Ok so I have a little problem I went to a local fish store and I saw a dragon wrasse it was so pretty and active but I didn't know much about it. I talked with the guy and he insured me it would be ok for my 90 gallon so I bought it. Now I am home and I've done more research and it appears that it will get 10-12 inches and be to big for my tank as well as take up a huge bio load as well as kill off my cleanup crew and be aggressive to all the new tank mates ! Is this true? I have him in quarantine right now and it's such a cute little fish maybe 1 inch but I don't know if I should keep it so all opinions are welcomed . Thanks in advance
Dragon wrasse
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It will outgrow your tank. When it gets larger it will eat inverts and flip corals and small rocks. They can get pushy, but not overly aggressive.
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That's pretty much all true, but you left out how they're also capable of moving large rocks/things in search of food. Another common name they go by is the "rock mover wrasse".
Not a good mix for a reef tank.
Not a good mix for a reef tank.
Ok so the shrimp and crab thing isn't a deal breaker for me because my shrimp doesn't allow me to have other shrimps anyway and my snails are all sand snails and rarely stay above it and as far as the reef I was thinking more towards anemones with a few corals but if it's gonna be this bully that's eating everything that's gonna be a problem also I don't mind getting rid of it later if it gets to big but I don't want to get it have it kill everything and then return it cause that would be useless haha
Oh and as far as rocks I have a bunch of pretty big rocks and if it can move them then I'll deal with it that's not a huge concern the real problems are if its gonna outgrow tank fast and if it's gonna bully or kill fish
I love dragon wrasses. Great fish - really active and lots of personality. In my experience with them, they will eat small hermits and snails but they are peaceful to other fish and don't mess with things like corals. Yes, they do like to pick up and move empty shells, small rock pieces, etc., but it will take several years for them to become big enough to move any structural rocks that could cause problems with an aquascape. I'd say if you already bought him it are okay with having to replenish your CUC periodically then keep it. You'll really enjoy it.
michouis
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Ben? Enjoy it? Sure. I added a beautiful juvie to my 180 gal reef tank, he's about 3.5 inches... he is a terror when it comes to corals on the sand bed! Yes its fun to watch him, and I even added some ruble for him to toss around, which he does, but man I can't put a coral on the sand bed and have a good night's sleep :) I think I am going to have to catch and re-home him asap. I put a tail spot blenny in the tank and both he and the bird nose make a quick snack out of him :( It's what they do I guess and I now know the size limit for adding new fish so they do NOT get eaten now.
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Unfortunately, any small slender bodied fish tends to be a quick meal for Birds and Dragons.
Unfortunately it is what they prey on in the wild and they will flip decently sized rocks to find it (I believe they can flip 3.5lbs rocks and potentially larger as young adults).
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Only really for FOWLR tanks that have larger fish that can keep up with it. I don’t know about their maximum captive size but I did see a pretty decent sized one at an aquarium in Langkawi where they had one in their mangrove pool. Not your average community fish.
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