How Much Sand for a Melanurus Wrasse

[redfishbluefish]

I have an adult male Melanurus Wrasse that I need to move to a holding tank while I switch out to a new tank. The holding tank (55G), will be BB, so I'm going to put in a container with sand. The first thing that came to mind was a container we get with our Chinese take-out:

It measures approximately 7 3/4 by 4 1/4 by 1 1/4 inches. The question, Is that big/deep enough? Thanks.

 

[RamsReef]

Following

 

[BedrockIOMC]

I would do my best to get as close to 4" as you can and no lower than 3"

 

[PDR]

That might be a touch too shallow. I use the cheap plastic sterilite shoebox in my frag tank and it works great.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Thanks for the quick replies.

How about this container measuring 8 by 6 by 5 inches deep?

Have the depth, now is the 8 by 6 large enough?

 

[Octane13]

What about a pyrex (loaf style) dish. Most of them are ~8x5x3 and would give a deeper bed without taking up a ton of space. Plus you can get them most places for cheap $10-15.

edit: They also have smooth edges and corners for safety

 

[Burrito]

when i bought my 4" melarnus wrasse my qt was bb so i added a 5" circular pyrex, i think its about 3-4" tall, i filled it with ~2.5" of sand. he had no issues whatsoever except for maybe the clear glass aspect. seemed he was "trapped" sometimes when he just needed to swim up an inch

 

[redfishbluefish]

Thanks for the brain-jog, I wasn't even thinking glass. I have two Loaf pans; one 10 by 5 by 3 inches deep, and the other 8 3/4 by 4 3/4 by 3 inches deep. Unless someone says otherwise, I'm going to go with the larger loaf pan. Thank you very much.

 

[RamsReef]

Don't eat the candy that comes in those boxes @redfishbluefish

 

[evolved]

Just enough to cover the fish is fine, about an inch or so is all it takes.

You'll have a mess outside the dish though from the sand the flies out if the dish is only 1 1/4" deep. :)

 

[eatbreakfast]

Just enough to cover the fish is fine, about an inch or so is all it takes.

You'll have a mess outside the dish though from the sand the flies out if the dish is only 1 1/4" deep. :)

Agreed completely with this.

 

[vetteguy53081]

2-3" is sufficient. While a good idea, the sand will be all over the place in time

 

[ItsAName]

Just adding my 2 cents. I've had a male melanurus wrasse for almost 2 years, full size around 4 inches. My sand bed is 2 to 2.5 inches thick. No problem what so ever. Well, there is a problem, it keeps wiping out my cleanup crew, but that's not what you're asking :)

 

[Fudsey]

I have a 4" melanurus and only have 1"of sand and he's fine

 

[Jacobscorals]

My melanarus was fine in a inch of sand and recently went bare bottom and he rubbed himself ugly in 2 days so I put a mason jar half full of very well rinsed tiny aragonite so less mess and he found it that night and is very happy now

 

[redfishbluefish]

Thanks for the continued responses.

Here's my experience with my guy....my DT goes from about 1 inch up to 2 inches of sand and he's been in the tank for years....and happy. He's being moved to a temporary tank while I install a new tank and cure the new rock. So I really don't care if he makes a mess in this holding tank for a month or two. And if his temporary bed becomes a bit light with sand, I have plenty to top it off.

I appreciate all the great suggestions and decided to go with the loaf pan with about 2 inches of sand....more than enough. :cool:

 

[ca1ore]

I use the black tray that comes with the Costco pot roast …...