Fish killed itself intentionally

So i recently purchased a longnose hawkfish as well as a grey head wrasse from liveaquaria. After properly acclimating the fish today when they arrived via ups i released them into my 30 gallon hospital/quarantine tank. Literally as soon as i released the long nose hawkfish swam to the bottom of the tank and ate a mouthful of sand, did a spastic shake then died. I have never seen or heard of anything like this. This blew my mind, i immediately emailed liveaquaria for a credit and am currently waiting for a response on the credit. This is my second attempt at ordering fish from liveaquaria with no luck so far. Has anyone heard of or seen something like this happen before? Is it something i did during the acclimation period (i slow drip acclimated the fish for 1 1/2 hours)?

 

Long nose hawkfish have a long track record of doing this. It is believed that the fish becomes very agitated during the acclimation process. During this time of rage the fish is able to throughly examine its new owner. In your case it seems like it hated you. When they develop this deep hate they decide it is better to die than keep living. They eat sand, perform the 'hate shake' and die instantly.

(Sorry to hear about your loss. I am sure LA will refund you)

 

uh i have had problems with getting fish from just about any vendor recently. they seem to have a wide range of problems from ich to velvet to having parasites to them jumping out i have decided to quarantine for at least a month or more and cover what i can

 

I've had a few dates end like this.

 

Double post

 

Thanks to all for the replies...still bummed I lost the fish...but feel better knowing the fish has a tendency to do that. I want to replace him but don't want to have another one eat sand again. My other possibility is the flame hawkfish...would that be a better replacement option? Or do all hawkfish bring the possibility of eating a mouth full of sand and dying?

 

To be clear, I was just joking.

 

Sorry about your fish. I've always had real good luck with LA and actually got a Flame Hawkfish from them once and he was pretty cool. I can't say I've heard of the sand eating thing but don't give up on them.

 

"Hate Shake"
that was hilarious....
sorry bout the fish tho

 

Yeah that was real funny! I had a run in on here a month or so with a dumb deleted that made me question why i joined this so called club. Today i cross paths with another dumb deleted when im looking for some advice. Biggest waste of $20 ive ever spent. I came here to make friends and offer advice but instead i run into ego filled jackasses who waste my time by cracking jokes. Listen here...im new to the hobby...i want to stay in the hobby...but when i cant even get good quality advice from so called experts then what in the god damn deleted hell is the point!?! You made a smart *** wise crack that resulted in me looking like a dumbass just so you could get a ****ing laugh. This is my last post and last attemptnat participating on this forum.

 

And if I may add he did state at the end Sorry about your loss and LA will probably give you a refund. I don't believe that to be a person trying to be an ***. I do know PotRoast and he is an outstanding member who would never mean any ill will towards any member. Sorry you feel that way.

 

Thats crazy.. I have never heard of a fish doing that, it had to shock the hell outta ya..

Im not sure why someone would joke about that and not say they where joking in the same post but wait for others to respond to announce he was joking, seems kinda rude and childish to me, especially when the guy is looking for help...

 

Sorry!!! The forums need a "delete post" button.... I posted before I read thru and thought it was in fun.../DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/cry.gif

 

Seems like odd behavior, sorry you lost the fish. To reiterate what has already been said, LA has great customer service & I'm sure they'll take care of you. If you did properly acclimate him as you stated, and all of your parameters were in check, there really isn't much more you could have done differently. My advice would be to also acclimate them to the temperature both before and after dripping them. I always float the container in the aquarium for about 15 minutes to do this.

On another note, your membership isn't paying for expert advice, it's paying to host a website so you can interact with other local hobbyists and get feedback. Most of the time you are going to build relationships, receive support, and get good advice from the hobbyists that participate and volunteer their time and knowledge. Keep in mind we are mostly all hobbyists, not "marine biologist" and the advice you receive isn't going to always be factual, but from our own opinions and experience.

I agree it doesn't appear intentions were to humiliate you, just to add some odd humor to an odd situation. No matter where you are at, people in life are going to say things you may find offensive or not agree with. Users on this website are welcome to state their own opinions and post whatever they'd like in a family-safe and non-violent manner. Sometimes you just have to deal with it, state your objection to the statement and then move on. I think you will still get a lot of value out of the interaction and advice you do get from visiting this website that is hosted and funded by club memberships.

 

You had the lights off correct?

Had a ton of long noses with little to no problem

 

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your long-nose...what a strange reaction! I've never heard or seen of such a thing! I have a hawkfish and I just love them! (I have had a few over the years) They have great personalities and seem to fit in well with all other tankmates. They are hardy fish and readily eat,IMO/IME. My hubby calls them "Rock Hoppers" as they love to perch on the rocks and watch everything :=0)

 

Sorry to hear about your loss...
FYI the fish that come from LA (excluding the Divers Den) are at a salinity of 1.018 to help ward off parasites. What was your salinity at? Most keep their reefs around 1.025 so a 1.5 hour acclimation is quite short imo if the salinity is that much different. Could have been shock did you have any bright lights on?