Flame wrasse missing!!!

[chinchalice]

Hey all,
I am confused cause i have had a trio of flame wrasse for about 4 months. the male was fully grown about 4.5 inches. the females are each 2.5. so the male was significantly larger. I came home after a quick weekend trip to find my large male is GONE. its a reefer 250 so there is no way it can get into the over flow. It could have jumped, but i looked everywhere, like a 15 foot radius of the tank, and its no where to be seen. My final conclusion would be that one of the females is turning male and possibly beat up the male thats twice its' size and the clean up crew finished it up? There is very little bickering between the two "females" my question is if one is turning male, how long will it take to show the male colored and will the other female be okay or will it also be killed. Any information or experience in this matter is much appreciated. I have accepted that my large male is gone, but am wondering about the remaining 2 mostly. time for transition and coloration on a new male.
Thanks!!

 

[eatbreakfast]

Time for transition can vary from a few weeks to a few months once transition does begin. Developing more noticeable color on the body, face, and especially the fins and tail.

As long as the third female stays female it will be fine. However, once the transition begins, so does the fighting, and their time together is limited.

 

[Caseyoidae]

Any cats or dogs that may have eaten a carpet surfer?

 

[ca1ore]

I suspect it was a 'Woooohooo ..... 'aw crap' moment for your wrasse.

 

[chinchalice]

na, no pets go into that area. it was a closed room. maybe one day he will turn up. or he was eaten by the nassarius snails and crabs.

 

[Keepswiming]

I take it you don't have a screen top? Maybe go to Home Depot and make one so it won't happen/again. Look really good behind the tank. When I had carpet surfers I didn't see anything at first glance but once I got on my hands and knees I found them. They dry and get dark, which makes it hard to see crusty!
Sorry for the loss! I lost a beautiful pintale last night, I know the pain :/

 

[chinchalice]

how would you suggest making a screen top for a rimless reefer tank? I am open to do it, but how would you create something like that? is there a way to make it sit flesh with the rim of the tank? thanks

 

[Keepswiming]

how would you suggest making a screen top for a rimless reefer tank? I am open to do it, but how would you create something like that? is there a way to make it sit flesh with the rim of the tank? thanks

It wouldn't be as ascetically pleasing as the rimless look, but it is better then fish (especially wrasses) on the floor. I made a screen top from home depot, but i have seen some nice fabricated acrylic tops on here!

 

[evolved]

You can find plastic clips on ebay which attach to the edge of the tank and then provide a lip inside the tank a screen frame can be rested upon.

But yes; unless you cover the tank with 1/4" mesh, you will unfortunately lose the other wrasses in time to jumping.

 

[alton]

I added a Polycarbonate cover to my wife's 65, works great to keep her jawfish from jumping

 

[Salty1962]

Check out BRS, they sale kits for screen tops. A MUST HAVE with wrasses or other fish that will jump.

 

[Mike_J]

I have something comparable to the BRS mesh screen top and it sits on my rimless Elos 120XL very discreetly. It's simple, looks good and keeps my expensive wrasses in the tank. Perfect!

 

[chinchalice]

awesome! good news!!!!! i came home today and I was able to find the male... but my question is that it is hiding a ton!! have no idea why. it was swimming around for 3-4 months with no signs of fighting. Is this a sign of being picked on?? it looks like it has labored breathing not rapid or anything. i feel stupid that i couldn't find it. i spent like 2 hours looking around the floor and tank. any advice would help

 

[Duke4Life]

awesome! good news!!!!! i came home today and I was able to find the male... but my question is that it is hiding a ton!! have no idea why. it was swimming around for 3-4 months with no signs of fighting. Is this a sign of being picked on?? it looks like it has labored breathing not rapid or anything. i feel stupid that i couldn't find it. i spent like 2 hours looking around the floor and tank. any advice would help

Anything wet not quarintined recently? Sounds like it's being bullied though.

 

[chinchalice]

nope nothing new has gone into the tank in a month or so. I guess one of the females that I have it with could be transitioning to male. but they are about half the size of the male. The male is a very large fish

 

[chinchalice]

the females are not show any male coloration though

 

[chinchalice]

upon closer inspection it seems like one gill is moving slightly faster than the other. but it doesn't seem to be super rapid, but quicker than normal. zero outward signs of damage at all.

 

[chinchalice]

Here is a link to a video I just shot of him. U can see him breath partially. sorry for the poor angle.

 

[eatbreakfast]

A fairy wrasse staying behind the rocks is a tell-tale sign of bullying. Besides the females what are the other fish in the tank?

I couldn't tell from watching the video on my phone, but if one gill seems to be breathing more noticeably, it could be a parasite attached to the gill. Prazipro is reef safe and will treat flukes.

 

[Keepswiming]

I would say it's one of two things: bullying or flukes/another parasite. I would watch for any other fish chasing him around or going into his corner to "check" him and keep him in that corner. If you do not see any of those, look for the signs of a parasites. Any fishes flashing (scratching on sand or rock), any head/body twitching, any darting back and forth (especially in front of a powerheads)? These will tell you that something is indeed attached on the fish and they are trying to disloge them. In this case I would run prazipro according to the bottle and watch for little flukes to fall off. Good luck!