Saltwater tank question, Thalassoma comp., fdg.  06/24/2008
Hi,
<<Hello, Andrew today>>
Thanks so much for setting up this resource - I've really learned a great deal from reading your FAQs. I've got a couple questions please, hopefully these are not redundant with something in the FAQ already.
<<Sounds good>>
I've got a 60 gallon marine tank (although probably only ~45 usable gallons thanks to a built-in wet/dry filter in the back) and am still very new to the process (6 months now with the tank). We've got a tiny 1-2" damsel, a 2-3" clown, a 2" clown, a 3-4" yellow tang, and a very spirited (e.g. insane) 4-5" lunare wrasse (which I learned from your FAQ is just a baby due to two black spots).
<<A bigger home will certainly be needed for the yellow tang and lunare wrasse>>
I've also learned the hard way about the lunare and hermit crabs - we foolishly bought 10 crabs, 8 margarita snails, and 4 turbo snails from our dealer at the same time as the wrasse - suffice to say we only have 3 turbo snails left and the leftover carnage is frightening. The lunare was our last addition to the tank - and so far he seems to be in a tenuous alliance with the tang - they are constantly together, but occasionally chase each other. I'm more worried about the other three - I've read in your FAQ that adult lunare's will feast on smaller tank mates - is this true for fish that were there before it was introduced?
<<Yes, these can be pretty voracious eaters, and if it will go in the mouth, it will be considered lunch>>
<<Due to size of this fish, which can grow up to around 10 inches, i would seriously consider taking this back to the store>>
Also - our smaller clown has recently started acting "lazy". I always feed them from the same side of the tank (the furthest spot from the intake for the filter - I've been feeding them algae flakes and mysis shrimp now for months - but recently the smaller clown will just hover under the area I feed them waiting for me to give it food. I only feed them twice a day - and I think I am feeding enough (I know the tendency is to overfeed).
<<Certainly, i only ever feed fish once every other day. I would cut down on your feeding and vary the diet you provide>>
He used to swim around the tank - but now he just stays there until I turn off the light. I don't think the light is the problem because I've moved it directly over his "spot" and he still remains there. He will come right up to the surface when I feed them - but he will not pursue food that gets to far away from him.
<<Bored of food, too much food available, does not want food>>
I think his eyesight is okay, because he definitely reacts to me when I move close to the tank - and will move away from my fingers outside the tank if I move them rapidly. But if a small piece of food is too far from him (i.e. down below him or whatever) he will start towards it but then turn around to hover in his "spot" again. I've started spooning out shrimp to him to verify that he will eat - which he does - but this is ridiculous :) I cannot keep hand-feeding this fish.
<<He he he...I have always hand fed my clowns, they love it>>
Any advice?
<<Seriously, change your feeding regime for them, to once every other day, change / vary their diet.>>
thanks very much,
Glenn
<<Thanks for the questions Glenn, i hope this helps. A Nixon>>

Lunare Wrasse, small, starving
Hi Bob,
I have a Lunare Wrasse in a 55 gal. tank with a Percula Clownfish, two three striped black and white Damsels, and a Triggerfish. They have all gotten along quite well for almost three years. I keep a very clean tank with 10 gallon monthly water changes. I have had no problems at all with my tank or fish. Now, in the last week, my Lunare Wrasse has stopped eating and has gotten very thin. 
<Not good...>
I called up my Aquarium retail store professionals and described what was happening. I told them that my Lunare Wrasse stopped eating, acted like he was blind to the food, was lethargic and laying around although not buried. I even tried to hand feed him with no luck. He gets excited when I go by the tank and when it is feeding time and will start swimming around acting like he wants to eat. But when I introduce the food (and believe me, I have tried to entice him with a different variety), he will act like he wants to eat, but then acts like he can't find the food, kind of like a brain disorder. The retail store owner said to test the water with an OHM reading and see if there is an electrical current running through the water. I did, and found nothing. He is only 4 inches long, so I suspect that rules out old age, since I was told that he should live to be 8-10 inches long. What can I do for him? He has good coloring and no signs of anything else wrong with him, except he has gotten really skinny and emaciated looking. I have tried everything I know, and I want to do whatever I can to save him. Please help!
Sincerely,
Dorry
<Thalassoma wrasses do go on starvation bouts from time to time... and can die from same... I suspect something in the way of an internal parasite problem... but if the animal won't eat, it becomes very difficult to try and treat for same. In the circumstances you list (small specimen, prolonged starvation period) I might risk the damage/trauma of force feeding this animal, catching it in a net and holding it with a wet towel in the net, shoving meaty food diced up into its mouth. First, do try a dip/bath in seawater (in a separate container) with a tablespoon of Epsom Salts (magnesium sulfate) per gallon, for a duration of ten minutes (to flush out the animals G.I. tract), and the next day, place either a whole small "cocktail shrimp" (sans shell and sauce) or an opened bivalve/clam in the system to see if it will take it. If you have them, add liquid vitamins to the foods and water. Bob Fenner>

