Red-Tailed Tamarin (Anampses chrysocephalus) Pt. 1

[glow=Maroon, 2, 99%]I don't have to give credit to the above photo, do I?  [smiley=scholar.gif]  I am starting with this photo, so that you can see how beautiful the Red-Tailed Tamarin is.  This is a female.  The females have the red tails.  The males are called the Psychedelic Wrasse, for reasons I'll show you later.

I get frustrated, when I see people spend a ridiculous amount of money for a fish, take that fish home and carefully acclimate it to a clean, well-kept tank.  They notice right off that the fish won't eat the food that the salesperson said to get for it.  But the salesperson said that might happen.  After 3 or 4 days they begin to get concerned and call the store only to find that their warranty has run out on their fish.  The fish never eats and after a couple of weeks, it dies. [smiley=bigcry.gif]

You say, "Well, that wouldn't happen to me."  I'm going to tell you that it hasn't happened to you YET.  Sooner or later, you will want to try that more difficult to keep fish, the expert fish.  It happens to all of us at some time or another in this obsessive hobby of ours. [smiley=freak3.gif][/glow]

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[glow=Maroon, 2, 99%]You will become fascinated by a fish, and it will happen that way.  Or, you may just decide that you want to "test your aquatic skills" and it sneaks up on you that way.  And, you find yourself the proud owner of an "expert only" fish.

But, before you have gotten to this precarious position, you have prepared yourself.  You have READ, and READ, and READ, and READ everything you can find about this fish.  In fact, you are STILL reading articles about your fish's endemic area, his favorite foods, about the spectrum of light that he is used to, about the water chemistry, and the temperature, and the salinity and anything and everything you can, to give your fish the best home you can possibly give him.

And then you go to the store and look in the tank at the fish you special ordered; and the salesperson says, "you know these fish are expert only, don't you?"  You can say, "That's alright.  I am the expert."

Now, to go back to our Red-Tailed Tamarin (female), or Psychedelic Wrasse (male), these are the two color-morphs of Anampses chrysocephalus.  There are only 13 species under the genus Anampses.  The males and females are remarkably different; the female is pictured from Marine Depot above.  Here is a picture of a male's head, from The Marine Center:[/glow]

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[glow=Maroon, 2, 99%]That's quite a difference, isn't it?  They are still the same fish with the same requirements.  And, if we followed the directions given above about READING everything we can find about this fish, we are going to discover that this little gem comes from the Hawaiian Islands, and immediate surroundings.

During the second part of this Post, I will tell you about my experiences of keeping one of these beautiful fish, and what I learned in the process.[/glow]

 

Re: Red-Tailed Tamarin (Anampses chrysocephalus) P

[glow=Navy, 2, 99%]Red-Tailed Tamarin (Anampses chrysocephalus) Pt. 2

Like I said above, I kept one of these, several years ago, with a few other peaceful fish similar in temperment to the Red-Tailed. I had a 75 gallon tank (but a 50 gallon would work), with fine aragonite sand on the bottom (grain size between .5mm and .2mm) about 4" deep. The literature will tell you it should be at least 3" deep, but this is simply so the fish can completely cover itself at night to sleep.

Remembering that this fish is from the Hawaiian Islands, a good geography lesson would teach us that the water temperature there is 78-82F; the salinity is 1.023 - 1.025; and there's plenty of sunlight. And, as is typical with NSW, the pH is 8.3.

My 75 gallon had VHO lighting and NO lighting, which wound up being about 380w, as I recall, trying to simulate the bright sunlight in the Hawaiian Islands. Also, they like a well-planted aquarium. Now, Caulerpa sp. is great, and get a variety of different kinds, but look at this link for more types that grow in and around the Hawaiian Islands.

The reason they need a planted tank is for the oxygenation that it provides, but also they LOVE the copepods, amphipods, and crustaceans that live in the algae. In fact, they won't survive without it. Like Mandarin Gobys, they need an established tank, full of little critters, which they will eat constantly throughout the day. But you will also have to supplement their diet with mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, chopped shrimp, chopped clams, chopped scallops, chopped squid, all soaked in Zoe or Selcon. And you will have to feed them this "mush" two or three times a day.

In the wild, they eat constantly, you can tell by looking at their oversized mouths that they are 'hearty eaters.' One of the primary mistakes made in keeping any Anampses sp., is not feeding them enough. They simply die of starvation.

They also take their time in eating. They chew their food rather than gulp it like most fish. So, if they are in a tank with a bunch of 'gulping' fish, they are not going to get enough to eat.[/glow]

[glow=Green, 2, 99%]If, after reading all the above, you are still interested in the Red-Tailed Tamarin, here are a few suggestions:

--- They ship VERY POORLY and are handled roughly. Make sure that you get a healthy fish when you purchase it from the store. Look it over VERY CAREFULLY. Be sure that it can swim normally, and that it has no obvious parasites or injuries.

