Leopard Wrasse question

[gbr]

I have read your article on the subject wrasse and understand that they can disappear into the sand for some time so I am not overly concerned yet, but when I got him home and acclimated him he swam a little strangely in the tank, laid on some rocks on his side for a while and then shot into the sand...going on 3 days now. He looked great in the store and they said he was eating mysis. My real question is, will this fish die under the sand, or will he come up? What do you think?

[hcs3]

what species? how long was it at the store? what conditions was it kept under at the store?

it could go either way. if it agressively dove underneath the sand that is a good sign. i had one that was under the sand for nearly 2 weeks and eventually surfaced and lived long thereafter. so i don't think it'll starve down under. but i have had many dive under the sand to never surface again. those fish usually didn't have the strength to aggressively dive under the sand, or i knew they were doomed from the start (my LFS gives me troubled leopards in hopes of saving them).

i'd give it 7 days before you digging for it, IMHO. even then, i would be very cautious about looking for it. what kind of sandbed do you have?

[gbr]

Because the LFS only sold him as a leopard wrasse I am guessing based upon pictures but I am pretty sure he is M. meleagris.

He dove under the sand aggessively and he had to be dug from the sand in the LFS. He was taken from the QT at the LFS the day before. Their QT has very little in the way of live food but they claimed he was eating frozen mysis shrimp.

I have a 4-6 inch deep fine grained silica based sand bed.

I guess I can see now reading my post where you might think I was asking you to play genie and guess whether he would live or die. I was actually wanting to know if they will die under the sand so that I will really never know where he is and have to deal with an algae outbreak...albeit small in a 180g...or will they use their last bit of strength to surface and die? Like I said he laid sideways on a rock one second and then while I wasn't looking he hit the bed, I am assuming aggessively since there was quite a sand storm. He wasn't laboring while he was laying there but any other fish I would see laying sideways I wouldn't give 1-2 days.

Assuming he lives, and if he doesn't I will want another, you didn't list tangs on the compatibility list but I am assuming from the other fish on the list they are somewhat compatible. My Sohal was interested in the new addition but not overly so. (of course he only had two minutes)

[hcs3]

i've had it both ways. i've had individuals that never resurfaced and were never found. i've also had others that were found surfaced and dead.

[gbr]

Thank you for the info...I think I'll just wait him out rather than go digging.