wrasses - recommendations ?

[nunofs]

I'm considering adding a wrasse to my tank... I like the coloration on many of them, and they seem to be good reef citizens (peaceful, and not too large).

However, I have a couple of questions:

- do they all hide/sleep in the sand?
- are there species that don't feed mainly on pods? (I want to leave the door open to possibly adding a mandarin in the future, so don't want any other fish competing for the mandarin's natural food supply)

If you've kept reef-safe wrasses, is there a particular species you can recommend and/or you would suggest avoiding? why?

Thanks,
Nuno

 

[ScottM]

i have a pair of solarensis wrasses
http://www.themarinecenter.com/wrassesolorensis.htm (male in photo)


most all wrasses are going to bury in the sand.
my leopard wrasses eat flake. so does my mystery wrasse.

just be careful about size and aggression.

i like the potters wrasse, mystery, leopard (bipartus & ornate)
most are not great shippers. and tough to take frozen. buy one as small as you can and try to get one that eats in the store.

a good place to check out is www.themarinecenter.com

 

[wrassefan]

carpenter flasher wrasses are a good first choice...not too expensive, real pretty, show's themselves alot....but are jumpers. The mostly hide in a crevice and make a slime coccoon to sleep in.

 

[ScottM]

they even have a pylei wrasse
http://www.themarinecenter.com/cirrhilabruspylei.htm

 

[Aquaman_68]

I've always liked the coris giamardi when I had the fish only. They claimed that getting an adult would never survive in captivity. I tried a few times & they perished due to starving. Never knew if they were reef safe because that was over 10+ years ago when I tried an adult. Just checked on the reef safe page for them ...Not listed.....Guess not

 

[TheUltimateNoob]

i really like the leopard wrasse, maybe a pair of those?

 

[pisces5296]

I have a lubbuck fairy wrasse colorful, peaceful, reef safe
eats everything frozen foods even nori,always out in the
open ,sleeps in the rocks.But they will JUMP out of open
space.I have a cover

 

[JD46]

Halichoeres melanurus

Always out, eats anything, and does not bother other fish.

This species is a sand sleeper

 

[Fingolfin]

most all wrasses are going to bury in the sand.
my leopard wrasses eat flake. so does my mystery wrasse.

just be careful about size and aggression.

Mystery wrasse, pseudocheilinus Ocellatus, can be quite aggressive toward other wrasses. I have mine for more than 5 years. It came in as 1.5" long and now is 3.5" long and 3/4" wide, sort of like a mini-grouper. By stating that, it really eats like a grouper. The juvenile comes with 5 verticle stripes on the body but the stripes fade away when it reaches maturity. However, the stripes would still show up on adults' bodies when they sleep at night, and they like to wrapp themselves in cocoon during the sleep, too.

If you have shrimps, crabs, or snails, you may want to think twice about adding it. Even though mystery wrasse is the wimpy six-line wrasse's close cousin, mystery wrasse is an excellent crustacean hunter. My mystery wrasse has killed probably 4-5 cleaner shrimps and many many crabs over the past 5 years.

Nevertheless, mystery wrasses are excellent pets, full of characters.

 

[PenMan]

We have a Pyles wrasse in our tank and have had a second one on order since Macna with one of the largest wholesale companies. They have had none available.

We have two leopards. They are out while the MH bulbs are on, but are gone into the sand within five minutes once the lights start going down. The leopards do not seem to jump like a lot of the other. We have a 12 inch hood around the entire tank with the splash marks to show their habits. The leopards do not seem to travel well. If the store has had the fish for a while, you will probably have better luck. It has been suggested that they be packed with a some sand for the trip home.

 

[Corwyn]

I've been thinking about a small group of carpenter's.
Dom male, sub male and 2 females in a 180G.

Other fish;
kole tang,
yellow tang
copper b
pair of perculas
mandarin

I can't find much info on odds of success.

 

[ScottM]

Mystery wrasse, pseudocheilinus Ocellatus, can be quite aggressive toward other wrasses.

what size tank is it in?
all the mystery wrasses i have own have been quite the oposite.

 

[Antimony1019]

Our mystery wrasse does not bother any other wrasses as well, or any other fish for that matter. Our mystery wrasse just kind of swims around the tank paying no attention to anyone doing his own thing, he's out all the time, and has eatten great from day 1 (we've had him almost a year now). The only problem we ever had with our mystery wrasse was that he liked to jump into the overflow, but it's been awhile since that happened .

We also have a green coris wrasse (great color, but have been know to eat inverts- ours doesn't though), he's also out all the time.

