6 linerd wrasse

[teckt]

I bought one of these guys for my 20 gal reef tank 2 days ago. Since i have added him to the tank i rarely see him. I guess my question is is this normal behaviour? Do they hide frequently? Or is my new fish dead?

[FMarini]

Hi:
its certainly hard to guess whats going on, but wrasses in general are quite shy at the beginning, and take time to "get used to " the new tank.
So two days isn't too bad. On the othe hand 6-line wrasses tend to be high energy and IMO have been fairly bold and swim around alot.
Do you see in an amoungst the rockwork at all?
do you notice the 6-lines cocoon? give it a few more days if you don't see him check 2 places...1)out of your tank, and 2) stuck under some rockwork
good luck
frank

[teckt]

Cacoon? You lost me... What do you mean? Well I failed to see him today. Mabey tommarow I will hopefully. I like that fish alot and if it is dead I will ne sad. It can't be my tank conditions and everything is normal. I need to find some good info on this particular fish. Thanks for your post.

teckt

[Laura D]

Cacoon? You lost me... What do you mean?

They make a little mucus cocoon to sleep in.

[hcs3]

hi teckt

it is not usaul behavior for a 6 line wrasse to hide. these are generally very outgoing fish. something is amiss if you haven't seen this fish in a day or two.

like frank says, check the behind the tank. 6 lines can be jumpers on occasion.

6 line wrasses, like many wrasses, form a coccon to sleep in at night. some belive these cocoon keeps them hidden from potential prey. typically, the wrasse will tuck itself into a tight corner or crevice in the LR and form the cocoon around itself. as mulberry mentioned, it is formed from mucus.

what other fish are already present in this 20g tank? also, what are the tank parameters?

henry