New flasher wrasse acting strange

Jmas4 · Mar 19, 2019

I got a mccoskers flasher wrasse from liveaquaria and he isnt swimming around. Right now he is in my qt laying down at the edge of the tank. He is either laying on his side or resting vertically. He is not breathing heavily and even ate a little. Is this normal behavior for new wrasses?

Brad Miller · Mar 19, 2019

Those will lay on the bottom at night and build a mucus cocoon.

Frtdrmrose7 · Mar 19, 2019

Jmas4 said:
I got a mccoskers flasher wrasse from liveaquaria and he isnt swimming around. Right now he is in my qt laying down at the edge of the tank. He is either laying on his side or resting vertically. He is not breathing heavily and even ate a little. Is this normal behavior for new wrasses?

How is his swimming when he does swim?Is he swimming vertically?(head up)? If he swims ok this could be stress also.

Jmas4 · Mar 19, 2019

Sadly he doesn't swim. He moves a few inches up or back and turns around but it isnt swimming. It's more like move the top fin a little. When he does move though sometimes he is vertical and sometimes he moves horizontally.

ngoodermuth · Mar 19, 2019

Almost every flasher/fairy I’ve had has done this for the first few hours in QT, up to a day. He should perk up in the next day or so, especially if he’s eating..

If you could get a short video clip, might help to be extra sure it’s nothing abnormal

Deinonych · Mar 19, 2019

Did you receive the wrasse today? If so, this is normal behavior. Give him some time to settle in as noted above.

CindyKz · Mar 19, 2019

Wrasses are drama queens. I would give it a day or two or even three, before you start really worrying. Give him peace and quiet. Lights off in the room or a towel over the tank is helpful. Make sure he has somewhere to hide and feel safe in the QT.

Jmas4 · Mar 20, 2019

Will do. I'll let you guys know how he is tomorrow.

Brad Miller · May 26, 2019

Any update on how he’s doing ?

cmustang · Aug 29, 2021

I got a McCosker's Flasher Wrasse today, is acting the way you guys are describing. Just laying at the bottom corner of the tank. At first I thought it was dying, but now I get it, just a drama queen, I will let it be for at least 3 days. Should I worry if not swimming all around the tank by then?

Jay Hemdal · Aug 29, 2021

cmustang said:
I got a McCosker's Flasher Wrasse today, is acting the way you guys are describing. Just laying at the bottom corner of the tank. At first I thought it was dying, but now I get it, just a drama queen, I will let it be for at least 3 days. Should I worry if not swimming all around the tank by then?

Lack of feeding is more serious than them resting on the bottom. If it is on the bottom, and not feeding after a day, then there is an issue.

One thing - we see a lot of issues with people getting fish from dealers who hold the fish at lower salinity. They then acclimate the fish to a higher salinity in their home tank. Trouble is, if the difference is great enough, even with acclimation, the fish can be stressed out and even die. When I hear of a fish laying on the bottom from day 1, I worry about that. Do you know the salinity of the bag water compared to the salinity in your tank?

Jay