Wrasse Personality Change

I've had my Linespot Flasher Wrasse in my 65g since December and he's been extremely personable. He ate like a pig, was always out and flashed just about every day. A little over 2 weeks ago, he jumped out while I was fixing a frag that had fallen over. He landed on carpet next to me and was immediately scooped up and put back in the tank. He was dazed for a bit then went into his sleeping spot in the rocks. The trouble is that his personality has changed after this incident.

After the jump I never saw any exterior damage to him and he was out of the water for less than 20 seconds. He hasn't flashed since then and even has taken to hiding at times during the day. He used to stay up past 9 pm with my McCoskers and they'd want one more feeding before bed, but now he's asleep well before then.

Has anyone else experienced this? Should I do anything or just wait it out? Nothing else has changed, nobody is picking on him and I can pretty much rule out diseases. It stinks because his shyness is rubbing off on my McCoskers who's now a bit less bold than before.

 

Just give it time

 

I was hoping you'd chime in. . I hope he recovers, he's my show piece fish.

 

well, if we equate what happened to him to us taking a long fall, we would need some recoup time as well if evolved says give it time, that's the answer!

 

I'm paranoid about working in my tank now. I have a glass lid for these fish but never thought about him jumping in the brief time I had it open.

 

He's probably in a mild state of shock; due to the size of their natural habitat, reef fish have no natural instinct regarding carpet-surfing. I have had a few that died even though there were no visible injuries and they were discovered and returned to the tank immediately; that, however, occurred within the first 2 - 3 days. As stated, all you can do is give him time. The good news is that he has survived long enough to almost guarantee full recovery.