior? (I know second video is very blue, it was more so included just to see him laying there strangely)

Beautiful wrasse and I dont see signs of neurological issues abut suspect the water flow may be strong and if so, reduce flow rate slightly. Fish is not quite thin but also not proportionate. In this case feed meaty diet such as LRS fish frenzy. Light was a little dark... is fish breathing normal or labored?

He is still relatively small for his species. He is only about 2 inches max maybe. I havnt noticed his thickness lessen any since adding him but also havnt notice an increase either. With his all black body it’s hard to notice his breathing unless he turns & I see him from the back of the head which then it seems like he is taking big breathes but not rapid but it has always looked like that to me since before this started. I have still yet to get him on any prepared foods consistently. He has taken a single bite here & there of frozen mysis, pellet, & tigger feast but overall he just seems uninterested & would always just go back to hunting pods. At work right now but my fiance just said that he is still acting the same as lastnight now this morning. Just kindve laying around sometimes & then getting up and loafing around slowly.

 

[vetteguy53081]

He is still relatively small for his species. He is only about 2 inches max maybe. I havnt noticed his thickness lessen any since adding him but also havnt notice an increase either. With his all black body it’s hard to notice his breathing unless he turns & I see him from the back of the head which then it seems like he is taking big breathes but not rapid but it has always looked like that to me since before this started. I have still yet to get him on any prepared foods consistently. He has taken a single bite here & there of frozen mysis, pellet, & tigger feast but overall he just seems uninterested & would always just go back to hunting pods. At work right now but my fiance just said that he is still acting the same as lastnight now this morning. Just kindve laying around sometimes & then getting up and loafing around slowly.

Please provide a video using white light intensity- no blue for 30 seconds

 

[BoonieMoe]

Yes, this is a cause for concern and not normal. It sounds like a feeding issue as he looks somewhat thin in the Video. How often are you feeding and what Frozen specifically? Say for example brine shrimp. He should be eating 50 to 100 at a meal.
@Jay Hemdal
@vetteguy53081

I feed at least 3 times a day at least sometimes 4. My AF4 is the first feeding that feeds at 11am, it feeds a mix of frozen mysis, tigger feast, & garlic guard. Then when I get home around 2 I usually feed either some Rods original blend, or another serving out the af4 & then around 6 I’ll feed some pellets. If I feed a fourth time it’s usually frozen somewhere in between the 2 & 6 feedings. Like I was saying tho still havnt gotten him consistently eating prepared foods of any sort. He has taken a bite of tigger feast, frozen mysis, rods, & pellets but he just seems uninterested & if he does take a bite of one he normally just goes back to hunting pods and searching the rocks immediately after that bite.

 

[BoonieMoe]

He is still relatively small for his species. He is only about 2 inches max maybe. I havnt noticed his thickness lessen any since adding him but also havnt notice an increase either. With his all black body it’s hard to notice his breathing unless he turns & I see him from the back of the head which then it seems like he is taking big breathes but not rapid but it has always looked like that to me since before this started. I have still yet to get him on any prepared foods consistently. He has taken a single bite here & there of frozen mysis, pellet, & tigger feast but overall he just seems uninterested & would always just go back to hunting pods. At work right now but my fiance just said that he is still acting the same as lastnight now this morning. Just kindve laying around sometimes & then getting up and loafing around slowly.

Please provide a video using white light intensity- no blue for 30 seconds

Okay I am gone at work but I will try to get my fiance to take one with my lens on her phone when the lights hit full spectrum in 1.5hrs

 

[OrchidMiss]

@Slocke @i cant think

 

[BoonieMoe]

He is still relatively small for his species. He is only about 2 inches max maybe. I havnt noticed his thickness lessen any since adding him but also havnt notice an increase either. With his all black body it’s hard to notice his breathing unless he turns & I see him from the back of the head which then it seems like he is taking big breathes but not rapid but it has always looked like that to me since before this started. I have still yet to get him on any prepared foods consistently. He has taken a single bite here & there of frozen mysis, pellet, & tigger feast but overall he just seems uninterested & would always just go back to hunting pods. At work right now but my fiance just said that he is still acting the same as lastnight now this morning. Just kindve laying around sometimes & then getting up and loafing around slowly.

