Laboute's Fairy Wrasse

[pgrantz]

Hi, I just put a Laboute's Fairy Wrasse in my tank last Thursday night. He seemed to do okay Friday and Saturday, but I hardly saw him at all on Sunday. He came out a couple of times that I was looking at the tank but not for a long time. He did eat frozen Mysis on Friday and Saturday. Early Sunday when I fed them flakes (Formula 2), he didn't eat. Sunday night, he didn't come out when I fed the tank frozen food. He is about 3-4 inches long and looks very fat and healthy. Do I need to be concerned? Is there anything I can do to help him get established? I really like him and want to see him do well.

Other info: tank is a 135 reef. Tankmates - a small Solorensis-2"), a Leopard Wrasse (Guinea Fowl-Macropharyngodon meleagris), Mandarin fish, Yellow-headed Sleeper Goby, Rainsford Goby, Potter's Angel, Red Fire fish, mated pair of Black Oscellaris Clowns, and a Purple Tang. The Tang swims crazily like most Tangs, and he has chased the Laboute's a little, but not any more than the other fish...I think to let the Laboute's know who's boss). I also have what was called a Red-lined Fairy Wrasse, but I don't know his technical name. None of the other wrasses have acted adversely towards him at all that I have seen.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Sloeber]

Do I need to be concerned? Is there anything I can do to help him get established?

i'm assuming by now you've most likely gotten your answer meaning if the fish is still alive it's probably settled into the tank by now. anything you can do to help settle the fish into the new aquarium should have probably been done prior to purchase. once the fish is in the tank, its hard to work around the aquarum without scaring it. if the tank is in a high-traffic area of the home you can try hanging towels on the front glass to eleminate the regular foot traffic. otherwise any stress in coming from inside the water, whether it be from poor water quality or maybe not the ideal tank mates. either way, it becomes difficult to add new fish once the load starts to get up there because every fish already in is settled into the pecking order of dominance and we mess it all up when we add another fish to the mix. so regardless of whether fish are visibly fighting, they are stressed from having to redefine the hiarchy of dominance. even if the surgeonfish isn't attacking any of the other fish it's bursts of crazy bouts with the glass still cause disruption. one thing to look at is your order of introduction. if a surgeonfish is desired it's good to add them as the last fish in. they cause a lot more stress in an aquarium than most people realize. another thing to look at would be the aquascaping of the tank. make sure there are a ton of hiding spots where the surgeonfish is unable to reach so the other fish can get away from it completely if need be. just a few ideas that come to mind, but like i said once the fish is in it's hard to make any changes without further disruption.

HTH

henry