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FAQs on Flasher Wrasses, Genus Paracheilinus Disease/Health
Related Articles: Flasher Wrasses,
Related FAQs: Flasher Wrasses, &
FAQs on: Flasher Wrasse Identification,
Flasher Wrasse Behavior, Flasher
Wrasse Compatibility, Flasher Wrasse
Selection, Flasher Wrasse Systems,
Flasher Wrasse Feeding, Flasher
Wrasse Reproduction, &
Wrasses, Wrasse Selection,
Wrasse Behavior, Wrasse Compatibility,
Wrasse Feeding, Wrasse Diseases, |
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QT Female Filamented Flasher Wrasses? – 04/04/09
I'll be receiving 3 female flasher wrasses to put in with the male I
currently have.
<<Mmm, not the best “sequence” for stocking these fishes. Perhaps you
can sequester the male until the females arrive and then place “all” at
once?>>
I planned to hold them in QT at least 4 weeks
<<Not recommended in “my” opinion. These fishes are fairly disease
resistant…but more importantly often suffer from such quarantine in my
experience and warrant direct placement in the display>>
but just tonight read that if there is no male the dominant female will
become the male and this can take place in as little as 10-14 days.
<<Perhaps a bit longer considering the confusion and stress of
capture/transportation/quarantine in a bare tank…but still a
possibility, yes>>
I was also told that wrasses don't need to be QT because of their slime
coat.
<<Many are quite resistant to protozoan infection>>
Are either of those true?
<<To a degree, yes…but as stated, I think it is more important that with
these fishes just the quarantine itself may prove more detrimental than
beneficial. You can try a freshwater dip before introduction
(http://www.wetwebmedia.com/dips_baths.htm), but do watch the fish
closely during>>
I still want to QT the fish but I don't want to have one become a male.
<<You have my thoughts re this process and these fishes>>
Thanks.
Debra
<<Happy to share… EricR>>
Re: QT Female Filamented Flasher Wrasses? Now Royal Gramma
comp. - 04/06/09
Thanks for the reply.
<<Quite welcome>>
The male was in QT for 4 weeks (not your typical QT... It was my 2 year
old 20g that needed to be broken down with tons of live mysids) I didn't
have to feed him for three days.
<<Ah…okay>>
Anyway, he was put in his new home Friday. My new issue is my Royal
Gramma.
<<Oh?>>
I currently have the tank now divided in half via eggcrate & 1/4"
casting net. Will the gramma accept his new tankmates over time?
<<Mmm, as the “established” fish here…you likely will have to remove it
until the Flasher Wrasses have settled in and acclimated to the new
system>>
If so, about how long would the divider need to be kept in place?
<<It is best to remove the Basslet altogether for a time to disorient
it/provide the upper hand to the Wrasses upon its return>>
He seems to be showing less aggression today. Only if absolutely
necessary I can move him to my frag tank.
<<It is up to you… You can try the divider…but I would be more inclined
to move the fish for a while, for the benefit of the Flashers>>
I have a catch net resting on the Monti cap for him to get used to
should I need to try and catch him.
<<Excellent>>
The females are supposed to be shipped today so they'll be here
tomorrow.
<<Though less of a risk than the Basslet, do keep an eye out for
excessive aggression towards the females from the male (being first in
the tank)>>
Oh and rearranging the tank won't work. His fave spot is the 10x10 Monti
cap attached to a large rock - not an easy piece to rearrange.
<<Agreed…temporary relocation of the Royal Gramma is best here I think>>
Thanks again!!!
<<Good luck with your Flasher Wrasses…wonderful little fish! EricR>>
Filamented Flasher Wrasses follow-up – 04/12/09
I had ordered three female flasher wrasses to join my male and the
shippers held them an extra week until they felt they were ready for
shipping. In the meantime I moved the royal gramma the day before their
arrival to another one of my tanks and he's doing well. Absolutely the
best decision as the gramma owned my large Monti cap, slept there and
swam in and out of all the holes... the wrasses have now taken it over.
Before moving the gramma the male wrasse was out and about occasionally
with a divider separating him and the gramma but still stayed hidden 90%
of the time.
