Dissapearing fish?

[lmetcalf]

Hey all!
I have a 30gal mature reef
I just bought my first fish today I have flatworms and all sorts of buggy things so i bought a yellow wrasse.

I acclimated himto my water by dripping my tank water into his bag for 45 min or so. I then added him to my tank. He did a quick investigation of one corner of the tank and then settled down on the sand behind a rock. I left him alone for an hour and came back and now I can't see him anywhere

I looked all over the floor around the tank (I heard that they're jumpers?) and in the tank and I don't see him.

Do you think I should be worried?

 

[jmilitano]

Wrasses are known to hide. How much liverock do you have? He is probally hiding in the rocks. My wrasse used to come out at night when I turned the main light off.

I wouldnt worry about him too much for now, If you dont see him for a few days that is a different story.

 

[lmetcalf]

I've got 32lbs of liverock with a lot of holes and caves, so it's a possibility that he's in there somewhere.

Would iit be easier on the fish if i left the light off for today?

 

[jmilitano]

IM not sure on the lights, but it may help reduce the stress of moving tanks. If you dont need the lights for anything else (coral, macroalge, etc.) I would just leave them off for the day.

 

[lmetcalf]

okay, worst case scenario: I don't see him for a few days. What should i do then? Tear my tank apart? monitor water params?

 

[Zer0]

If you can not find him outside the tank carpet surfing, then im sure hes doing just fine in the tank and is most likely just hiding like most new fish do. When i first got my purple firefish he hid for almost a week. I didn't even see him eat, and i only got a glimpse of his tail at the end of the week that i first put him in. If you have a good amount of rocks with lots of caves and holes, then chances are he's in there just getting accustomed to his new surroundings. You do not need to turn the lights off, just keep them on the normal cycle you usually do. However, if you feel that you can't find him and you just want to make sure, i'm sure if you turn the lights off, and then watch the tank for an hour or so you will see him eventually.

Do you have a lid on your tank? Also.. do you have any cats or dogs that go near the tank as well? If so, it's possible maybe one of your other animals got to him.. assuming he jumped in the first place.

 

[roka64]

Does the tank have an internal filter (like behind the back plane or a media compartment). or a place that he may have gotten that you would never expect?

 

[austinsdad]

I'm one to believe you should never tear a tank apart to find a fish. Either he really doesn't want to be found or he is nowhere to be found in the tank. Really.

Sumps, overflows, etc are fair game to look in.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Not a SW guy but I had the same thing happen to one of my fish. I swore up and down he jumped out because I looked EVERYWHERE in the tank. Couple weeks later I was changing tanks and food the rotting corpse up under a piece of decor. Give it a few days and if you see a spike in your params then he may have passed. If not he's prob hiding

 

[austinsdad]

Hopefully the CUC will do what it do, but I can see the desire to tear it apart to find the carcass (hopefully not in your case) and get closure. But if he's alive, he'll just find another hiding space after you find him and prolly hide longer after the ordeal.

 

[lmetcalf]

If you can not find him outside the tank carpet surfing, then im sure hes doing just fine in the tank and is most likely just hiding like most new fish do.

haha i laughed so hard when i read "carpet surfing". Thats great.

No surfing so far. I don't have any other pets and he's neon yellow so i'm sure i'll see him if he jumps. Out of paranoia i covered most of the tank with plastic wrap, so there's not much space for him to jump out.

Theres plenty of snails and anthropods and flatworms and stuff in my tank so i'm hoping he'll pick at them and not go hungry in the next few days. I'm not going to feed a fish i can't see.

Thanks for the info guys

 

[Zer0]

You did put holes in the plastic wrap.. right? lol

 

[lmetcalf]

Haha no, but i left inch-wide gaps between strips of plastic wrap and also around the filter and protein skimmer so the tank is still getting lots of air.

 

[austinsdad]

You need some of my clear netting and construction tips on making a tank cover. I'll post a pic when I get home.