Black-Backed Wrasse
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No experience with this one but giving a little bump to help get your question answered. 
If you mean this wrasse, I have two in my tank for the last 5 months. Both doing well, eat well and slow growing. Not bother anybody and hold their own. I have about 20 wrasses in my 320.
MIKE NY
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I had one for over five years before I recently lost it....very peaceful. It didn’t bother any other fish or Tamarins. It was very active usually the first wrasse out of the sand in the morning and one of the last at night. Maybe one of the experts can chime in here, but It never developed the red anal fin that I think the males get.
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ca1ore
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Yes, that’s the one. Got a couple coming this week. Wasn’t clear to me whether they’re sand sleepers or not.
They sleep in the sand. I did not find it hard to keep
They are pretty common in shops over here and seem the hardiest tamarin by far. I've never heard of anyone having any trouble mixing one with other wrasse or corals. They are however like all wrasse accomplished jumpers, which seems to be how the ones I've read died.
Lucasgrundl
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Beautiful fish.
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ca1ore
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If you mean this wrasse, I have two in my tank for the last 5 months. Both doing well, eat well and slow growing. Not bother anybody and hold their own. I have about 20 wrasses in my 320.
My pair arrived in good shape ….. though a little twitchy. Haven't shown much interest in food. Minh, how quickly did yours eat and what did you feed them?
As with most Anampses, the largest hurdle is getting them through shipping intact. IME, these wrasses will go completely nuts without a sandbed to retreat to, including when they are being shipped. Most of the damage I have seen in these wrasses is mouth related, likely caused by constant swimming down into the bag. If I could, I would ship all Anampses in large specimen bags, filled with 3" of sand, 3-4" of water & the rest filled with oxygen enriched air. I have heard of a few cases of shipments like this, primarily with A. lenardi & A. feminis, going more optimally than in usual cases. I managed (through many long phone calls & a couple of trips to the wholesaler with LFS owner) to get an Anampses cuvier in a replicated shipment process to what I listed above & was quite happy with the results. When disturbed from the sand by shifting the bag, the Pearl Wrasse simply came out, took a brief swim around & calmly dove quietly back into the sand. It did not display any signs of stress, ate aggressively and once passing through quarantine, acclimated quickly to display life. Too good to be true compared to what I had experienced with these Wrasses before. I do not see a reason this would not apply to A. neoguinancus given the way they (8" what I would guess was male until I sold it, 6" whom was lost after a seam blew out & a small 2" whom is still getting through quarantine) have behaved in my systems. Unfortunately, it's much easier said than done to get a specifically ordered fish shipped in a very specific way. So if you can find a way to get this done, fantastic, otherwise be picky with what you purchase. No mouth damage & they must be eating as with other fish. Once in the tank (preferably after they've been quarantined & recovered from any remaining stressors but that's just my methodology), they have always done quite well. There are some reports of them nipping at clam mantels. I have kept them with Crocea & Maxima and never encountered this myself but that's not to say it still couldn't happen. The 8" hated my yellow tang at the time but I think that was more due to the 3" yellow tang attitude problem. Otherwise, I have found these fish to be accommodating but able to defend themselves from more aggressive tank mates. They all left my coral (primarily sps but some heavier movement (Euphillia, Goniopora, Fungia)). Hope this helps
My China Wrasse was healthy when I got them from Petco and started to hunt right away. My QT is full of Pods. I did not clearly remember but I think they started to eat frozen mysis when I feed them the next day.
Goodluck with your pair.
YellowFinsReef
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These are by far one of the easier tamarins to keep in my opinion. They do stress out from shipping but could bounce back easier than most tamarins. Sometimes I do get confused whether they are "reef safe" or not. I've had two for 3 years and they eaten all the tiny feather dusters on my live rocks. They are peaceful, but i see that they could also stand their ground if needed.
The most important thing like everyone mentioned is to keep a sandy bottom and minimize mouth injuries.
I'm currently keeping:
2x red tail tamarin
1x yellow tail tamarin
1x white spotted tamarin
2x blue spotted tamarin
2x black backed tamarin
2x yellow chested twistii
1x flag tamarin
*I used to have 1 pair of femininus tamarins, however both didn't make it.
The most important thing like everyone mentioned is to keep a sandy bottom and minimize mouth injuries.
I'm currently keeping:
2x red tail tamarin
1x yellow tail tamarin
1x white spotted tamarin
2x blue spotted tamarin
2x black backed tamarin
2x yellow chested twistii
1x flag tamarin
*I used to have 1 pair of femininus tamarins, however both didn't make it.
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ca1ore
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Maybe ‘easy’ but not my pair. Not going well at all. I’ve not actually seen them eat anything, and scared of their own shadow they are. Oh well.
Here's hoping they turn it around for ya!
~Bruce
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