Harlequin Tuskfish behaviors

[tendar]

After reading the artical on Advanced Aquarist I have some questions on the behavior of my tusk. I have had him for a little over a month now and he is aobut 4" long.
When I first got him I quarentined for 2 weeks and all was well so moved to the 90 gall display tank and he was very active for the first 4-5 days but after that it just sits on the bottom on the sand or hides in it favorite place in a rock most of the day and only ventures out now and then for a few minutes at a time and comes out running when I feed the 2 times day.
I dont thing this normal but I could be wrong.
The tank is a upgrade from a 37 and has been up for 2 months now. This tank is only a temp I picked up cheap till I get my 180-240 late this year or early next. There is no sump so every thing is internal.
Lighting is 3x110 VHO and a prizm deluxe skimmer with fiar amont of live rockand corals. I have a few cleaners that he does pull up to now and then for a cleaning and he doesnt bother my snails or hermits that I know of or shrimps. He seems very healthy but just not very active.

Thanks for any coments or ideas.

 

[Anonymous]

My guess is that he doesn't feel quite settled in, or feels too exposed when he's out.

The last tuskfish I cared for would help a Huma Trigger stalk me for food. That was how I found that trigger in the tank, too! (The tuskfish stood out, and he was always right behind the trig.) The tank was an round tub, approximately ten feet in diameter, I'm guessing at around 3,000 gallons. It's a q/t, so minimal cover, but only one viewing port, at shin level. There's so much turbulence on the surface that it's hard to find specific fish if they're colored a certain way.

If the fish is otherwise eating, and appears healthy, I would suggest possibly a rearrangement of rocks so he has "private" areas to swim in and out of, or blocking a portion of the tank (you can try taping a bit of black paper to a bottom corner), and see if that changes his behavior at all.

Watch him with crabs, hermits, and shrimps, or be certain to keep him very well fed, eh?

 

[Jaffo_botz]

What other fish are with your Tusk? Mine is very active all day long in my 225G. But, it has active tankmates that are out as well...

Tusks behavious is often based on their tankmates...everyone out? then it's must be ok to also be out. It is usually the first to dart into it's 'cave' or safe haven, when any of the other fish flinch or show any sign of fleeing... Just my experience.

Re: crabs/shrimps. My Tusk also has done a fine job of eating all my blue legged hermits. as well as terrorizing any snail is can carry around....so you're lucky (so far) with the shrimps. It took a couple years before my Tusk learned that these 'cleaners' were tasty....