Yellowtail tamarin wrasse (+ a time-lapse of my substrate at night)

[Koty]

Last Friday I brought in a yellow tamarin wrasse. Planned to get a leopard but this guy was the only option. He was 4 weeks at the LFS (in a bare bottom tank) and was lying on his side on the floor. I examined him and saw that he was essentially looking intact and gave a fight on his way to the net. I skipped quarantine and added him while shutting the lights off He immediately started eating from the heavily algae-covered rocks instead of hiding in the sand. However, he swims in a strange way sometimes as if he has floating problems. This morning I almost got a heart attack as he was lying on the sand looking dead except he was breathing. I went to get an antibiotic and the net to get him out and try a last-minute treatment. When I was back he was swimming normally and brutally biting the substrate (you could hear the sound almost like a Bengai cardinal). Later he ate from the mussel and some bloodworms. Any advice as to how to keep this guy? Is it possible that after 4 weeks w/o sand he used to play dead instead of "diving in"?

Also here is a time-lapse of my substrate at night to show how densely populated our tanks can get:
Recommend to use a big screen

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Last Friday I brought in a yellow tamarin wrasse. Planned to get a leopard but this guy was the only option. He was 4 weeks at the LFS (in a bare bottom tank) and was lying on his side on the floor. I examined him and saw that he was essentially looking intact and gave a fight on his way to the net. I skipped quarantine and added him while shutting the lights off He immediately started eating from the heavily algae-covered rocks instead of hiding in the sand. However, he swims in a strange way sometimes as if he has floating problems. This morning I almost got a heart attack as he was lying on the sand looking dead except he was breathing. I went to get an antibiotic and the net to get him out and try a last-minute treatment. When I was back he was swimming normally and brutally biting the substrate (you could hear the sound almost like a Bengai cardinal). Later he ate from the mussel and some bloodworms. Any advice as to how to keep this guy? Is it possible that after 4 weeks w/o sand he used to play dead instead of "diving in"?

Also here is a time-lapse of my substrate at night to show how densely populated our tanks can get:
Recommend to use a big screen

@i cant think @SaltyT @Petcrazyson may be able to assist with care for this critter.

 

[Petcrazyson]

Last Friday I brought in a yellow tamarin wrasse. Planned to get a leopard but this guy was the only option. He was 4 weeks at the LFS (in a bare bottom tank) and was lying on his side on the floor. I examined him and saw that he was essentially looking intact and gave a fight on his way to the net. I skipped quarantine and added him while shutting the lights off He immediately started eating from the heavily algae-covered rocks instead of hiding in the sand. However, he swims in a strange way sometimes as if he has floating problems. This morning I almost got a heart attack as he was lying on the sand looking dead except he was breathing. I went to get an antibiotic and the net to get him out and try a last-minute treatment. When I was back he was swimming normally and brutally biting the substrate (you could hear the sound almost like a Bengai cardinal). Later he ate from the mussel and some bloodworms. Any advice as to how to keep this guy? Is it possible that after 4 weeks w/o sand he used to play dead instead of "diving in"?

Also here is a time-lapse of my substrate at night to show how densely populated our tanks can get:
Recommend to use a big screen

Really nice Wrasse. By the looks of it you seem to have gotten a chunky one.

It’s common for wrasse like these anampses to ly on the floor of the tank in the lfs, most wrasse do actually and sometimes people pass on the fish because they expect it to be swimming and colored up. Lying on the sand bed even in the tank is normal for this fish obviously if it’s looking healthy and breathing right. He has probably already gone into the sand at some points but you just haven’t seen it yet. It’s normal for these guys to ly on the sand bed without diving into the sand bed sometimes.

I can’t quite judge the way he is swimming because I can’t see the wrasse. Posting a video on him swimming would help a lot. If he is swimming like the way he is in the picture with his tail dragging around on the sand or in the water column it could be a spinal issue, or the swim bladder has too much air. The wrasses colors look awesome by the way no sign of stress I can see from that photo. You have lots and lots of copepods so that’s really good. And good feeding choices for it. As long as the fish is fat and eating, they should be good.

 

[Koty]

Thanks for the reply. He does sleep in the sand now and recently dived right in with all the rest of the wrasses after a nearby thunder.
He has no spinal injury as he swims all day looking for food. He aggressively takes his morning share of the mussel my fish get every day. He also bites hard on the substrate, as you can hear him do so:

I have a H. melanorus as well, but he occasionally sleeps late.

 

[Petcrazyson]

Thanks for the reply. He does sleep in the sand now and recently dived right in with all the rest of the wrasses after a nearby thunder.
He has no spinal injury as he swims all day looking for food. He aggressively takes his morning share of the mussel my fish get every day. He also bites hard on the substrate, as you can hear him do so:

I have a H. melanorus as well, but he occasionally sleeps late.

He is swimming really well in the photo. Don’t see anything to worry about. Keep watching him if you still feel a little uneasy.

I don’t see a melanurus but I do see a chrysus. Nice yellow coloring.

 

[SaltyT]

She looks great in the video. She's actively hunting and even displayed at the chrysus... all things you expect a healthy wrasse to do.

 

[Petcrazyson]

She looks great in the video. She's actively hunting and even displayed at the chrysus... all things you expect a healthy wrasse to do.

Agreed. Don’t see anything troubling

 

[Devaji]

what a great score. that wrasse has been on my wish list for years.

 

[Koty]

Just an update: YTW now eats pellets from the automatic feeder. Not that it was something I considered, but it is good to know as I am not sure how much live stuff he has available long-term. Also i finaly got a leopard wrass. He is about one inch long but full of personality fearlessly grazing on the substrate :

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Last Friday I brought in a yellow tamarin wrasse. Planned to get a leopard but this guy was the only option. He was 4 weeks at the LFS (in a bare bottom tank) and was lying on his side on the floor. I examined him and saw that he was essentially looking intact and gave a fight on his way to the net. I skipped quarantine and added him while shutting the lights off He immediately started eating from the heavily algae-covered rocks instead of hiding in the sand. However, he swims in a strange way sometimes as if he has floating problems. This morning I almost got a heart attack as he was lying on the sand looking dead except he was breathing. I went to get an antibiotic and the net to get him out and try a last-minute treatment. When I was back he was swimming normally and brutally biting the substrate (you could hear the sound almost like a Bengai cardinal). Later he ate from the mussel and some bloodworms. Any advice as to how to keep this guy? Is it possible that after 4 weeks w/o sand he used to play dead instead of "diving in"?

Also here is a time-lapse of my substrate at night to show how densely populated our tanks can get:
Recommend to use a big screen

Great looking Wrasse!