tusk not doing so well

BIG-G · 12-05-2006, 05:06 PM

the title says it all, in the area i live i dont have a lot of access to a large selection of fish so i thought i would give mail order a try. I orderd a large Harlequin tusk from LiveAquaria i have read a lot about this site and i have ordered equipment and supplies many times, this is the first time for anything living. I have to say it was packed well but with the temps we are having this week its not the best time to have a fish shipped. When it arrived the water temp was about 60 i did the drip acclimation just like the guide said but he dosent look to good now, he is lieing aginst a rock on the bottom of the tank. my question is have any of you had any experince with tusk fish is this a normal part of their acclimation? do you think things will get better or am i going to lose this fish? I gess im looking for some reassurance. their is a 14 day guarantee on the fish but i dont care about the money i just dont want this beautiful animal to die!

Geoff · 12-05-2006, 09:54 PM

they can take a while to acclimate. as long as you did it slowly you should be fine. 60 degrees is not so bad. actually the lower the temp the slower their metabolism, so they do not consume as much O2 and produce less wastes.

i would just give it a good 24 hours of lights off, and let it get its bearings back. they are usually pretty hardy, so i would just wait and see for now. there is not really anything else you can do for now.

G~

BIG-G · 12-06-2006, 03:13 PM

well i guess you were right he is acting a lot better today swimming around checking things out. I am wondering now about feeding, i fed the tank (shrimp and krill) he wasnt intrested its just been a day so maybe tomorrow, when should i be worried if it dosent eat soon? is their something eles i could try to get him to eat?

Geoff · 12-06-2006, 08:47 PM

how big is it? live small ghost shrimp would be a good thing to try. they like to eat crustaceans. give it some time though. how skitish is it when you feed the tank?

G~

BIG-G · 12-06-2006, 09:02 PM

thats what the problem was, he was skitish i guess he is still a little nervous from the big move. after my last post i waited a while and put more shrimp and krill in and then quickly moved away from the tank when he felt safe he came out and ate two krill and a whole shrimp from the grocery. I think the worst is over he seems to be settleing in now. thanks for the advice and calming my nerves Geoff.

BIG-G · 12-06-2006, 09:05 PM

oh, he is about seven inches and perfect, beautiful fish.

Geoff · 12-06-2006, 09:13 PM

you can get some pretty big ghost shrimp if it is that big!!

glad that it is starting to eat!!

i have found that finding a way to feed a tank without them seeing you makes a huge difference. i am lucky in that my sump is 45' away. i place food in the return pump and about a minute later the food just shows up in the tank. skittish fish are not ducking for cover when i come a feeding.

G~