Confusing Wrasse
Hi guys:
I have a Lunar wrasse bought from the LFS 3 weeks ago.  For about 2 weeks was eating vigorously.  Over the last week, has grown very finicky.  Won't eat Mysis shrimp anymore (eats and then spits it out). And may eat whole shrimp (with shell) sometimes (bangs it against a rock, very cool).
<Yep- I've seen that behavior- it IS cool!>
No change in behavior (still all over the tank).  We have noticed that its color has become more green in the last few
weeks (don't most of them go the other way) so am worried that the sex is changing.  (A) is that possible?  (B) any chance that is causing the lack of food take?  Do I need to vary the food even more?
<Female-to male sex changes are common. Color changes do happen...These fishes start out as relatively dull juveniles, and really start to color up when they reach adulthood...As for providing a variety of foods: I've never seen a fish that won't benefit from this!>
Tank specs:
90g  Fish Only Wet Dry with Sump
ETS 300 Skimmer (was originally a reef tank)
2-3" Sand bed
No nitrates, ammonia, tank very well cycled
Salinity is high 1.025-1.026 but maintained constant with a NURCE top
off device
Lots of rock and hiding places
Other inhabitants:
Majestic Snapper
Koran Angel
Baby Clown trigger
<Wow! These are some potentially very large fishes...Please, please consider the "end game" here, and plan on much larger (like several hundred gallons) housing for them in the near future, if you expect them to live anything close to a natural life span...>
Thanks in advance for help!
<You're welcome! Scott F>

Sick angel? And Wisdom on Thalassoma lucasanum
Dear Crew,
<Hi there>
I have a Pygmy Coral Beauty Angel and a few days after I bought him, I notice white spots appearing on it. They are random all over the fish. They might be raised or on the skin, but the fish is always swimming through the rocks that I can never get a good look. I have not seen the fish scratch itself, swim unusually, show any signs of stress, or lose any color. The strange thing is, the spots appear at about 6 or 7 o'clock each night and last until the morning, but when I get home at about 4:00, the spots are gone. Could this be ich or some other disease?
<Is almost assuredly Cryptocaryon... good description of a case/situation in which the parasite is gaining ground during the day, cycling off at night>
I have read on your site that sometimes pods will attach to fish, could this be happening? 
<Highly unlikely>
At about 6:00 the sun goes down, and so the room will get a little darker, even though I have a light on the tank. I know that pods become more active at night when there is less light, so, I didn't know if that slight change in light would be enough to leave the rocks the angel is always swimming through and attach to her. Sorry I can't send you a picture, but I don't have my digital camera that works to photo my fish with me. 
On a better note, I have seen pictures of the beautiful Thalassoma lucasanum or Paddlefin Wrasse. I have not found much info about it on your site or others. I have some questions about it, 
1) Are they ok to be kept single?
2) What do they eat?
3) Will the wrasse be compatible with my current fish (2 perculas, orchid Dottyback, coral beauty angel, Huma Huma trigger, spotted Hawkfish)?
4) How hardy/ easy to keep are they?
<Yes, most all meaty foods, likely yes, and about medium>
And if you have any other information I might need to know to keep one, please let me know.
<I would be studying re ich/crypt... looking into a treatment/quarantine tank... removing, treating all fish livestock... and the rationale for these actions... on WWM. Bob Fenner> 

Fish Keep Biting the Hand That Feeds...
Sorry to pester you guys. I have been trying to find an answer to my question but when I put in fish bites or fish attacks I get all kinds of things that don't pertain to my question. I'll get right to it. I have had good luck with my fish until recently. I added a neat piece of live rock about 2 months ago, since then my fish are going crazy. They've all been together for over a year with no additions other than a Chocolate Chip star which they seem not to mind. But the second I added this rock my blue damsel got all defensive about it. 
< Could be defending an area for mating reasons, but in new tanks I seriously doubt it. However, it could be defending a food source, and if you don't have much algae in your tank than this is very likely. > 
He has had chunks taken out of him by other fish fighting him for it. I put him in the QT tank and when I brought him back up I had rearranged all the rocks. He found it again and it attacking everything, including the magnet when we clean, our hands when we clean, etc. Then tonight I went to feed the starfish, he was on the bottom on the sand and I wanted to give him some shrimp, so I put my hand in to pick him up and my Paddlefin Wrasse bit me. It hurt and bled quite a bit. That's never happened before. Any idea why my fish are going crazy? 
< It may be a lack of food, or a lack of natural settings in your tank. They are defending an area heavily because it is the only nice place in the tank. > The Wrasse doesn't care about the live rock the damsel is so enamored of so he wasn't defending that. Have you heard of wrasses attacking their meal tickets? I know Thalassoma wrasses are pretty aggressive but Paddlefins are supposed to be pretty calm I thought. 
< Actually I love wrasses. But no, I have no idea why this would happen. Sounds a little odd. > 
Now I'm scared to put my hand back in the tank! I have heard of triggers biting, but our damsel tries to bite (just bumps into your hand) and now the wrasse! It sounds like I have my hands in the tank all the time, which is not the case and I usually wear long gloves when I'm cleaning it out but tonight I was in a hurry. Thanks so much for your time and your wonderful insight! 
< Well, not much I can say except I would consider adding a few more pieces of nice live rock. I think that will help. >
Amy
< Blundell >