Red-Tail Tamarin Wrasse...Feeding Anampses chrysocephalus ? 08/29/07 Greetings WWM crew! <<Hello Robert!>> I have a question about my Red-Tail Wrasse. <<Ah yes, Anampses chrysocephalus...not easily kept>> I purchased one after doing extensive research and having confidence of having enough resources to provide a steady supply of amphipods. <<I see>> I do not have a refugium (am looking into it), but I order them in the 1000's online (great online supplier should anyone need copepods/amphipods on eBay, seller name is piece-of-the-reef, http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZpiece-of-the-reef). <<Mmm...the ?pod booster shots? are a good thing and should help...but the fish may well require more than this can provide...in both quantity AND diversity of species>> Anyways, I know they still exist in my system because I can see them at night all over the place. <<Okay>> The concern I have is that my wrasse seems to be getting thinner (as far as not having a big bulge in her stomach compared to when I first got her...been about 3 weeks now). <<Troubling indeed>> I have observed my wrasse eat one amphipod as it was free swimming when I first dropped them in, but now I'm not sure if she can find them. <<Much is not understood/well known about the feeding requirements of these fish...it is possible that the ?Amphipods? are not suitable fare. Perhaps these ?farmed? food items are nutritionally deficient, or even just ?too big? for the fish to ingest easily. Or maybe more likely...the fish needs a ?broader range? of food organisms to meet its dietary needs>> Many seem to burrow under the substrate (crushed coral), and my wrasse does not search the substrate deep enough. <<Mmm, yes...a fine sand would prove more suitable here>> She searches my 105 lbs of live rock every day constantly, but have yet to observe her find any. <<The fish has probably consumed whatever suitable food items were in/on the rock>> Should I be concerned? <<Oh yes...these fish have miserable survival rates, most often perishing from starvation>> Is it truly possible that she cannot locate any of the amphipods? <<This may well be, considering the crushed coral substrate...or the population density is just not high enough. Also...Copepods would likely prove a more suitable (size and nutritional value) food source>> She's always picking at the live rock, but knowing that they are chewers, I haven't seen her "chew" anything. <<The fish can eat without ?chewing?...but the fact its belly is looking thin/pinched is telling here. Swapping some of your rock for ?fresh? live rock may help for a bit, but without a large in-line plankton-generating refugium I hold little hope for this fish?s long-term wellbeing...and even this is no guarantee>> Thanks for the help! <<Wish it were more...>> Robert in California <<EricR in South Carolina>>

Re: Red-Tail Tamarin Wrasse...Feeding Anampses chrysocephalus ? 08/30/07 Thanks EricR for the prompt reply, and thanks to all the WWM crew for running such a great public service! <<You are quite welcome, Robert from California>> I did want to ask a couple more questions that your responses raised. <<Okay>> If I was to switch substrates to fine aragonite sand or other finer sand, how would I go about doing so (currently 1.5" deep)? <<Were this me, I would remove and replace about a third of the accessible substrate at a time...giving things some time to ?settle? between>> The only way I can possibly imagine doing so is by doing a complete tear down =(. <<Not necessary, can be done piecemeal...and just to note, the fine sand will also provide a more appropriate ?sleeping accommodation? for the wrasse>> Also, I may have been naive to suspect that I would be able to take care of such a hard to feed animal. <<Possibly...these fish require very large systems with plentiful live rock and a dedicated refugium just to provide enough ?real-estate? to feed from to give them a chance at survival. Even when trained to feed upon frozen Mysis most will still perish within a year, in my experience. There can be the odd exception or circumstance...I have a pair of Macropharyngodon meleagris that have been in my care for more than two years now, and have been spawning for about the last year. But let me be quick to point out that these fish are in a 375g display supported by a 75g sump and a 55g vegetable refugium. These fish also feed not only upon the tiny ?critters? they find...but will also except frozen Mysis and more importantly, vitamin-/HUFA-soaked New Life Spectrum pellets (the Spectrum pellets are truly an amazing food for all fishes...if they will eat them)>> I thought a steady supply of amphipods would do the trick. <<Perhaps Copepods would be a better food source for the Tamarin>> Problem is that they never come out when any light is on. I have never seen one crawling around in light! <<Indeed...tis not ?safe?