i have a question about some fish i bought..

[jbvdhp]

so i bought a blackcap basslet and a firefish from BR last thurs, and the fish seem to be doing fine. however, the blackcap spends most of his time hiding and doesn't really come out to eat. i see him and he seems normal, but when will he start REALLY eating? the fiefish is a fatass cuz he eats everything, but i don't want to over feed the fish just because one fish is not eating too much. is this normal? i only feed them once/day so far. how often do you feed your fish, and when will his behavior get "better" or is he going to hide forever and starve?


john

[jbvdhp]

btw, i spent some well earned cheese on that fish and i don't want to see him shrivel up and...you know.

[phishphood]

1) he's been in your tank for..4 days? And this is just after he'd been shipped and acclimated to a new tank. Eventually he should come around after he gets used to your tank.

2)Get used to QT'ing fish when you buy them, no matter where from. QT lets you see if they develop a disease and lets you treat them w/out having to catch them again and also allows you to see if they're eating anything (your tank has pods for them to eat).

3)"They are usually found at depths greater than 160 feet"
"These fish spend their lives mostly hidden within small recesses which they rarely venture far from."
"They are a little shy."
The guy is shy in general, so don't bank on him coming out and spending most of his time in the front of the aquarium. You might get lucky and it might happen, but naturally they like to stay in caves and in the rockwork. Goodluck w/ him.

[phishphood]

btw, we all spend some well earned $$ on our fish and never want to see them shrivel up........or anything else happen to them

which is why a lot of us research fish before buying them.

[lucubrator]

The other lesson to be learned here is that with most fish, and there are a few exceptions, if it's in the store today, chances are that it'll be in the store tomorrow. If it's not in the store tomorrow, they'll have or they can get another one next week. The few exceptions you'll have researched and made a special home for long before you even consider buying it. Patience, patience, patience.

[Trickman2]

so i bought a blackcap basslet and a firefish from BR last thurs, and the fish seem to be doing fine. however, the blackcap spends most of his time hiding and doesn't really come out to eat. i see him and he seems normal, but when will he start REALLY eating? the fiefish is a fatass cuz he eats everything, but i don't want to over feed the fish just because one fish is not eating too much. is this normal? i only feed them once/day so far. how often do you feed your fish, and when will his behavior get "better" or is he going to hide forever and starve?


john

Alot of good points have already been mentioned, you should definetely take the advice on Quarantining any new guests because it only takes one ick laced fish to wipe out your whole system sometimes and as you said before that is alot of dollars. Next what types of food are you feeding? You may want to go get a vareity pack or pick up some different frozen foods. You can feed up to three times a day but make sure the potions are smaller.

[chin_monster]

Blackcap basslets aren't the most outgoing fishes, the cryptic behavior isn't out of the ordinary (even for a long acquired fish, much less one just a few days old).

[brncsfns5621]

my mandarin dragonet and my 6-line did the same thing. Took about a week for them to become comfortable with the other tankmates and me looking through the glass. now they are out all the time. Oh yeh, ditto on the QT tank..... :D

[jbvdhp]

cool; good advice, will heed. i read what i could in the book i got, didn't tell much. according to some sites, they say he's "easy to care for". so...that's one of the reasons i bought him (besides the color). i knew they are found at deep depths, but i thought they might like to come out more. i've spotted him at night when all the lights are out. he comes out during morning to feed when i drop in food, but he stares at some, eats a few them swims away...repeats. i feed brine and mysis, i have prawn eggs, but have not seen anyone eat that as it's swept away pretty fast. i'm sorry i haven't QT'ed my fish, and i hope for the best ( i know, i know)...i hope to get them on pellets too to mix things up. thanks everyone.

[coral diver]

It took my red corris two weeks to actually come out from hidding the wife tells me his dead but there's no body then surprise i saw him on my way to work 6:00 am when the light was off and gracing on the sand bed eating as the days pass the little bugger came out more often third week his playing with the rest of the fish and very active.