Melanurus Wrasse behavior

[Jasonshine]

I recently added a small Melanurus Wrasse to my 29 gallon reef tank - I read that they like to sleep in the sand bed and even saw it when I added him to the tank. Now I haven't seen him in a couple of days - do they hide in the sand for long periods? Are they mostly night dwellers?

 

[jgraz]

I do see mine everyday, but when first added It was a few days before I saw him. Now though its a nightly thing.

 

[horseplay]

I see mine everyday and he sleeps in a tupperware box filled with sand. He is not shy at all.

You may want to check outside the tank

 

[mnat]

Sand dwelling wrasses can stay in the sand for a few days, ours is out everday now.

 

[MatteZ]

When I first added my grey headed wrasse it's stayed birdied for almost a week.

 

[redfishbluefish]

When I first added my Melanurus. I saw a puff of sand kicked up as he immediately bury himself in the sand. Didn't see him for about four days. Now he's out every day and disappears into the sand at night.

 

[Jasonshine]

Update - thank you for your responses - I cannot confirm as I am on a bus going home from Manhattan but according to my wife, the wrasse is currently being eaten by our resident serpent star (aka THE MONSTER). This is the second fish that we have lost after just purchasing them from ACC a week and a half ago- if it wasn't for the fact that we got them on serious markdown I'd be really annoyed. Water conditions are perfect, it is possible that one of the clowns bullied him but the cause of death is suspect.

 

[saltkreep88]

Do you check the salinity of the water the fish is coming from? Many stores run low around 1.018 and it is very hard to adjust them quickly to 1.026

 

[Jasonshine]

I didn't think of that - I run about .024 but had also picked up a cleaner shrimp from the same place and it's doing well. I really think it was a case of bullying - my clowns have successfully bullied a number of others in the past with the same results -

 

[horseplay]

Shrimp and inverts are kept in normal salinity while most fish are kept in much lower levels in most stores. If you didn't drop acclimated for more than one hour I would say this might be the reason it's dead

 

[Mark_C]

I've bought most of my stock from ACC. I tend to drip acclimate for an hour or so, then empty half the water and continue the acclimation for another 2 hours. Of all the fish I picked up from them most are still going strong. A recent purchase of a purple firefish didn't go to well, as even after extended acclimation he was gone within 48 hours, while other purchases (goby and picasso) made at the same time are doing well.