<Submissive>
The females arrived early Friday morning and after a lengthy acclimation
(4 hours) were put directly into the tank. The only other fish in there
now was the male wrasse. The three females dove right into the huge
Monti cap and hid. Even with the females hiding, within 5 minutes the
male was out and hovering over the Monti cap darting in and out. Within
20 minutes the male and dominant female were hovering together over the
Monti cap.
<Ahh!>
I saw him more yesterday after the females were in the tank than I have
the whole six weeks I've had him. What a huge difference in his
behavior... their interaction as a group is fascinating. I have a
Vortech that they love to face into the outflow above the Monti.
<Very nice>
After another couple hours I decided to try feeding and had frozen mysis
and Rod's food soaking in Selcon. As soon as the food hit the water the
male and two of the three females were scooping it up and wanting more.
I fed them 3 more times throughout the day. The remaining female who
looked more stressed than the other two during acclimation remained
hidden. I kept the lights on actinics only all day.
<Good>
I made a tank cover using 1/4" monofilament casting net because during
the male's stay in a holding tank the male was always jumping (just
because he could) and kept hitting the acrylic cover on that tank. 1/4"
black nylon casting net covers the Vortech.
For the slower to recover female Is there anything else I can do to help
her through this?
<Mmm, possibly add/try some live foods, otherwise, nothing else I would
do>
I'm running eight T5 HOs in the tank, no Halide, and was thinking of
keeping the lighting subdued again today running only half of the
lights.
I hope some of this is helpful to others thinking about getting flasher
wrasses.
Thank you,
Debra
<And you. Bob Fenner>
Flasher Wrasses
I recently ordered 3 filament flasher wrasses mail order. When they
arrived, none of them looked to be in good shape. One did not make it
through the night but the other two seemed to have come around.<sorry to
hear about that> They have been in QT for 10 days now. Physically,
they look fine but their behavior is very odd.<doesn't sound good> They
often seem to make a vertical twitching/shaking movement. I am worried
about this and was wondering if this behavior was normal.<not really,
they do act strange but not switching and such> They are feeding and
look fine.<well if they are eating then that is an excellent sign> I
also wondered the recommended QT period on these fish as I read on your
site and in the book that a short QT for wrasses is best.<well if they
are doing well in the next couple weeks...eating/acting normal etc I
would add them to the main aquarium> Exactly how long is short.<Qt
process for the wrasses all depends on how well they do...I like to keep
my fish in quarantine for at least 3 weeks> I normally quarantine for
3-4 weeks. <I do too> Also, will it be fine to add 2-3 more wrasses
later (same species).<These wrasses do get along in groups, but I would
still be cautious on introducing "new specimens" to the aquarium. You
could try it but would definitely remove the new additions if they are
getting attacked by the other 2, it is always best to introduce fish of
the same species at the same time> Thanks for your input. Abby <your
welcome, IanB> Flasher
Wrasse Problem - 11/25/06
Your help in the past has been so
beneficial for my reef inhabitants, I thought I would give you guys
<<and gals>> a try on this problem that has everyone (myself, my
friends, ReefCentral, the LFS, etc.) without a clue.
<<Really? Hmm,
I shall try...>>
7 weeks ago I purchased a male McCosker's Flasher
wrasse from a LFS.
<Gorgeous fish>>
He was active and happy in
the store and had been there for two weeks when I purchased him. For
the first 6 weeks in my tank he was incredibly active and a voracious
eater. 10 days ago, when I went to feed the tank, I noticed that he was
sitting on the rockwork (he had never sat around during the day
before). I fed the tank. He ate a bite or two and then "freaked out"
swimming incredibly rapidly and jumping (two things I had never seen
before).
<<Not all that unusual, this genus (Paracheilinus) as a
whole is quite "high-strung" at times, in my opinion/experience. I used
to have a small group that any time the lights went suddenly off as with
a power outage/interruption, you could hear the wrasses "pinging around"
in the light fixture like little pinballs>>
He then proceeded to
hide in the rocks. Since then, I have seen him display this same
behavior on three occasions. When I feed the tank, he will come out of
hiding and eat a bit, but will not eat as he use to or swim around the
tank at all. Any idea what is going on here?
<<You say you've asked
around so I have to think this has been brought up before but...sounds
to me like you may have an aggression issue. Aside from interspecific
confrontations, these fish are very peaceable and easily fall prey to
more aggressive species (I have witnessed six-line wrasses
terrorize/kill flasher and fairy wrasses). Even if "you" have not
witnessed it...doesn't mean it's not happening>>
Here is some tank
information:
25 gallon display with 25 pounds of Marshall Island
live rock. Parameters all very stable with 0 ammon., nitrite, nitrate.