Our most recent addition to the tank was a Scott's Fairy Wrasse, which is a beautiful fish as well. We just took him home about a week ago, he's doing real well and chowing on frozen food.

The only other wrasse we have had in the tank was a yellow streak wrasse. He liked to jump ALOT. The way our tank is he never made it to the floor, but he usually burned himself on the lights. The last time he jumped he got banged up pretty good, lived for awhile but the last jump damaged him too much and we lost him .

As far as eatting pods... I haven't really noticed our wrasses picking off the rockwork anymore than any of the other fish we have. Plus there have been some mandarins coming in that are chowing on frozen food.
http://216.235.242.50/forums/showthread.php?t=6934

 

[nunofs]

Wow, lots of great info here, thanks everyone!

So it seems that most (all?) wrasses dig/sleep in the sand... my concern with this is that they may cause sandstorms or disturb things that are resting on the sandbed (like an open brain)... has this been an issue with anyone? How deep does the sandbed need to be (I have around 3")?

I thought about the leopard, but I want something with more color... the pattern on the leopards is amazing but it's not very colorful. Looking at pics, I like the Radiant Wrasse (Halichoeres iridis), the Carpenter's Wrasse (Paracheilinus carpenteri), the Ruby Head Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura)... not that I specifically want one of these, just something with that kind of color.

Keep the suggestions coming...

Nuno

 

[JD46]

my wrasse sleeps in the sand under a plate coral. Doesn't appear to bother the coral in any way. Also, there is absolutely no sand storm when it comes out in the morning. It comes out quick, like a bullet. Very little sand is stirred.

 

[Fingolfin]

what size tank is it in?
all the mystery wrasses i have own have been quite the oposite.

It was in 150 gal, then to 200 gal, but now in 75 gal. I actualy acquired a pair mystery wrasses years ago, both were under 1.5". The female didn't look nearly as brilliant as the male. They were both introduced to 150 gal, where a six-line wrasse resided. The male chased six-line wrasse a lot. A week later, I found the six-line on the carpet. After the six-line's demise, the male started chasing the female. A couple weeks later, the de-hydrated female was found lying on the glass canopy. I guess she couldn't take the harrassment any more so she decided to end it by jump through the small opening of the glass canopy.

 

[reefnroll]

Fingolfin -

What you've reported is accurate when it comes to Mysetery Wrasses and other Mystery Wrasses... or closely related wrasses, namely the six-line. The will not tolerate each other, so the term 'aggressive' should really be reserved for those mixes. They are not aggressive toward other wrasses in general... not at all. I also wonder about your gender i.d. on the fish you had. As far as I knew, there was no way to sex these fish... so you may have had two females, or two males... and that certainly also would create some animosity.

I have kept two of these fish. One died in a power outtage a few years ago... but I had him for 2 years and when he became an adult, I watched him develop an appetite for several cleaner shrimp and a few acro crabs before he went to the great beyond. The one I've got now is being kept with 6 other wrasses, and there are absolutely no issues whatsoever. I expect that when this fish gets to a certain age, I may have the same issue with crustaceans.

Here's a book I highly recommend for anyone interested in wrasses. It's great for basis identification and behavioral information of a whole lot of fish.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12114&inm=1&N=2004+2024+2035

bec

 

[Fingolfin]

I also wonder about your gender i.d. on the fish you had. As far as I knew, there was no way to sex these fish... so you may have had two females, or two males... and that certainly also would create some animosity.

Both mystery wrasses came in with the same size. One had the nice markings on the face, while the other didn't. The one that had the markings had more brilliant coloration than the other. And both had 5 verticle bars on the body.

As far as I could tell, their appearances/coloration were quite different.

 

[reefnroll]

Well... appearances can sometimes be an for indicator for gender in wrasses, but I would guess that the fact that one fish ran the other out of the tank is the final indicator in your case. I doubt that would have happened if they were truly of different genders... particularly since the primary antagonist (the six-line) had already been eliminated.

Even adult specimen of the so-called Mystery Wrasses show no extreme variations in color that can be identified as gender based, according to the folks who do the research... so I can't imagine that color indicators as juveniles would be dependable.

At any rate... they're great fish that I would highly recommend as long as like-wrasses are avoided, and the loss of crustaceans (possibly) upon adulthood may be expected. I just keep mine well fed in hopes of extending the life of the lives of my shrimp and crabs.

There are a ton of great wrasses to consider though. That book is a great reference.

b

 

[Fingolfin]

There are a ton of great wrasses to consider though. That book is a great reference.

I would consider hog fish, too.

Eukrines Hog and Sanguineus Hog.

However, they are both notorious crustacean hunters, too.