Grrrr. It's always the expensive ones!

[fishoholic]

Sorry to hear that. I love tusk fish and wanted one for a long time. I had a baby 1-2" tusk fish that was doing great in my tank for months until I had the opposite of your problem happen. I added a mystery wrasse 2-3" (only slightly bigger then the tusk fish) and the mystery wrasse killed the tusk fish!

My 230g fowlr tank would be a good aggressive match but Doug told me, no more fish for that tank, as he thinks the big guys will most likely kill any new ones. It is getting full, there are 10 fish in there and 3 are huge and a couple more will get big. When it comes to adding though I find it depends on the fish, the burr puffer (which I thought would be ok) didn't work out (oddly the eel and hawkfish terrorized him) but the filefish (that I wanted for aiptasia control, but thought the trigger might kill) is totally fine in the tank. However if there was ever a fish I'd try to sneak/squeeze in, it would be a tusk fish.

[mandyplo]

I feel your pain! I have exactly the luck you do

I am a reefer, but I also have a passion for Koi, and my 3000g Koi pond is my baby... They are wintering outside as they do every year, and the winter is so close to being over! But of course, I found my prized japanese $250 imported Matsuba Koi belly up the other morning with NO explanation... the ONLY koi death I've ever had during wintering, and it had to be my imported baby!!! GAHHHH!!! WHY!

[asylumdown]

Well, the fishing trip worked, but it was considerably more traumatic than I thought it would be.

I couldn't find a hook small enough at Canadian Tire, so I had to buy trout fishing flys, and then cut away at all the material until I just had the hook. I thought I had bent/filed/plied the barb down enough, but after I caught the tusk, I couldn't get the hook out of his mouth. I ended up having to very carefully cut off the loop for the fishing line using wire cutters, and then remove it from the other end with pliers. There was no visible damage to his mouth (the hook couldn't have gone through in a better spot), but in the process of getting the hook out, I handled him for about 5 minutes, and he jumped out of my hands a couple of times. I was already on my knees on the floor to try and prevent a significant fall, but several hours later and he's still lying on his side in the fish trap I put him in in the sump. His condition hasn't changed in hours, not getting worse, not getting better, and he's breathing normally, but he won't hold himself upright.

I'm going to give him the night and hopefully he'll be recovered tomorrow. As much as he was a terror in the tank, he's one of my favourite fish. It will break my heart if he doesn't pull through.

On the upside, the behaviour of the rest of the fish in the display is literally transformed. I only ever saw him being overtly aggressive to the Copper Band, who's been getting relentlessly chased, but I guess he must have been going after everybody when I wasn't looking. The replacement for this fish will need to be very carefully considered, I need a peaceful tank.

[gregzz4]

Do you have any Stress Guard or Para Guard you can add to the Tusk's water ?
It will help after the mouth wound and all the handling

[asylumdown]

I have paraguard, but he's in a vented trap in my sump, so he's still in the main system's water. Do you think a dip would help, or would that just be added stress?

[gregzz4]

If your vented trap will fit in another container, I'd scoop it out with the larger container and give him a dip in the trap, inside the larger container
Of course, all the precautions will be used, right
Lots of aeration, watching for stress etc