Temp 80. Ph 8.25. Alkalinity 4.5 Meq/L. Other inhabitants include
snails, hermits, LPS, mushrooms, Zoanthids, Monti-cap. All in the
entire time the fish has been here.
<<Other fishes?>>
There is a
grounding probe in the tank.
<<Mmm...more of a hunch than anything
else, but try removing this for a time and see if the fish responds>>
The only thought that we tested was that three days before his first
freak out, a small Yashia goby and pistol shrimp were added. There was
some concern that the pistol shrimp's popping was scaring him so the
pistol was removed 5 days ago, but the behavior has not changed.
<<Doubt this is the problem>>
The goby is still in the tank, but
there is no aggression between the two of them and, in fact, the spot
where the wrasse hides all day long is right next to the goby's hiding
spot. I appreciate any help on the issue.
<<I don't feel like I've
been much help thus far. Aside from aggression or stray voltage, there
may be environmental issues at play here, to include excessive
allelopathy in this relatively small/confined space. If you have not
done so already, please read here and among the associated links at the
top of the page for more info re husbandry/maintenance of these fishes (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/paracheilinus.htm)>>
Oh, and by the way, the Scorpionfish you helped me with a few months ago
is doing great ... thanks for your help!
<<Good to know>>
Adam
<<Regards, EricR>> Need some sanity for my wrasses
1/4/07
Hi-
<Hello Nathan, JustinN with you today.>
I have
a 50gal reef tank.
<Ok>
Besides a day-night pH fluctuation
that bothers me, I have no issues. I have a blue carpet that minds
it's business, more than several SPS's, some polyps, 4 shrimp, a host
of hermits, a starfish that I forget the name of the Ophiothrix
type, 400 Watt 15k augmented with 64 actinic, moon, skimmer, chiller,
on and on and on :) I have zero issues in my tank. EXCEPT!
Flasher wrasses will not stay alive in my tank. For fish I have a
Fridmani Pseudochromis, one Ocellaris clown, an exquisite wrasse and a
unknown wrasse of the same genus.
<You are very close to, if not
already, full on bio-load here.>
The Exquisite is a male. I have
read that Cirrhilabrus and Paracheilinus can coexist easily.
<Certainly, in a large enough setting>
These 2 wrasses are such
characters and will even let me pet their noses (I know it isn't a
nose!) when I feed them. The are very playful and well established. I
have tried to put in my tank 2 smaller Paracheilinus wrasses (cyanus and
carpenteri) and both died the same way: they looked happy and
established, were eating, then the next day they are curled up with
labored breathing in the corner only to die no matter what I do (I put
them in isolation and it is too late). Honestly, I see them looking ok,
eating one minute, then near death 1 hours later.
<I would think
that both wrasse and the Pseudochromis are all culprits here.>
My
only guess is that the combination of Paracheilinus being a bit tender
and wimpy combined with the territoriality of my Pseudochromis (it will
not allow the flashers near the rock pile during the light hours) are
driving these beautiful wrasses out of their mind and they die. But what
is odd is that the Pseudochromis never bothers the Cirrhilabrus.
<You may just not notice it, or it may be that they're already
established. However, I agree that the Pseudochromis is likely the lead
culprit, though I would not exonerate the wrasse yet!>
I just need
someone to tell me my supposition is plausible, or what I might do to
remedy it, because I will not let another fish die until I fix the
problem (and fixing it maybe giving up on owning a Paracheilinus).
While Paracheilinus are beautiful so it my solid purple Pseudochromis.
Could this all be due to the Pseudochromis? If you think so, I might
consider trapping him and trading him to another tank.
<I would
consider your tank pretty close to full as it is, and if its been
successful until now, I would continue with your current stocking list.
If you cannot upgrade to a larger settings, I would pass on another
wrasse. I would only feel comfortable adding some sort of small fish,
such as a small goby or Ecsenius sp. blenny into your current
arrangement, in fear of tipping the bio-load too far.>
Thank you,
Nathan Tableman
<No problem, Nathan. Hope this helps you! -JustinN>
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