>> When all the lights are shut off, they are swarming, but as soon as I turn a flashlight on, they run into deep crevices of rock and into the substrate. <<A natural behavior>> Are there different species of amphipods that are maybe diurnal? If so, do you have a source of where I might be able to find those particular species? <<As suggested, this has more to do with the presence/absence of active predators than the presence/absence of light>> Do you think it may be the type of lighting I have? <<Nope>> Power compact 196 watt 12K dual 98W and a dual 98W actinic. I have the blue-moon LEDs which I was excited to get, but the amphipods don?t even come out when those are on. <<Likely there are still fishes moving about>> I need to keep the tank in complete darkness. <<I don?t think any of this is an issue for the fish...it?s not like the Amphipods would be standing around waving banners saying ?eat me? in the wild [grin]. If the population density is sufficient, the maybe the pods are just too large for the small mouth of the Anampses, or maybe the pods themselves are not feeding well enough to be of nutritional value to the wrasse. Again...I think fresh Copepods may help...along with a fine sand bed (preferably a DSB) to provide adequate/proper interstitial spaces for them (and the wrasse) to occupy>> I did want to clarify that the wrasse does not have a pinched stomach, but rather that the bulge of her stomach (to me, indicative of a full stomach) is getting smaller. <<I see>> I just ordered more amphipods and want to test the compatibility of these amphipods. Instead of dumping them in, I plan on taking a syringe and shooting them in front of the wrasse before they run and hide. So if she voraciously eats them, is this a clear indication that these amphipods are compatible with her diet? <<Not necessarily... As with many hard to feed fishes, seeing them eat does not mean they are getting the ?required? dietary supplements to survive. A case in point is the Moorish Idol... Many hobbyists have kept them and had them eat the prepared foods offered...only to see them slowly waste away. Though I would like to mention that with the advent of the New Life Spectrum pellets, some aquarists have reported a measure of success with these fish>> If so, then it brings us all the way back to the question of what do I do about these amphipods not coming out in the day? <<I think this is the least of your worries here...>> It just seems that the odds of her finding even 10's of thousands of them are against her if they are deep within small crevices of my live rock and in the substrate. <<This wrasse is a hunter...if they are there it will find them>> I have just one last question (sorry!). <<No worries>> I have a 2" blue hippo tang, a 2" ocellaris clownfish, 2x 1" neon gobies, a 2.5" Valentini Puffer, and of course the 2.5" red tail wrasse that all get along great (all in a 70 gallon). <<The Hippo Tang will need a larger environment>> Of all these animals, only the tang and the Valentini puffer consume frozen Mysis shrimp. <<The others may learn to do the same>> The clownfish and the gobies are the only ones that consume pellet food (Spectrum Thera +A). <<Mmm...would be great if you could train the Tamarin on to this...perhaps you might try soaking it in Selcon or Vita-Chem before feeding>> Now, after reading extensively through the site, I know that brine shrimp are nearly void of any nutritional values. <<Mostly water, yes>> But why is it that when I place frozen brine shrimp (S.F. Bay brand brine with Omega 3), everyone loves them, INCLUDING the wrasse? <<Obviously the appearance, size, texture, and taste are appealing...but have nothing to do with ?nutritional value?>> In our world, anything that does not have any nutritional value tastes like cardboard! <<I disagree. I/many folks like hot-buttered popcorn...but you can?t ?live? on it...>> If it tastes like something, shouldn't there be nutrition to create that taste? <<?Some? nutrients may be present...but a ?balance? of nutrients, such as proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and enzymes are necessary for the body to make and repair cells and sustain life...thus usually the need for a ?varied? diet>> Do you see a way I can use the knowledge that I know the wrasse loves brine shrimp to feed her an alternative? <<You might try soaking these in the previously mentioned food enrichment products>> Aside from the foods stated above, I've tried frozen krill (S.F. Bay brand) and not one single fish out of the bunch eats it. Other than clams on the half-shell and occasional Nassarius snails for the puffer, I haven't tried anything else. Any recommendations on foods that have known to work that may be compatible with all the fish? Frozen preferred, but as you can see I will try out live foods as well. <<Frozen glass worms (mosquito larvae) have worked well for me in the past when trying to entice finicky eaters...I would also try some frozen Cyclop-eeze...and use of the enrichment products for all your fish>> Thanks again everyone! Robert from California <<Always welcome. EricR>>

Cool Looking Wrasse. Anampses femininus 7/27/07 Great Website, this is my second time posting a question. Saw a great looking wrasse called Blue-Tailed Wrasse (Anampses femininus) both male and female are equally pretty. <Quite stunning.> Any husbandry info? How hard are they to find? <They are fairly rare, they ship very poorly and can be quite finicky eaters, a real challenge to keep.> The little info I?ve found on them doesn't say they are found at great depths or are rare yet I have never seen them, do you know why? Thx <Most likely because most die in shipping, the Genus Anampses as a whole do not make great aquarium selections.> <Chris>

