Red Coris

[EBR]

Hi -- The other day I added a red coris to my tank, and I'm somewhat perturbed. For $25 bucks, I got what I thought would be a nice fish to watch (still a juvie, all orange with white). I didn't find out until later that the little guy likes to borrow like a chipmunk. And I don't mean snuggle into the sand -- I mean completely out of sight for (what seems like) days on end. I rustle him out every once in a while to make sure he's still alive, and he swims around, gets a snack, and then hides out again after 30 minutes.

Is this what I can expect from him? How often do they eat? And should I be poking around, forcing him out? Or will that stunt his growth or something?

Any advice, please. Thanks.

EBR

 

[mansiz]

Red coris wrasse is quite a difficult fish to maintain, they are very aggressive, I don't think you should force him out of the substrate, they burrow in when they are sleeping or when they feel threaten. BTW don't keep small fishes or peaceful fishes with them, red coris would eat them when it matured.

 

[steve-s]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com

Red coris wrasses (Coris gaimard), are indeed a beautiful fish but it is not very recommended to get them while they are still very young. Once they begin their change over to adult coloration is usually the best time to aquire them. They can be extremely hard to adapt to captive life in the early stages but are avery hardy fish as they age. This species of coris wrasse is actually quite peaceful for the most part with the exception of mobile inverts and very small fish (<1½"). They do not as a rule attack other fish. I have kept them for several years and of all the wrasse species, they are my favorite.

The constant hiding is definately not a good sign but you should not rustle it out of hiding. That will greatly increase the fish's stress and make matters worse. Instead try enticing the fish just before feeding time with a few drops of garlic extract added directly to the water. This can often spur them into action. Once/if it acclimates it will be a great addition to your tank depending on your set up but be aware that it may not at this stage of it's juvenille developement.

Cheers
Steve

 

[dgalford]

Hello
As for your coris wrasse hiding all the time this is normal
Ive had mine for six months.
He comes out to eat and get some excersize and back to bed he goes
just make sure he gets enough to eat
Gary 8O

 

[steve-s]

As for your coris wrasse hiding all the time this is normal
Ive had mine for six months.
He comes out to eat and get some excersize and back to bed he goes

Actually it is not normal and a sign the fish is stressed. Red coris wrasses (Coris gaimard) is typically a very visible and active wrasse. The will usually surface sometime shortly after lights on and will continue to forage about the tank until well close to lights off.

If the wrasse is spending even ½ that time in an inactive state I would look for reasons why. Something will be stressing the wrasse.

Cheers
Steve

 

[dgalford]

no he is not the king ding a ling of the tank but he is doing great they are not agresive if you keep them with other like fishy freinds

 

[XLingad]

when i had my red coris wrasse he was a juv. after he started changing i noticed he was peaceful with other fish but extremely aggressive towards my hermit crabs and snails. he was probably the weakest fish i had at the same time, the biggest in the tank. i had a six line wrasse 3 times smaller than him and he still got chased around.