wrasse

[bob w]

hello i just got a melanurus wrasse yesterday was swimming around this morning went to check on him could not find him was told they bury in the sand he is about 3 inches long check under rocks could not find him has anyone had this happen to you

 

[s_tooz_123]

i had a moyer's wrasse and every evening, he would bury himself in the sand at around 5:00 PM. I wouldn't see him until mid-morning the next day.

I became worried that he wasn't getting fed enough as he would miss evening feedings at 6:00 PM, so I started 'training' him to stay up a little longer by feeding him when he started hunting around the sand bed for his night time resting place. After about a month, he was staying up well past 6PM and I went back to my normal feeding schedule.

If the melanurus wrasse is anything like my moyer's wrasse, the sand is a DEFINITE possibility.

 

[bob w]

ok from what i have read they will bury themself in new home hes not dad to big to eat they say they will stay buried for 10 days didnt buy a 80 dollar fish so it could hid hope he coms out soon getting a little worried

 

[bob w]

sorry but my e is screwed up

 

[s_tooz_123]

sorry but my e is screwed up

LOL. No worries.

Yeah, I know how you feel as I felt the same way about spending money and not getting the benefit of viewing it.

I don't recall how long he hid when I first got him as it was years ago.

Consider checking the tank whenever you can throughout the day to see if you can figure out his schedule. My fish was like clockwork---he started hunting for his bed around 4:30 PM and at 5:00, he was buried.

 

[Slocke]

Yes they sleep in the sand. Leave it be it will come out when ready. Its not good for the wrasse to dig it out.

 

[Crabby48]

hello i just got a melanurus wrasse yesterday was swimming around this morning went to check on him could not find him was told they bury in the sand he is about 3 inches long check under rocks could not find him has anyone had this happen to you

Can be normal depends on things. Don’t worry he is resting and needs to learn your light schedule and adjust to other fish in a new environment. Did you get him local or ship. Local they tend to adjust quicker.
Give them room. People are the biggest part of their stress. He will come out at night and find food.
I have a wrasse that’s been sleeping a week today.

 

[dedragon]

yep leave it be, this usually happens when they are moved into a new tank. Thought I lost my leopard wrasse when I moved tanks, but it was just buried for about 3-4 days.

ok from what i have read they will bury themself in new home hes not dad to big to eat they say they will stay buried for 10 days didnt buy a 80 dollar fish so it could hid hope he coms out soon getting a little worried

They got you there, these fish i have seen anywhere from $25 to $50 more recently but never as high as $80. Shipping costs from online stores will get you though as well as places that prequantine

 

[dedragon]

Can be normal depends on things. Don’t worry he is resting and needs to learn your light schedule and adjust to other fish in a new environment.

Thats a long time, I would be worried depending on which of your wrasses it is, get any new ones in the tank? Advanced marine aquatics on long island has been getting a lot of really well shipped and eating different species of leopard wrasses.

Also for OP you are much more likely to injure it by moving rocks than just leaving it be.

 

[Crabby48]

Thats a long time, I would be worried depending on which of your wrasses it is, get any new ones in the tank? Advanced marine aquatics on long island has been getting a lot of really well shipped and eating different species of leopard wrasses.

Also for OP you are much more likely to injure it by moving rocks than just leaving it be.

First op the last sentence is the most important in the quote above . Also it causes more stress on the fish. Mel are real tough for a wrasse but stress is a big no for them.

She is straight from the ocean they can take more time to adjust in a small qt tank. The tang doesn’t help the situation. She is a H. Pallidus. Nothing in the tank yet. Have 3 qt full and more fish coming next couple weeks. Fingers crossed they all make it I got 2 more Viviens coming, Kuiter’s, earls. I’ll have to look up advanced marine.

 

[Crabby48]

hello i just got a melanurus wrasse yesterday was swimming around this morning went to check on him could not find him was told they bury in the sand he is about 3 inches long check under rocks could not find him has anyone had this happen to you

Today day is day six. Got her 5:30am Thursday. Almost a week buried.

 

[bob w]

he came out this morning and had been out day went back under around 530 pm he is doing good

 

[ARGYGANG]

sorry but my e is screwed up

my melanarus wrasse goes to bed at 6 pm everyday, and he hid in the sand for around a week before he started coming out, please dont dig through the sand or move rocks around to much you can seriously harm them or even kill them they are very fragile ive seen similar wrasses die this way, any updates on him?

 

[i cant think]

ok from what i have read they will bury themself in new home hes not dad to big to eat they say they will stay buried for 10 days didnt buy a 80 dollar fish so it could hid hope he coms out soon getting a little worried

How long ago did you get the Melanurus?

These are fish that hide for weeks and sometimes even months. Stressing them out more by moving rocks and sand will make them hide longer.
If you want a fish that you will see instantly, a wrasse isn’t for you. You have to expect them to hide for Atleast 2-3 weeks before coming out during your light cycle.
You need to remember this;

These fish are from a different hemisphere to us, their internal clock will be different to ours. These guys come from Australia and Indonesia (East-Asia down to Oceania), they often come out of the sand when we’re asleep. So in the day when we’re awake their clocks will essentially say that their nocturnal predators are out and they need to hide. Then slowly they acclimate to our lighting and realise it’s day vs night.

The other thing is that they’re unlikely to spend just 1 night under the sand. Sometimes we’re lucky (I tend to hit the jackpot with sand sleeping wrasses) and they stay out for 3-4 hours before hiding in the sand then come out the next morning. Other times we’re unlucky and we have a wrasse that hits the sand instantly then spends 3-6 (sometimes 8) weeks in the sand. These guys use the sand to acclimate to our water parameters and not just our lighting. It’s where they know they’re safest so they hide when under stress.