Help with Possum Wrasse

[Juck]

I bought a possum wrasse (Wetmorella sp) as the first fish in my new 40 long reef. The tank's been cycling fishless for the last 2 months with 50lb of LR,,, all levels are where they're suppposed to be,,,there's a Bakpak skimmer and 2 x 175 10k ushios.

I added the wrasse 2 weeks ago,,,, didn't see him for 2 full days but he eventually came out of the rocks and swam around. He's a cool looking fish and all but I can't get him to eat a thing. I've tried chppped shrimp, frozen mysis, frozen brine, live baby brine, flake, golden pearls,, even some frozen Daphnia I had lying aound in the freezer. Won't touch a thing,, just picks at the rock all day.

He's fully grown and a nice fat fish,, and there are millions of pods in the tank which I assume he's eating,,,, I don't have a fuge on this tank and I imagine they'll eventualy run out in a tank this size. Anyone out there had success with this fish? Can someone give me a few tips on feeding?

Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

I've had my possum wrasse for about 10 months. At first he wouldn't eat, but after a few weeks he did start to eat, and now he eats anything, including flake food. If you do have a lot of pods in the tank, I wouldn't be too alarmed if he isn't eating prepared foods at this time. Don't go too crazy trying this and that...you will prolly only succeed in mucking up your tank.

My suspicion is that if he does get hungry enough, he will eat what you prepare. As always, a moving target like baby brine is prolly your best bet. Also, my wrasse continues to be shy to this day...he skirts in and out of the LR but rarely comes out to swim in the open...so if you add a few fish and this is the behavior he exhibits, don't be too alarmed.

I wish you well with your wrasse...they certainly are neat fish.

 

[dizzy]

Mostly they are just a shy fish. I have 5 of them in various display tanks. They are fairly easy to keep, but remain shy indefinitely IME. Try some live brine shrimp if you can find it. Really interesting little guys. Good luck.

 

[Juck]

Thanks guys,, I feel a bit better about him now.

I'll give live adult brine a try,,, after that I'll just wait and see. I plan on adding a pair of fire clowns in a couple of months and that will be all for the fish bioload.

Mine changes color from rusty-orange to a kind of dull gray after the halides go out,,, at first I thought it was just the actinics that were making him look different but he's actually changing color. Very cool fish and my first wrasse ever.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys,, I feel a bit better about him now.

I'll give live adult brine a try,,, after that I'll just wait and see. I plan on adding a pair of fire clowns in a couple of months and that will be all for the fish bioload.

Mine changes color from rusty-orange to a kind of dull gray after the halides go out,,, at first I thought it was just the actinics that were making him look different but he's actually changing color. Very cool fish and my first wrasse ever.

Many fish have a nightime coloration and some will change drastically when stressed. I wouldn't worry about it he shoudl start eating shortly. You probably see him mroe often than I see my priolepsis goby