Carpenter Wrasse Aggression

[jfingers]

Does anyone have an aggressive Carpenter Wrasse? I had one in a 55 QT with a Black Leopard and a Splendid Pencil Wrasse. He left the leopard alone but he would bully the pencil where the pencil would come out to feed and then go back under the sand. I removed the Carpenter and put him in my 40 gallon QT and now the pencil is out all the time.

Now since I moved the Carpenter in with a Blue Star Leopard, he bullies the blue star where the blue star goes under the sand more than usual. Should I even bother putting the carpenter in my 250 or return him? Will he calm down in the 250? I don’t want aggressive fish in my main display.

 

[jwheels10]

Does anyone have an aggressive Carpenter Wrasse? I had one in a 55 QT with a Black Leopard and a Splendid Pencil Wrasse. He left the leopard alone but he would bully the pencil where the pencil would come out to feed and then go back under the sand. I removed the Carpenter and put him in my 40 gallon QT and now the pencil is out all the time.

Now since I moved the Carpenter in with a Blue Star Leopard, he bullies the blue star where the blue star goes under the sand more than usual. Should I even bother putting the carpenter in my 250 or return him? Will he calm down in the 250? I don’t want aggressive fish in my main display.

Don’t have a carpenter wrasse, but I was in the middle of switching from a 90 gallon tank to a 180, and I saw a passer king at my LFS who looked great. I put him in the 90 for a week, where he absolutely battered my smaller blue face angelfish. I then moved him to the 180 with many other angelfish, and then shortly after added the blue face and he’s been a great community guy ever since. A trick to get him to stop picking of other fish is put a mirror on one side of the tank that covers that whole side, which draws his attention from other fish. When I saw him at the LFS he was picking on everyone else in his small tank as well. You don’t want him stressing out those leopard wrasses though, what ever you do don’t let those guys get to stressed because of how sensitive they are. Good luck and let me know what you do.

 

[skey44]

I had a carpenter that was neurotic and aggressive. It eventually went missing in my display and I wasn’t really too upset. Carpenter being gone restored the balance.