Carpenter wrasse group?

[PRReefNoob]

Hello, My tank is a 75 gallon LPS and softie tank and it has been up and running for almost a decade, 4+ years at my new house. It has a 25 gallon refugium and a sump as well and honestly I'm dosing nitrate and phosphate so I'm hoping some fish will stop that! Aside from the clean-up crew I have two regular clowns, a yellow watchman goby (and pistol shrimp), a six-lined wrasse, and two firefish. I'm hoping to add a group of carpenter wrasses; three or four. I'm having trouble finding out if my tank is large enough for such a group, and if I add them altogether will they likely figure the whole sex ratio thing out by changing sexes like many fish? Any other reason this would be a bad idea or other routes you'd recommend? I love these guys and mccoskers and thought having a group would be ideal to see their display behaviors. Thanks in advance phil

 

[Besieged]

I absolutely see why you'd want Carpenter’s Wrasses... they're gorgeous for sure. From what I'm reading though, your current tank setup might make things tricky: flasher wrasses like Carpenter's tend to be peaceful, often timid, and ideally should be among the first fish introduced so they can establish territories comfortably. With a pair of established clowns, a territorial goby/shrimp combo, two firefish, and especially a six-line wrasse (known to be pretty assertive, sometimes outright aggressive with other wrasses), you might face some significant aggression or stress issues.

A 75-gallon tank isn't tiny, but it's right around the minimum recommended size to comfortably keep a small group of these flashers once they're adults (3–3.5 inches). Tank structure makes a big difference here: if your aquascape currently uses traditional stacked rockwork, territorial disputes or bullying might be more common due to limited escape routes and clearly defined territories. If you're open to a major project (and potential stress or risk to your existing livestock), you could consider switching to a habitat negative space aquascape (HNSA)... this greatly increases habitat complexity, provides more hiding spaces, and helps reduce aggression. In that scenario, you'd add the Carpenter’s wrasses first (after QT), letting them settle into the newly restructured environment before reintroducing your current fish.

Still, that's a lot of effort and risk just to safely add these wrasses; it's doable, but definitely not easy or guaranteed. Your existing setup could possibly still work as-is (there are always exceptions), but you'd have to monitor aggression closely, be prepared to remove fish quickly if things go sideways, and maybe even have a solid backup plan ready.

I'd hold to hear what others think as well, as I'm going based on what I can read about these fish, not from personal experience. There well may be someone here who has successfully introduced Carpenter’s wrasses into a tank alongside a well-established six-line, or who has other advice from their own stocking experiences.

 

[i cant think]

Hello, My tank is a 75 gallon LPS and softie tank and it has been up and running for almost a decade, 4+ years at my new house. It has a 25 gallon refugium and a sump as well and honestly I'm dosing nitrate and phosphate so I'm hoping some fish will stop that! Aside from the clean-up crew I have two regular clowns, a yellow watchman goby (and pistol shrimp), a six-lined wrasse, and two firefish. I'm hoping to add a group of carpenter wrasses; three or four. I'm having trouble finding out if my tank is large enough for such a group, and if I add them altogether will they likely figure the whole sex ratio thing out by changing sexes like many fish? Any other reason this would be a bad idea or other routes you'd recommend? I love these guys and mccoskers and thought having a group would be ideal to see their display behaviors. Thanks in advance phil

Hey there! So, my first question would be;

Have you kept wrasses before outside of the Six-Lines? If not, I would recommend avoiding a group of 3-4 Carpenter’s Flashers. Pairs, Trios and small Harems can work however you will want to get better first hand experience with various species and understanding their transitional signs.

I have a 5 foot 180G tank with 17-18 wrasses altogether. There are various different species from rarer species like the Lineatus Fairy and Doliatus Ring Wrasses to common species like my Flavidorsalis Fairy and Exquisitus Fairy. I also have a few pairs - namely;
1x Splendid Pencil Wrasse Pair
1x Rubricaudalis Flasher Wrasse Pair
1x Twisted Tamarin Wrasse Pair
Eventually, I’ll have a Kaleidos Pencil Wrasse Pair
And because photos are a must in the wrasse world ;)

Now you’ve seen and gotten a taste of my main system - I do have another group of wrasses in my 3 foot nano, which are a Pair of Pink Streak Wrasses and a juvenile Choat’s Red Leopard Wrasse.
Basically, what I’ll say is… remove the sixline and get a group of different species of flashers/fairies. You get the same effect - Somewhere I have a photo of my Kaleidos Pencil displaying which was caused by the Splendid Pencil going in. Then, routinely every night I get pure territorial displays from my fairies/flashers. My Rubricaudalis male is the main one that will go all out into display mode with my Diamond Tail Flasher then I’ll get my Aquamarinus join in.

The other thing I know I said was about the transitioning and I see you asked about it;

Basically the transition phase can be quite difficult to spot. You may get what you think is a female Carpenteri but it could easily be a young transitional male. The only was it can be prevented is through having a dominant male Carpenteri and the moment that dominant male weakens the young male transitions, now if you have 2 transitional phase males that will end up with them both transitioning and fighting to the death for the position of “supermale” (or terminal phase male). The unfortunate thing with wrasses is the transition phase can only be reduced, not reversed.

I hope this makes some more sense - any more questions please ask! Don’t hesitate (even if it may seem silly it’s always worth asking) :)

 

[xparkys]

I have a Carpenters male which is still small (~2"). Do you think it will remain male in the absence of female?

 

[Besieged]

I have a Carpenters male which is still small (~2"). Do you think it will remain male in the absence of female?

100%, it will remain male.

Unlike clowns, the majority of wrasses - including Carpenters' - cannot go from male to female. They all start as females, and when the dominant male is removed or dies, the dominant female transitions to male over a few days or weeks.

However, the process isn't reversible, and once they become a male, that's what they are forever.

 

[xparkys]

would you recommend pairing it with a female?