My flame wrasse freak death

[Loki]

I'm so bummed by this.

Last night my male flame wrasse died. I was flipping two pieces of coral over that had flipped upside down on the sand bed right as the lights went out. I heard two splashes and looked behind the tank to see if a fish jumped out. Sure enough my male flame was on the carpet. I grabbed it and brought it back up to the tank. Held it at the water line in my hand and realized it was bent. Just behind its head it was bent at an almost 90° angle. I was hoping it was stress and it would straighten up but apparently it had broke its neck/back in the fall.

An hour later I checked on it and it was dead.

I've not had the fish very long but it was instantly my favorite fish I've ever had.

I got it as a pair. Not sure what I'll do with the female. I am in tank depression mode right now.

 

[NanaReefer]

Sorry for your loss, such a beautiful fish Hind sight being what it is.....Wrasses must have a covered tank.

 

[Loki]

It is a covered tank. I have 8 wrasses. I had the cover pushed 1/4 way over while I was moving the coral and that was the spot it jumped.

 

[Mike&Terry]

Man, so sorry to hear this happened. Jordani males are stunning and also one of our favorite fairy wrasses. In captivity, fairy wrasse pairs/multiples eventually end up as all males (usually sooner, rather than later). Keep your female and enjoy watching her make the transition into a young, initial phase male and on into a gorgeous adult male.

 

[Loki]

When I wrote not sure what to do with the female, I meant get another flame or not.

Thanks M&T. I really enjoyed it while I had it.

 

[Mike&Terry]

When I wrote not sure what to do with the female, I meant get another flame or not.

Thanks M&T. I really enjoyed it while I had it.

Ahhh... If it were me, I would stick with the lone female. Our experience with multiple jordani males is that dominant terminal males are less tolerant of large sub-adult males than some of the other species such as C. rhomboidalis, C. lineatus, C. earlei. It can work, but they really need a lot of space, as well as some hiding places.

 

[Loki]

Thanks for the info!

 

[wangspeed]

Bummer, sorry for your loss. My fairy wrasses are also awful about getting spooked. Usually not when I'm doing work on the tank, but when I first walk up in the morning. They know I have food, and they go crazy. Once my solerensis and labouti both jumped out at the same time when I moved the mesh for feeding time. The labouti lost his eye in that incident, but continues on today. They are a pain when it comes to jumping. I almost want to underfill my next tank just to help address this. Can't keep a cover on ALL the time.

 

[3Twinklets]

I'm so bummed by this.

Last night my male flame wrasse died. I was flipping two pieces of coral over that had flipped upside down on the sand bed right as the lights went out. I heard two splashes and looked behind the tank to see if a fish jumped out. Sure enough my male flame was on the carpet. I grabbed it and brought it back up to the tank. Held it at the water line in my hand and realized it was bent. Just behind its head it was bent at an almost 90° angle. I was hoping it was stress and it would straighten up but apparently it had broke its neck/back in the fall.

An hour later I checked on it and it was dead.

I've not had the fish very long but it was instantly my favorite fish I've ever had.

I got it as a pair. Not sure what I'll do with the female. I am in tank depression mode right now.

Sorry Chase. You could try another male? (I would not try it without an acclimation box though)

 

[maroun.c]

Such an amazing fish.
Sorry to hear.
Would also avoid adding one to the female you got.

 

[evolved]

Man, so sorry to hear this happened. Jordani males are stunning and also one of our favorite fairy wrasses. In captivity, fairy wrasse pairs/multiples eventually end up as all males (usually sooner, rather than later). Keep your female and enjoy watching her make the transition into a young, initial phase male and on into a gorgeous adult male.

+1; your female will turn into a male, just as great.

Ahhh... If it were me, I would stick with the lone female. Our experience with multiple jordani males is that dominant terminal males are less tolerant of large sub-adult males than some of the other species such as C. rhomboidalis, C. lineatus, C. earlei. It can work, but they really need a lot of space, as well as some hiding places.

Another +1; best not to.