Please provide a video using white light intensity- no blue for 30 seconds

One more piece of info I just thought about is I was battling dinos a few weeks back & got in there and scrubbed all my rocks with a tooth brush about 3-4 times. I don’t know if maybe it decreased my pods population & then in the following weeks him & my radiant out ate the reproduction of the remaining pods? I have a AIO so no refugium or anything like that in the tank for pods safe haven.

 

[Slocke]

My yellow tail tamarin that I have had for close to a month has been acting weird tonight. I caught him multiple times for the last 30mins of lights just lying on his side on the sand. He would get up and swim around. It looked like he was swimming kindve lethargic but I might just been nervous due to the laying behavior that he hasn’t ever displayed. He always swims kindve slow and loafs around so. I have not got him consistently eating prepared foods yet. He’s tried frozen & pellets for one bite here and there but I have seated the tank multiple times with a couple bottles of dinkins pods and him & my radiant spend all day and night hunting and picking at them off rocks and sand. The only other off behavior I’ve seen was lastnight & tonight after lights out he is shallowly buried, with some of his lower half and tail poking out the sand. Is this cause for concern & worry or just normal wrasse being weird behavior? (I know second video is very blue, it was more so included just to see him laying there strangely)

This wrasse is an expert only fish for a reason. They don’t adapt to aquarium foods well and giving it enough and the right pods can be very difficult. Sadly, they also suffer from jaw injuries during transport that can also stop them eating.

Not burying into the sand fully is not a good sign and quite probably a sign it lacks strength do to it properly.

 

[BoonieMoe]

My yellow tail tamarin that I have had for close to a month has been acting weird tonight. I caught him multiple times for the last 30mins of lights just lying on his side on the sand. He would get up and swim around. It looked like he was swimming kindve lethargic but I might just been nervous due to the laying behavior that he hasn’t ever displayed. He always swims kindve slow and loafs around so. I have not got him consistently eating prepared foods yet. He’s tried frozen & pellets for one bite here and there but I have seated the tank multiple times with a couple bottles of dinkins pods and him & my radiant spend all day and night hunting and picking at them off rocks and sand. The only other off behavior I’ve seen was lastnight & tonight after lights out he is shallowly buried, with some of his lower half and tail poking out the sand. Is this cause for concern & worry or just normal wrasse being weird behavior? (I know second video is very blue, it was more so included just to see him laying there strangely)

This wrasse is an expert only fish for a reason. They don’t adapt to aquarium foods well and giving it enough and the right pods can be very difficult. Sadly, they also suffer from jaw injuries during transport that can also stop them eating.

Not burying into the sand fully is not a good sign and quite probably a sign it lacks strength do to it properly.

Yeah I knew it was a finicky wrasse like leopards & had a leopard successfully in a previous fish only tank. From my research I had seen many people say that a strongly seated tank with pods was key to success with them if all was well with shipping because it can takes months of them only eating pods before it clicks for them that the food being fed is something they can eat. He shipped great & has been healthy & hunting pods everyday all day for the past month. I made sure to strongly preseat my tank before adding him & adding some more after but I didn’t think of the impact me scrubbing for dinos could have had and havnt added more since that time. If low pod population maybe is even the case for what’s going on?

 

[BoonieMoe]

He is still relatively small for his species. He is only about 2 inches max maybe. I havnt noticed his thickness lessen any since adding him but also havnt notice an increase either. With his all black body it’s hard to notice his breathing unless he turns & I see him from the back of the head which then it seems like he is taking big breathes but not rapid but it has always looked like that to me since before this started. I have still yet to get him on any prepared foods consistently. He has taken a single bite here & there of frozen mysis, pellet, & tigger feast but overall he just seems uninterested & would always just go back to hunting pods. At work right now but my fiance just said that he is still acting the same as lastnight now this morning. Just kindve laying around sometimes & then getting up and loafing around slowly.