Forward to Bob please - Re: Anampses neoguinaicus 10/30/07 Hiya Bob! (My e-mail to you got bounced back for some reason?) <We "lost" our ISP... they became so wealthy they let go their small customers... hence no more ...@WWM. email addies> How are you? <Fine my friend> It's been quite some time now, so I figured I would give you an update on how the little fella has been doing. It has grown remarkably fast, and is around 2 ?? - 3? now. It has continued to thrive (as well as my pod population). <Ah, good> Only time will tell if I will continue to have good success with it. I have attached two photos for you of it. It is definitely the fastest moving fish in my tank, so it's been difficult to get any decent shots of it. Please don't mind the algae, I've been battling a nasty brown algae for a while now (finally winning), and when it dies off it forms strings of Cyanobacteria if I don't get in there and pull it out. One question for you though. At about what size should I expect to see a colour change, if any? It's beautiful now, but I'm anxious to see what the adults look like in person. <About this size... any time now!> Thanks again for so much helpful information, <Welcome! Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Re: Anampses neoguinaicus   12/12/08 Hey Bob! How are things? <Fair to middling Erin. Hope/trust things are better there> I just figured I would give you an update since it's been well over a year since I last talked to you. My New Guinea Wrasse is still doing very well, and has managed to eat my mandarin out of house and home. Still no colour change, though, but that's alright as it's still a gorgeous fish. <Ahh, I see this from your photo. This, and other Wrasses really don't change as much to terminal/male phase colourings, markings w/o the presence of conspecifics...> I'm just happy that it is alive and well, despite the odds. No real problems with it. It's been a great addition to my reef! I'm not sure what I would do if something ever happened to it. I have attached a new photo of it for you to have. Note the nice fat belly! Cheers, -Erin <Hey! I always say this is just the look of being prosperous! Cheers to you, Bob Fenner>

China Wrasse  7/23/06 Hello Again, I have a few questions concerning a Anampses neoguinaicus that was recently donated to me (don't ask, not a story to tell to young children). <Mmmm> But anyway, I have had her for about 4 days now and she is in great health about 2" in length in my 75 gal. with 70lbs of Tonga branch.  My water quality is great, and she is surveying her new surroundings and picking my live rock to death ({1} I am not sure for what though). <She, later he does> At present, I am culturing amphipods for my mandarin goby and introduced some today, I believe between the both of them, they devastated what I put in already ({2}I cant be certain though). {3} But what else should I feed her,{4} are bristle worms on her diet considering she will sleep in the sand with them? <Yes> {5} Are live brine shrimp on there as well, <Affirmative> and {6} what about zooplankton, or is that too small? <Many sizes available... palatable>   Just experimenting I have tried frozen brine shrimp and blood worms,  she shows little interest {7} <This fish is still "settling in"... takes weeks, months> Are there any frozen or preprepared foods you know of that she would eat? <Most all of "bite size" in time>   I would take her to a LFS, cause I am not sure what I have been volunteered into, but I don't trust my LFS and I would really like to try and raise her, she is a gorgeous fish.  I would have the abilities to suit her diet, if I knew what her diet is.  Okay, I know I said a few, but hey who is counting (other than me).   Thanks O' Guru's of the aquariums, Michael <This genus has many such species... though historically difficult to keep in captivity: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/wrasses/anampses/index.htm and the linked FAQs file above. Bob Fenner>

Tamarin Wrasses  12/5/05 Dear Wet Web Crew <Hello Melinda.> I just purchased (on a whim, yes, I know, I'm going to fishy hell) <Yes you are. I sentence you to Fishy Hell, you?ll be forced to share a 6 gallon tank with a mated pair of Queen Triggers. Good luck with that.> <<Good God man, you're RUTHLESS!  MH>> a Lennardi wrasse for my 55 gallon reef tank. It is still a juvenile, with the spotted black, yellow and white markings and is approximately 3 inches long. I know he/she'll get rather bigger than this <Yes, it does, a larger tank really is necessary for this animal to thrive not only for room but due to its feeding habits. A mature/large reef type setting is a must.> - I saw an adult at the shop too. So far (touch wood) it seems very happy - swimming with the Chromis and generally acting like a happy, <No Quarantine at all? Even with the eating habits of this animal I would still be weary about putting your current inhabitants at risk for disease. I hope it has been at the local store for at least a few weeks.