[Freddy Twotimes]

I acclimated a flasher wrass in a bowl by adding tank water to the bowl, doubling the water level in the bowl over a 40 minute period.

I put him in my tank and naturally he hid immeadiately. I saw him for the first 24 hours in a hiding spot, he actually came out and looked at me then went back to his hiding spot. The water quality is fine, I only have soft corals and two peppermint shrimp and snails in the tank. This wrass is the final fish in my 55 gallon reef...eveyone is doing fine but I cant find the wrass anymore.

Is it sometimes normal for a fish to hide for longer than 36 hours before comming around? I doubt he is dead; its possible but considering that everything else is doing fine and the water quality is good I would like to assume he is not dead right now.

I have a huge amount of amphipods on the glass and rock [the tank is a year old] so I know there is food for him to eat. Has anyone else had a fish hide this long and still be healthy? If I dont see him in the next two days Ill start checking the ammonia level cause he is hidden good or eaten by the shrimp.

[leebca]

Wild caught marine fish need to be trained to eat foods we offer and to get used to the new owner. These are two reasons for the quarantine process.

Some fish, when released into an aquarium will slowly starve to death. See this short thread: worried about the diet of my Scooter Dragonet

The fish will hide as long as it believes it needs to, and since it doesn't know the owner as the source of food, it may never come forward to be fed. Fortunately though, most of these fishes do come around once settled.

I think the acclimation of the fish may have been rushed. I have never acclimated a fish that quickly. This is the process I use: It Was Acclimation, I know. . .

[Freddy Twotimes]

I saw him today. He is hiding under a mushroom rock on the right side of the tank. I put in some frozen community diet food and the two peppermint shrimp and he came out to eat. The fish went back into hiding after he ate.

The peppermint shrimp and the wrass will be the only three inhabitents in the 55 gallon reef tank. I hope I can get away with feeding once a week with the frozen food. I travel for work and my be gone up to a week at a time once and a while; I was hoping the flasher wrass I have will eat the amphipods I have in my tank. They are everywhere.