--- Don't buy a baby (under 2.5 inches) and don't buy an adult fish, or a 'Terminal Male' (with the bright head coloration). An adult female will be over 4" in length.

--- Feed them two or three times a day, more than what they are eating in your established tank. Make sure they aren't spitting it out, if so, try chopping it more finely. If they continue to refuse your prepared foods, switch to LIVE brine until you can get them to eat. Then slowly wean them off of the LIVE stuff.

--- Suitable tankmates for your fish would include grammas, some basslets, gobies, dragonettes, and small anthias. These fish are also "deliberate eaters" and aren't going to compete for food with your Tamarin. They are also peaceful. Remember, Tamarins are very peaceful fish, and when nervous or upset, they are "jumpers." So, put a good lid on your tank, for their own protection.

This should be enough to get you started. Remember to READ everything you can about any 'expert fish' you want to keep. If you don't feel that you are an 'expert' on the fish, then don't buy it. You'll only feel bad when it dies later.

Useful links:[/glow]

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spe...sname=Anampses&speciesname=chrysocephalus
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2002/Fish.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/wrasses/anampses/index.htm

 

Re: Red-Tailed Tamarin (Anampses chrysocephalus) P

your first photo didnt come thru maby try postin it again








thnxs karla, all fixed now -- Steve

 

Re: Red-Tailed Tamarin (Anampses chrysocephalus) P

i got the pic today thats a nice lookin fish. looks like a mini version of the marine betta (sorta) same spot pattern almost

 

Re: Red-Tailed Tamarin (Anampses chrysocephalus) P

One way to GREATLY improve the shipping of that wrasse, as well as most mucos producing wrasses, is to put a small amount of fine sand in with the wrasse, and give it more water then a typical export pack. The sand helps bind up the mucos, and provides a little bactaria to break down some of the decomposing mucos. Plus, it gives the wrasse a sense of security, lowerring its stress. We have extremelly low DOA/DAA on all wrasses, because of doing that.

 

Re: Red-Tailed Tamarin (Anampses chrysocephalus) P

Wow. Great info!

 

Re: Red-Tailed Tamarin (Anampses chrysocephalus) P

Hello,


I currently have a Red Tail Tamarin Wrasse(female phase) in one of my tanks. They are no doubt a beautiful fish. Both of the phases are stunning(male or female), although the male pyschedelic phase is quite fun to look at. I'm hoping mine will turn into a male phase but that will be a longshot. Male Phases usually sell for $70 and up at LFS's. Although they are gorgeous, they are a difficult fish to acclimate. If they do survive after the 1st month, some will just mysteriously die. Mine started eating the first day so I was quite lucky. However, she had a very hard time getting along with the Dragon Wrasse. The Dragon would harass her all day long. I would recommend if you are going to put another wrasse in the tank, put the Tamarin in first because they are one of the more peaceful and shy species. You can have multiple Wrasses in a tank as my Red Coris(adult) and Dragon have gotten along fine. I think because the Tamarin is a more peaceful fish, the Dragon took advantage of her. The Red Coris(adult) can get rowdy as well. If you want to try out the Tamarin Wrasse, you can read an excellent article in the Advanced Aquarist online mag at :

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2002/Fish.htm

 

Re: Red-Tailed Tamarin (Anampses chrysocephalus) P

Fabulous information and post marinenut, welcome. Keep posting to qualify for the ClamsDirect Raffle. Go to the General Discussion Forum and check out the thread!

 

Re: Red-Tailed Tamarin (Anampses chrysocephalus) P

Thanks for the welcome Craig. You guys run an excellent site and it is my pleasure to post. Anything to help out other marine enthusiasts. Most of my fishes are not reef safe, so I hope you don't mind. But I can give fellow enthusiasts tips on keeping "expert fish" such as boxfishes. By all means I am no expert, just a lot of trial and error and extensive research into some of these species. Actually, I would like to start a post on keeping the Long Horn Cow or Boxfish. Because they are not reef safe, I wanted to get your approval first. There is a big misconception about these fishes and their "toxic exuding" ability. Although they do have that ability, it is very rare. Only as a last resort to protect itself from death. I don't think there is a incident that has ever been reported on the internet of a cowfish wiping out a tank. I have kept a long horn for a while now and it is a very gentle and kind fish that gets along with everyone. It follows my Spiny Boxfish around like a little brother. If anyone is interested in keeping this specie, I can post some information.

 

Re: Red-Tailed Tamarin (Anampses chrysocephalus) P

Feel free to post away!

I like cows and boxfish, they're cool.
just saw a real real tiny polka dot one today. 8) [smiley=smoking.gif]