> healthy fish. (Btw, I'm in Western Australia, so the fish didn't have far to travel and so doesn't seem to have suffered any ill-effects from shipping. They had maybe 5 of them on display in their holding tanks, and all appeared to be very happy little fish.) <Make sure to provide meaty foods of a marine origin, nutritional supplements such as Selcon and Zoe aren?t a bad idea either.> Of course, it buries itself from about 5pm onwards  <Normal Behavior. I hope you have a deep enough sand bed, at least 3 inches.> - so much for my "display" fish lol... But at least it's happy doing what it does. After quizzing the "learned" fish shop guy for maybe half an hour about this one fish (does it do well in tanks - yes; is it aggressive - no; what does it eat - brine shrimp...ha, yes I know, I?m not feeding it brine shrimp), I finally felt comfortable making the purchase. Then I read what Wet Web had to say about the Tamarins. I guess my questions, now, are:  1) what else should I feed it, besides Mysid and large meaty pieces of krill, to keep it happy? <Clams, scallops, squid and other marine meats are all acceptable?.if the fish accepts them> I have a thriving population of little "dudes" in my tank, that I'm sure it will be happy to munch on.  <?And deplete eventually.> Would you recommend also setting up a refugium to maintain the constant supply of mini dudes? <Refugiums are a great asset, if possible I encourage having one on all marine aquaria. And since your tank is rather on the small side for this animal I definitely encourage a fishless refugium for micro-fauna production.> 2) Are your concerns about Tamarins due largely to their poor reaction to shipping, or for other reasons also? <Their general unwillingness to take prepared foods is also a ?deal-breaker.? Eating habits are quite similar to dragonets.> 3) Can they actually be kept happy and healthy in the aquarium? <Can they? Yes of course even in the toughest fish there are always some exceptions. Though honestly these animals usually end up starving. Only recommended for VERY large mature reef tanks with established fishless refugiums.> 4) What are the sorts of things you recommend I do to keep this fish happy and healthy? <Start with the refugium, and do not introduce any fish that will compete for their food source such as other wrasses and dragonets.> 5) Do they enjoy strong water flow? <Yes.> Thank you very much in advance for any help you can give me. <Adam J.>

Anampses: inappropriate fish for community tanks 12/16/04 Howdy crew! <howdy, dear :)> This is my first time writing to you, so thank you in advance for your time :o) <always welcome> First, let me give you the tank info: tank size = 100g NH3/NH4 = 0 NO2 = 0 NO3 = 0 Calcium = 450 <please go easy on Calcium here... no need to push the high end of the envelope. No higher than 450 please> Alk = 10 DKH SG = 1.024 temp = 81.5 (having some temp issue (fluctuation) due to new return pump and new skimmer pump) 10 - 20% water change weekly live rock 55lbs and adding more from holding tank new AquaC EV180 sump for mechanical filtration w/ bioballs (will remove once more live rock is in) Magnum 350 deluxe canister for mechanical/carbon filtration sea swirl on return pump and swivel powerhead for extra movement Inhabitants = 1 ocellaris (Oscar), 1 green Chromis (Lil' Dude), 1 skunk cleaner shrimp (Seymour), about 5 each of Astrea snails and blue legged hermits, 2 bumble bee snails, <you do know that these bumble bee snails eat no algae? They do not have the mouthparts for it. They are carnivores and a burden on the life forms in your live sand bed like the blue leg hermits. Not great choices> 1 pipe organ (Bach), <hmmm.... a challenging coral :(> and lastly (but not least) Eleanor our new Red Tailed Tamarin (a week and a half new). <Arghhhh... the last entry is patently and categorically an inappropriate fish for any marine community tank. Few aquarists can keep these fishes alive for more than 2 years. In a community tank, I don't think yours will even live to see a year if even 6 months :(> I have read both internet information and book info on this species, and I personally would never have chosen this fish, but my husband wanted this fish more than anything, so there it is.   <I am fairly certain he will watch it slowly starve to death too. Not chastising you per se... but it is what it is. And do remind hubby if he truly admires the beauty of this species... watching one die this way is a funny tribute> I do understand that their diet is best provided via live rock, and before the introduction of this fish, <this is a stretch at best. Only in huge tanks with huge refugiums and both mature and established (over one year old). Without a refugium, this and any such fish will decimate any number of zooplankton in the display tank in mere months> we had so many pods that our sand and rock were literally crawling with them both night and day.  Not to mention a host of worm variety and other little inhabitants.  I have no problem continuing to swap out/ reculture live rock to help sustain her, <very grateful to hear this... but it still will not help my friend. When forced to browse the same few square feet of live rock every day and share it with other creatures, these plankters will be quickly depleted> but I do need to consider supplementing her diet.  