Please provide a video using white light intensity- no blue for 30 seconds

 

[BoonieMoe]

He is still relatively small for his species. He is only about 2 inches max maybe. I havnt noticed his thickness lessen any since adding him but also havnt notice an increase either. With his all black body it’s hard to notice his breathing unless he turns & I see him from the back of the head which then it seems like he is taking big breathes but not rapid but it has always looked like that to me since before this started. I have still yet to get him on any prepared foods consistently. He has taken a single bite here & there of frozen mysis, pellet, & tigger feast but overall he just seems uninterested & would always just go back to hunting pods. At work right now but my fiance just said that he is still acting the same as lastnight now this morning. Just kindve laying around sometimes & then getting up and loafing around slowly.

Please provide a video using white light intensity- no blue for 30 seconds

This is kindve a good showing of the behavior pattern. Swims around slowly & then lays down for a short time. Then swims around some more. Rinse and repeat since last night.

 

[Slocke]

Yeah I knew it was a finicky wrasse like leopards & had a leopard successfully in a previous fish only tank. From my research I had seen many people say that a strongly seated tank with pods was key to success with them if all was well with shipping because it can takes months of them only eating pods before it clicks for them that the food being fed is something they can eat. He shipped great & has been healthy & hunting pods everyday all day for the past month. I made sure to strongly preseat my tank before adding him & adding some more after but I didn’t think of the impact me scrubbing for dinos could have had and havnt added more since that time. If low pod population maybe is even the case for what’s going on?

pods is such a broad name and I have often wondered if we need to be more precise. My experience with tamarins in my tank and in the wild is that they spend more time then any other picking off rocks. So “pods” is probably what they need but are we giving them the right pods. Are the microscopic ones big enough to feed a tamarin or would they fare better on something amphipod sized. I think it says a lot that no home or even public aquarium has successfully raised a yellowtail tamarin to male as far as I am aware.

Since Jay is here, have you ever seen a male in your time in the aquarium business?
For reference this is a male

 

[BoonieMoe]

The rounds of seating I did, prior to the Dino scrubbing, was with the Tisbe, Apocylops, & Tigriopus species. I did plan to add amphipods in the future I was just waiting for both my tamarin & radiant to grow a little more bc they are both sub 2”, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt anything to add them even if they are too large for them to eat bc it would give the amphipods more time to populate before being hunted. But too your point I don’t believe I have ever seen a male yellow tail in the hobby now that you mention it. But I have seen a good chunk of people with females for years, but I guess I never considered if nobody’s was transitioning to a male was that due to them just surviving & not thriving in the hobby environment.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

This is kindve a good showing of the behavior pattern. Swims around slowly & then lays down for a short time. Then swims around some more. Rinse and repeat since last night.

It does look emaciated and lethargic, and those kind of go hand in hand.....

 

[vetteguy53081]

Assure fish is not being intimidated by a tank mate and lower white intensity slightly to allow it to be relaxed. Sand also looks a little too course for a juvenile wrasse

 

[BoonieMoe]

Assure fish is not being intimidated by a tank mate and lower white intensity slightly to allow it to be relaxed. Sand also looks a little too course for a juvenile wrasse

Tank mates accepted him very quickly when I added him. Didn’t have any bickering between him and my radiant, they were actually hunting pods side by side withing 20mins of adding him which was really cool to see. Also I went with caribsea special grade from what I had seen it was supposedly large enough for high flow tanks but small enough for sand burying wrasses which is why I went with it over Fiji, but is it actually too large? He nor the radiant hasn’t had any problems burying or any facial scratches or anything.