New Aussie Tusk

Wings672 · 03/19/2014, 10:57 PM

Hello everyone. I bought about a 7" Tusk today and he is the only fish in the tank. I cycled the tank and then had a CUC and 2 damsels in there to make sure everything looked good. No nitrates, nitrites or ammonia. temp around 78 and 1.024 salinity. I pulled the damsels out and returned them to the store to eliminate any stress. When i put him in he went straight down to the bottom and sat there and hasnt moved. I drip acclimated him for about an hour( he flew in from LA to my local fish store which is in Iowa), i did this quicker than i have in the past because he has been in a bag for a while. I just want some reassurance that i did everything correctly and that i just need to be patient, id hate too lose such an amazing(and expensive) fish. i have 2 filters, a protein skimmer( dont know the name or brand, bought off a friend that had it in his 150 gallon and it worked amazingly, under a year old as well) and 2 800 GPH power heads which will be upraged soon. i tried feeding him as well with no success. He does watch me and i can see his eyes move if i move around the living room though which gives me some relief. Thanks

MrTuskfish · 03/20/2014, 09:25 AM

New HTs can take days to even move around and weeks to get used to you. I wouldn't worry yet. Offer some raw shrimp pieces as a first food; these are robust fish and need a variety of foods, including a few types of raw seafood. It sounds like this fish isn't in a QT, this could be a huge mistake. Like you said, these are expensive fish. A QT is cheap in comparison.

davidfrances · 03/20/2014, 06:25 PM

Gotta second the criticism on not QT'ing. I have found tusks to be ich magnets, they sleep in the same spot every night and ich concentrates in their lair.

They are usually aggressive feeders and settle into their new homes quickly.

My current HT did catch ich from an improperly QT'd tankmate. He was badly infected, but recovered fully after 4 weeks of hypo and 11 weeks leaving my DT fallow.

Wings672 · 03/20/2014, 06:30 PM

I have a 55 gallon tank that i was plannin gof using as a QT but there are fish currently in it and is also about 180 miles away. I figured since this is the only and first fish in the tank that he wouldnt need to be in QT. He looks like he was well fed before he got to me as well. I have scallops, shrimp, and about 4 different types of fish to offer him. theres also the CUC that he can eat. This morning he was swimming around a little more but still liked to hide in the corner with the most rock

03/19/2014, 10:57 PM	#1
Wings672 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Alta Vista, IA Posts: 10	New Aussie Tusk Hello everyone. I bought about a 7" Tusk today and he is the only fish in the tank. I cycled the tank and then had a CUC and 2 damsels in there to make sure everything looked good. No nitrates, nitrites or ammonia. temp around 78 and 1.024 salinity. I pulled the damsels out and returned them to the store to eliminate any stress. When i put him in he went straight down to the bottom and sat there and hasnt moved. I drip acclimated him for about an hour( he flew in from LA to my local fish store which is in Iowa), i did this quicker than i have in the past because he has been in a bag for a while. I just want some reassurance that i did everything correctly and that i just need to be patient, id hate too lose such an amazing(and expensive) fish. i have 2 filters, a protein skimmer( dont know the name or brand, bought off a friend that had it in his 150 gallon and it worked amazingly, under a year old as well) and 2 800 GPH power heads which will be upraged soon. i tried feeding him as well with no success. He does watch me and i can see his eyes move if i move around the living room though which gives me some relief. Thanks

03/20/2014, 09:25 AM	#2
MrTuskfish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: The Wild Blue Yonder Posts: 8,887	New HTs can take days to even move around and weeks to get used to you. I wouldn't worry yet. Offer some raw shrimp pieces as a first food; these are robust fish and need a variety of foods, including a few types of raw seafood. It sounds like this fish isn't in a QT, this could be a huge mistake. Like you said, these are expensive fish. A QT is cheap in comparison. __________________ If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat. Steve Current Tank Info: 180, 2-240 FOWLRs, 240 reef

03/20/2014, 06:30 PM	#4
Wings672 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Alta Vista, IA Posts: 10	I have a 55 gallon tank that i was plannin gof using as a QT but there are fish currently in it and is also about 180 miles away. I figured since this is the only and first fish in the tank that he wouldnt need to be in QT. He looks like he was well fed before he got to me as well. I have scallops, shrimp, and about 4 different types of fish to offer him. theres also the CUC that he can eat. This morning he was swimming around a little more but still liked to hide in the corner with the most rock __________________ 7" Australian Harlequin Tusk, 24" Snowflake eel Current Tank Info: 150 gallon FOWLR

03/20/2014, 06:25 PM	#3
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	Gotta second the criticism on not QT'ing. I have found tusks to be ich magnets, they sleep in the same spot every night and ich concentrates in their lair. They are usually aggressive feeders and settle into their new homes quickly. My current HT did catch ich from an improperly QT'd tankmate. He was badly infected, but recovered fully after 4 weeks of hypo and 11 weeks leaving my DT fallow.