Did your fairy wrasse do this?

MarvinsReef · Jul 13, 2009

Did your fairy wrasse start attacking him/her self after seeing their own reflection on the glass? I recently brought home an awesome Golden Rhomboid to be housed on the 110g... he was out and about as soon as the lights turned on... (good tip btw: when introducing new fish, try to introduce when the lights are off, my lights don't turn on until 5 pm)... he eats like a pig and try to established dominance among the other fishes right away... so far, his only competition is the Male HI Flame wrasse I moved from the 28g... they are about the same size but they don't fuss at all... seems like both are more worried about their reflection.. I see the HI Flame flash at himself once in a while but I think he's used to it from the 28g... anyway, bottom line is.. I don't turn on the lights anymore unless I'm home to observe the Rhomboid.. I'm scared he might bust his lips and develop an infection... I picked him up last Friday... I'm really hoping he stops attacking himself...

any suggestions besides turning off the lights is appreciated... Thanks...

Crazy Rhomboid Vid
[youtube]VFSp_RRawxk[/youtube]

110g Full Tank Vid but at the end you can see the Rhomboid go crazy
[youtube]sRtHY3frVI0[/youtube]

Rhomboid acting normal
[youtube]IFMKtI0xbCY[/youtube]

aerius007 · Jul 13, 2009

My wrasses dont do that but I have a anthia that goes CRAZY attacking his reflection. Luckily he hasnt hurt himself yet.

Brad Syphus · Jul 13, 2009

That;s pretty crazy. Awsome male .

MarvinsReef · Jul 13, 2009

Brad Syphus said:
That;s pretty crazy. Awsome male .

Brad... did any of yours do this when you first introduced them?

Brad Syphus · Jul 13, 2009

A few of the larger males would. He is probably thinking there is another s/m in there with him. And he is proving he is The Man.
He's a gorgeouse supermale. Where did you find him?

MarvinsReef · Jul 13, 2009

Brad Syphus said:
A few of the larger males would. He is probably thinking there is another s/m in there with him. And he is proving he is The Man.
He's a gorgeouse supermale. Where did you find him?

yeah, that's what I figure but it's scary to watch him attack... pretty vicious... but I just turn off the lights when I've seen too much... hopefully it'll dwindle as the days go... I bought him from LFS that had him for months...

Ultimateaquariums · Jul 13, 2009

Maybe he was trying to attack you standing in front of the tank

MarvinsReef · Jul 13, 2009

Ultimateaquariums said:
Maybe he was trying to attack you standing in front of the tank

:hammer:

roshi719 · Jul 13, 2009

I never had a wrasse do that, but I used to have a kole tang that did it all the time.

jtarmitage · Jul 13, 2009

Turn more lights on in the room to decrease the reflection in the tank.

seafansar · Jul 13, 2009

My radiant wrasse does that. He was thrashing about so much one time that he broke a branch off of a tricolor acro that was near the glass! He didn't used to try and kill his reflection until a couple of months ago. So far he hasn't hurt himself except when he bumps into corals; those leave a mark.

aerius007 · Jul 13, 2009

Chances are its the song, great fish though.

SaraB · Jul 13, 2009

jtarmitage said:
Turn more lights on in the room to decrease the reflection in the tank.

Agreed, it the room lighting that is causing the reflection.

They are notorius for messing up their mouths in the bags during shipping, so watch him closely so he does not hurt himself.

MarvinsReef · Jul 13, 2009

thanks guys and gals for the input...

I will try to add another light source... our basement lighting isn't the brightest... we have recessed lighting but none of the lights I can point in the tank... I'll see if I can find a portable light source.... what would you guys recommend?

cherokee_dude · Jul 13, 2009

My spotted Mandarin tries to attack ME through the glass! LOL! I've got to video that sometime!

Brad Syphus · Jul 13, 2009

I took a couple of pictures of my rhomboid. I thought I would share with you Marvin.

cee · Jul 13, 2009

Mine never did but he wasn't a SM. Other SM fairies do flash other SM of different species when first introduced, however, but usually it is the established fish that does the flashing.

Dave