Got Bicolor Rabbit.. Have Question

[dave8274]

Well, I got my new bicolor rabbitfish. I have a question about his behavior.

So far, all he does when I am looking is sit in a cave and turn the wierd colors he does when he is stressed. If I go to another part of the house, sometimes I can peek in and see him swimming about and looking normal color. If he catches a glimpse of me looking at him though, no matter how far from the tank I am, he goes back under the rocks and changes color, sometimes with spines extended, sometimes not.

I am sure he is healthy. When I fed the tank some Mysis shrimp earlier, he was off color under the rock but when a shrimp made its way in there he ate it, so thats a good sign.

I know some odd behavior is to be expected from them. Anyone know from experience how long it usually takes them to chill out and swim with a person in the room? Not so much concerned about being able ot see him as I am concerned about the toll being all stressed out might have on his health if he freaks out whenever I look at him :).

Thanks!

PS - Do these guys eat brown algae? I have a good amount that snails are cleaning up. Was wondering if I should hold off on Nori until algae is gone or if he should have it.

[MalHavoc]

Some fish can take weeks to acclimatize to a new tank, so the behavior you are seeing sounds normal. Give it time, and make sure he continues to eat.

If he decides to nibble on the brown algae, great, but keep feeding him other things just to make sure he's getting enough food.

[kevinpo]

He should get used to you in 4-5 days but....fish do have individual personalities and some are more timid than others. Rabbitfish can easily be trained to eat from your fingers. They are also great algae eaters (both micro and macro).

HTH,
Kevin