She has been eating well on the rocks for now, and she also pecks at the glass (my other two fish do it as well... monkey see monkey do...hehehe).   <the actual problem is that this fish like Anthiines or Dragonets on copepods literally eat several thousand individual particles per day in the wild. There is no way you can provide this unless you literally culture live copepods, rotifers, etc> I have tried different food to supplement her diet, but she has taken very little interest ( brine with HUFA, marine mix SF brand, blood worms, and formula one frozen) I cut off a small amount of each, mix in some formula one and two dry food, and add a few drops of Zoe.  I let it thaw and then feed with turkey baster.  My other critters love this but again, Eleanor shows little interest.   <this is common... but even when they feed on brine shrimp, its a hollow food> I am considering trying scallops, mussels, squid from our seafood shop, but I have a few questions about that.  I am assuming that it should be fresh raw, not cooked or frozen?  Should I look at finding a way to "stick" it in the rock crevices or bind it to some small pieces of live rock rubble, since her preferred feeding method is to bite at the rock and substrate?   <yes... browsing for benthic microorganisms> I would really like this fish to stay healthy since my husband loves her (as do I but reluctantly <grin>).  Anyway, thank you again for your time, and your site and the forum are visited everyday by my husband and me. Best Regards, Erica <I truly am sorry to bear this news, but Anampses species are some of the most difficult species to keep alive still in the trade. Yours will almost certainly become a statistic unless you learn to culture copepods fast. There are a few online suppliers of live bottled copepods. You should also try feeding thawed frozen Cyclop-eeze (and freeze-dried ones if this fish will eat them). These are your best bets. When this fish does perish... please do resist the temptation to try another. A 2 year (or less) captive lifespan is just not a responsible use of living resources when the creature should live well over 10 years naturally. Best of luck, Anthony>

Anampses neoguinaicus Hi, <cheers> I have been searching for information on Anampses neoguinaicus for a while. Beside short listings (your site, fish base) there does not seem to be much information.  <with good reason... they are staggeringly difficult to keep alive in captivity. They are extremely sensitive to shipping duress and they are one of those fishes that may have an unexplained component of their diet that we have not found like substitute for. Legend in the trade is that Anampses are one of those fishes that "don't eat" in captivity which is a dreadful mistruth. The few that do service shipping will often eat prepared foods just fine... they simply don't service on them (like the same bogus legends about Moorish Idols, Pinnatus bats, etc... they have VERY strict diets regarding nutritional composition. A specimen eating in the LFS display does not equal a "good" specimen)> Can you give me some ideas on where to find more information?  <Bob, Steve and the rest of the crew will see this post and respond if they can contribute. You do have your work cut out for you. I'm confident that all of us hear would say that if you must try to keep this animal... PLEASE do it in a species tank (no mixed community fishes). And my strong advice is to treat is like a leopard wrasse: huge tank is needed with an upstream fishless refugium established for 6-12 months before you even think about buying an Anampses). Massive amounts of natural plankton are needed. Don't be shy about letting some turf algae to grow on the rocks too (many Crustacea will culture here)> Also, I can spell the name, but I have no idea how to pronounce this, help please. <Anampses: Ah-nom-sis> Clownfish swallowed by the clam, Jim <Dog ate my homework, Anthony> BTW: Belated Happy Birthday Bob <I'll pass the well-wish along... I believe he is still passed out with M&M's stuffed in his naval (he won the bet BTW). Thank kindly>

Anampses meleagris Hello again, I have also noticed you rate the genus Anampses as very difficult to keep. I have had my A. meleagris in a reef tank for over a year now with no problems (I also have, you might remember, 1 Chaetodon rafflesi, 1 Chelmon rostratus, 4 blue damsels and 2 clowns). <Was just on Heron Island last month (southern Queensland, Australia) and they had a gorgeous female (the gender almost always sold in the trade) that they had had for a couple of years as well... Most die soon after or on arrival.> It has always eaten well (brine shrimps and mussels) and I only see him from after 10am up to 5pm (I suppose he goes to sleep after that). I don't suppose I am just lucky as I have other seen specimens at my dealer doing well for some time. Are we getting better at handling/transporting? Cheers, <I do believe you are right. Faster, more careful, consistent methods of bagging, boxing, shipping. Bob Fenner> Massimo, Brighton, UK