Wrasse mucus

**Ashurbarnipal** · 03-17-2012, 08:06 PM

Ok, so I know it's normal for a wrasse to excrete mucus around their cave at night, but lately my longfin fairy's mucus has started to gradually acrue to where it's become unsightly and I'm a bit worried it might affect a clam or coral.

Is there anything I can provide for the fish to reduce it? I tried adding sand for it to burrow in instead, but it was uninterested

**Dave66** · 03-17-2012, 08:43 PM

You can siphon out any excess mucus, but it's unusual for any to remain after the fish wakes up, since there's none to be seen with my wrasse group. Never known wrasse sleeping mucus to harm other species, other than those that try to eat a sleeping wrasse.

Dave

**labnjab** · 03-18-2012, 03:28 AM

Interesting, I didnt know wrasses excreated a mucus when they went to sleep. Ours always burrows behind the rocks at night which is why we have probably never seen it.

**Ashurbarnipal** · 03-18-2012, 03:51 AM

Yeah, I don't know why it's accumulating so badly. But the wrasse seems perfectly healthy. Coloration is good, it's active, got full fins. Eats every time I feed it (3-4 small feeding a day, usually frozen food) My params are good. .25 nitrate according to my salifert kit

**Dave66** · 03-18-2012, 10:04 AM

Originally Posted by labnjab

Interesting, I didnt know wrasses excreated a mucus when they went to sleep. Ours always burrows behind the rocks at night which is why we have probably never seen it.

A lot of wrasse species sleep in a mucus cocoon in the sand. The Flasher and Fairy Wrasses though, secrete themselves among rock work, and have a mucus layer around them for protection.

That why I thought it odd that Ash's wrasse was producing so much, since with my wrasses, there's none left when they swim out of their spot in the morning.

Dave