Can I add another wrasse along with my 6 line?

[Westside Guy]

I have a 54 gallon DT which contains a 6 line Wrasse plus the following fish.
2 Gladiators Clowns
2 blue/green Chromis
Electric Indigo Dottyback
Starcki Damsel
Banggai Cardinal
Pajama Cardinal
Yellow Assessor

Can I add another wrasse to this group and not worry too much About how they will get along?

 

[ScottR]

I have a 54 gallon DT which contains a 6 line Wrasse plus the following fish.
2 Gladiators Clowns
2 blue/green Chromis
Electric Indigo Dottyback
Starcki Damsel
Banggai Cardinal
Pajama Cardinal
Yellow Assessor

Can I add another wrasse to this group and not worry too much About how they will get along?

You’ve already got a lot of semi-aggressive fish as it is. What type of wrasse are you wanting to add? Another 6 line?

 

[Earl Karl]

Depends what kind but it's a toss up. Halichoeres may do well. Other wrasses are either too docile or too big and aggressive. Do not add another psuedochelinus unless you want to see some war.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I* have 4 wrasses in one tank and two in another- they couldn't care less about each other

 

[bct15]

DO NOT add another wrasse with a sixline if the sixline is established. Any new wrasse will get obliterated by it.

 

[danreefman]

Thinking of adding mystery with my six line. Both juveniles. Thinking might do well until they get bigger and grumpier

 

[Utahsaltnoob]

I added a fairy wrasse after my 6 line. The 6 was aggressive for awhile but has since calmed down

 

[Seanislav]

It'll depend on how well established the 6 line is...they have a reputation that precedes them. The one I had was a world class a--hole to other wrasses and anything else that had a similar body plan. That is until a 2 spot hogfish decided it had had enough of the constant bullying and turned on the 6 line, which got intense enough for the wrasse to go carpet surfing...and then get "investigated" by one of the two cats we had at the time.

 

[Elliott Comans]

My sixline killed all additions to my 75g. Got rid off it eventually after expensive fatalities. Now I have 3 peaceful wrasse living together. My advice from my experience is no don't do it. As said they have a rep for a reason.
Someone out there will have it working sweet for them, maybe your the exception to the rule but most the time it ends nasty.

 

[Rogueaquariums]

You’ve already got a lot of semi-aggressive fish as it is. What type of wrasse are you wanting to add? Another 6 line?

Agreed. Even that 6line you’ve got can create havoc with other wrasses in a smaller set up

 

[Bossman]

I had a six line in a Red Sea 260 (55 gallon) for some time. It was a perfect citizen and never bothered any other fish. I added a Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse which was considerably bigger then the 6 line. The 6 line badgered that fish. Kept it in one corner of the tank. The Red Head eventually jumped out of the smallest opening in the tank cover. It didn't work for me.

 

[Earl Karl]

In order to keep a sixline happy, it must have a constant food source, like constant feedings or a big population of copepods. Many people don't realize their fast metabolism because a small portion of frozen happens to be the bare minimum and don't recognize its aggression as hanger. I love sixline wrasses for utilitarian uses for the reef and appearance, but can get too dam aggressive if hangry. I feed my tank 6-10 times a day with a 50% display size refugium filled with pods. Never had aggression with sixline wrasses (except some cases) besides towards mandys and dottys. Kept like 25 of them throughout multiple frag tanks.

Honestly unless you feed til he gets a swollen belly, which may not be best if you lack a good nutrient export, Halichoeres species may be your only best bet as they handle aggression fairly well compared to other docile species like Cirrhilabrus.

 

[Westside Guy]

You’ve already got a lot of semi-aggressive fish as it is. What type of wrasse are you wanting to add? Another 6 line?

I originally purchased the 6 line to fight off the reoccurrence of flatworms which I had treated with Salifert Flatworm Exit when I had an invasion. A small number of the flatworms have returned and the 6 line has totally ignored them so I had to use Flatworm Exit again. I was thinking of adding another wrasse that will be proactive and more aggressive toward the flatworms if they appear again.

 

[Westside Guy]

DO NOT add another wrasse with a sixline if the sixline is established. Any new wrasse will get obliterated by it.

The 6 line has only been in my tank a few weeks.

 

[Earl Karl]

Best wrasse for flatworms are Pseudojuloides if you can get them, which is next to never lol. But those guys are HUNTERS.

Halichoeres Melanurus or such is probs ur best bet at controlling flatworms.

 

[Westside Guy]

Best wrasse for flatworms are Pseudojuloides if you can get them, which is next to never lol. But those guys are HUNTERS.

Halichoeres Melanurus or such is probs ur best bet at controlling flatworms.

What about compatibility with my existing fish? Also won't a Melanurus Wrasse grow to be too big for my 54 gallon tank?

 

[Scurvy]

I couldn’t really add anything to my Reefer 250 (54g display) until I re-homed an established 6-Line. He went after pretty much everything new not just wrasses. I’d say chances are adding another wrasse won’t go well.

 

[Westside Guy]

I couldn’t really add anything to my Reefer 250 (54g display) until I re-homed an established 6-Line. He went after pretty much everything new not just wrasses. I’d say chances are adding another wrasse won’t go well.

Right now the pecking order has my Electric Indigo Dottyback as "top dog" and it totally intimidates the 6 line who is fairly small and measures about 1 inch

 

[Scurvy]

I saw my 6’er actually team up with other fish in the tank at that time to annihilate any new comers. The 6’er seemed to be the leader and once I re-homed it I had much better luck adding new fish.

Some have had success mixing them with others in larger systems but in the smaller confines I wouldn’t bet on it going well. Wish you luck if you try but suggest having a trap at the ready.

 

[Earl Karl]

Right now the pecking order has my Electric Indigo Dottyback as "top dog" and it totally intimidates the 6 line who is fairly small and measures about 1 inch

Dottyback and sixline is a dogfight in the future. I have tried this before and only one arises victorious. Best to get rid of one before you'll see the most gnarly fish fight in history. Unless you're into that kind of thing, hopefully not.

The species I mentioned are compatible with your stocking list as they aren't aggressive. Melanurus is fine for 50 gallons. I have one in my 50 gallon lowboy and had one in my 40 gallon breeder. If you're worried still, Yellow Coris is also good, pretty much any halichoeres does a pretty good job.

But if you can get a pseudojuloides aka pencil wrasse, which are tricky to keep, nothing compares to them when it comes to coral pest control. Halichoeres, which are the next best species for pest control, don't even come close compared to pencil wrasses. Pencil wrasses are very beautiful as well. The problem is availability since they are VERY poor shippers. And feeding them can be quite a pain as usually they only accept feeder shrimps and pods.

Transitioning Female Pseudojuloides Polynesica when it came in. Terrible pic as they move fast, but the bottom of the midsection had a nasty wound and middle of its dorsal fin, chunk of it is missing. All from being terrible shippers. It only eats feeder shrimps, copepods, and frozen food that are stuck on rocks. But AMAZING pest eater, I have two other beautiful males, splendens and servensi.

The pencil wrasses I have are 10000000000000000x better at coral pest control than my earmuff wrasse, which is a halichoeres species.