Melanurus or Hoeven's wrasse who has em?

[Wy Renegade]

Like the title says, looking into the Hoeven's wrasse (Helichoeres melanurus), also called the Tail Spot Wrasse, Yellow-lined Wrasse, Orange-tipped Rainbowfish, Tailspot Wrasse, or Pinstriped Wrasse. Imported out of the Pacific (Fiji) and get to about 5 inches. Who has em or has had em and can tell me anything about them? Not much out there on the internet.

 

[CoralBandit]

Love them but they will eventually eat your cuc, which I really don't care about anymore its the most colorful fish just look at revs avatar

 

[revhtree]

Gorgeous, very active, and one of my favorite fish. I have seen him go after new snails and crabs that I put in the tank other than that pretty model citizen except he steals food right from my corals mouths! HA!

 

[CoralBandit]

Revs right on, very good compatibility but voracious eaters mine eats till it throws up lol

 

[Wy Renegade]

Thanks guys, is the size about right? Looking into these cause Delbreck and Sprung recommend em for helping control flatworm issues. Rev, any evidence of them eating flatworms in your tank?

 

[CoralBandit]

Size is correct, I have never had flatworms but I actually recommended this fish to a friend for.the same reason b/c if there's a fish that would its this one, I personally would use flatworm exit and follow directions carefully Ive helped a few people with this in the past and its the only way to eliminate them all

 

[jestersix]

I have one of these and mine is death on flatworms (and bristle worms, and just about any crawlie critter foolish enough to crawl out from under a rock). I had a small population of red flatworms that I was trying to eliminate when I brought him in and they were gone in short order. +1 to the occasional snail snack when you add new stuff, but really doesn't bother my existing CUC. I usually just buy a few extra snails when I need to add some. He does keep my population of dove snails in check.

My only problem, was the tasty meal he had of a Cleaner Shrimp I tried to add...learned THAT lesson! Funny thing is I had a pair of Sexy shrimp in the tank already that he never touched!

Like a puppy dog, he follows my hand around any time I work in the tank - he has never bothered any of the other fish - even my tiny Rainford's goby.

 

[droblack]

I miss mine, it was very cool and voracious eater, as others have noted. Peaceful tank mate too, despite being larger than most of the other fish in the tank at that time.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Awesome, thank you all for all the replies. I'm going to have to order me one of these I think, as soon as I get my screen top built.

Size is correct, I have never had flatworms but I actually recommended this fish to a friend for.the same reason b/c if there's a fish that would its this one, I personally would use flatworm exit and follow directions carefully Ive helped a few people with this in the past and its the only way to eliminate them all

Does flatworm exit have a negative effect on other invertes within the tank, such as brittlestars, snails and other mollusks, etc?

 

[syris1377]

I have the Melanurus and he is absolutely amazing! I had a horrible problem with flatworms and picked him up. In about 2 weeks ALL my flatworms were gone! I def recommend them and they are a good looking fish to boot!

 

[spscrazy]

you can tell revs is eating good look at that belly! beautiful fish!

 

[swannyson7]

I had one and it was a great fish, but unfortunately lost it in a pH spike. I nver saw mine going after and snails or hermits, but my cleaner shrimp disappeared shortly after he was added to the tank. I did notice that he was eating the bristle worms off of the bottom of my frag plugs, but I never had flatworms, so I can't comment on that aspect. Here's a few pics of mine.

 

[spspirate]

here is mine which I got a couple weeks ago..

 

[foxhuntr]

hey renegade.....flatworm exit is pretty safe on inverts....just becareful when you use it because the flat worm will give off a toxin when they die and can over come your tank.....just have some good fresh salt water made up for a water change and a good canister filter with good carbin to run after they start dieing off...try sucking all the flatworms out that you can find before you dose the tank....most of the time you have to dose it stronger than the directions say..... but the natural way of getting rid off flatworms with a predator is always the best way...... with no chems.... luck

 

[racerw]

I love mine. He is always swimming about and looking for critters to eat.

 

[Wy Renegade]

hey renegade.....flatworm exit is pretty safe on inverts....just becareful when you use it because the flat worm will give off a toxin when they die and can over come your tank.....just have some good fresh salt water made up for a water change and a good canister filter with good carbin to run after they start dieing off...try sucking all the flatworms out that you can find before you dose the tank....most of the time you have to dose it stronger than the directions say..... but the natural way of getting rid off flatworms with a predator is always the best way...... with no chems.... luck

Thanks foxhuntr, I think I'll try the natural control first. If that doesn't work, we'll go from there. Thanks everybody for the pictures and the input, and feel free to keep em coming.

 

[Captain Nemo]

So just wondering do these wrasses mess with shrimp in the tank before them or only ones that go in after them??

 

[swannyson7]

So just wondering do these wrasses mess with shrimp in the tank before them or only ones that go in after them??

My cleaner shrimp were in the tank for a few months befor I added one, and they had disappeared within a week of adding my Melanarus

 

[Captain Nemo]

What about the clean up crew?would one of them dispose of them as well? What do they eat? How large do they get? Sorry for the bombardment of questions.

 

[Captain Nemo]

Also not meaning to hijack the thread