Longnose Hawkfish behaviour

evelyn80

evelyn80

Guru at procrastinating
Aug 10, 2008
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Ok so i purchased a longnose hawkfish the other. i acclimated him and he went in fine and sat on top of the power head.... for 5 straight hours without moving. he seems to follow this behaviour though, i mean he never moves he just sits in the same spot for long periods of time. not even food makes this little guy get up and go. sure makes my clown go though. he doesnt appear to be eating at all either. i did notice however he had white stringy poop the other day, is that a sign of something? thx
 
Well ive heard that hawkfish are active but like hawks tend to perch on objects. I cant help with the poo thing but i cut-n-pasted this from a site:

The Longnose Hawkfish has a white body with red striping that runs both horizontally and vertically. They have great personalities and are very interesting to watch. They are also the only Hawkfish reported to have spawned in captivity.
A 30 gallon or larger aquarium is acceptable, and should have a tight-fitting lid to prevent escape. The Longnose Hawkfish is a hardy, semi-aggressive fish but other larger hawkfish will overpower it. Although it eats small fish and shrimp, it makes an excellent reef inhabitant under the proper conditions. It likes to be perch on and be camouflaged by the Red Gorgonian Sea Fan or other similar decor.

The Longnose Hawkfish diet should include a variety of marine meats, frozen preparations, and live feeder shrimp.
 
Hawkfish are so named because they swoop down on their prey from elevated positions. They lack a swim bladder, so unlike other fish, they can't just hover without using energy, so instead they perch and wait, like a hawk. The poo issue most likely results from diet.
 
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well i tried blasting shrimp at him with a turkey bastor, that got a few reavtions from him, incliding 2 lunges at food. hes only an inch long now, hes really young. I think he may just have not learned to eat commercial foods yet.
 
It might take him a while to start eating. I'm sure its getting used to the new surroundings. 1" is small (not a bad thing) but like Ace said you might try a smaller food or chop up the mysis cube a bit before putting it in. I have found that fish respond better to new tanks if you avoid being in and around your tank for a few days (except to feed). This allows them time to get comfortable and associte your presence in the tank with food. One other thing...do you turn off all your filters and pumps when you feed? Some fish seem more attracted to food when its moving a little. I have found that to be the case with my new Potters Angel. The drawback is that you run the risk of food getting trapped in the rocks and going uneaten so only add a little food at a time if you try this. I'm sure all will be fine, good luck with it. Very cool fish indeed.
 
Oh I am very sorry to hear that. Sometimes there isn't much you can do and the worst happens despite our best efforts. Try not to get discouraged. How is everything else in the tank?
 
everything else is healthy as a horse except for my urchin who had some spine troubles but thats in another topic. he seems perfectly fine though, hes activer then most my fish
 
Good news! I think I saw on another thread you mentioned that you didn't drip acclimate? Maybe I am mistaken. I made the same mistake (float bag and add a little water) and will never do that again. I'm sure your next additions will do great.
 
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