Hunter Hammond: A “Fairy” Inclusive Look at Keeping & Mixing Cirrhilabrus Wrasses | MACNA 2017

[Tsev03]

I watched the video last night right after I came home with a new fairy. Ugh sure wish I had of seen it first. The new fairy Orangeback and one of the ones I already have, a Solon are in the same complex Ugh. At least I have other tanks set up and he went into a qt tank.

 

[Maritimer]

Those two aren't _impossible_ ... though C. solorensis does get larger, and is probably the more aggressive of the two. I kept one of each for many months in a 65, which is probably too small to do that realistically - and would still have them, if it weren't for a cantankerous parrotfish... The solorensis never really did color up properly, although there was never any obvious aggression between the two, post-introduction. In my case, the orange-back was larger, and in first.

Even though I've got a bigger tank now, I've no plans for another solorensis - but already have a new C. aurantidorsalis in QT. Orange-backs are one of my favorite fairies.

~Bruce

 

[evolved]

We are very proud of our R2R Expert Hunter Hammond @evolved!!

Proud to be here; thanks Rev!

Congrats @evolved!!!

Thanks Bobby!

Great presentation Hunter, I appreciated its fit for purpose and concise nature.

Thank you, and my pleasure.

Great presentation Hunter @evolved Thank you for all the knowledge you've passed on to myself and fellow reefers. Glad there is someone devoted to informing reefers about Wrasses in this hobby. Wish there were more people like you in this hobby.

Very kind; thank you!

Wonderful presentation, Hunter!

You belong on that stage, no question. I will note that, once again, I am somewhat surprised by the youthfulness of someone I look up to in this hobby.

The future of reefing is in good hands.

~Bruce

Bruce, I'm humbled. Thank you!

Great speech! Well done evolved!

Thanks!

Great speech! lot of good advice

Glad you found it useful; thanks!

Watched it in person. Also got to talk to Hunter after the presentation. Was good times

It was nice to meet you!

Great presentation!

Thank you!

Was a great presentation will help in my next set up and now I will divide the two harems I have thanks hunter

Awesome; thanks!

Good stuff @evolved

Thanks!

Great stuff man!!!

Thank you!

Awesome! I got my first fairy wrasse in May and now I'm in love with them. I learned so much from this.

Good to hear; thanks!

Mr Wrasse himself!

Are you surprised I don't have scales?

Ohh, Hunter is cute. Err, I mean.. can't wait to listen to it later!

;Shamefullyembarrased You'll have to fend off my partner/future husband. And then there's the now obvious problem... ;Wacky

 

[evolved]

Great talk.

Thanks!

What kind of longevity are you getting from the various Cirhilabrus? Is 10 years realistic for these guys?

With the understand that we don't really know, my personal thoughts are around 8 years with Cirrhilabrus is a realistic life span. But there may be a wide variance amongst different species.

Of course I started mainly with larger males and I think if I were to go with these guys again I would start with females like you suggest.

Right; there's a lot of reasons to start with younger, smaller fish. They're cheaper, you get to keep them longer (and watch them grow up), and usually you'll get to see them transition into male as well.

but I found they would one day disappear into the rock work within a few years of having them

When I've had Cirrhilabrus get old and die, it's always been a slow downhill ride and I knew it was coming months before they vanished. It was never just overnight without warning.

I have kept meleagris / chrysus wrasses for longer terms in the same tanks as fairy wrasses.

And that's to be expected. There's consensus that those genera live longer (but we still don't know how long).

 

[evolved]

I watched the video last night right after I came home with a new fairy. Ugh sure wish I had of seen it first. The new fairy Orangeback and one of the ones I already have, a Solon are in the same complex Ugh. At least I have other tanks set up and he went into a qt tank.

Well, you might be okay - it depends on the size of the tank. If it's a 125 or bigger, it might work.

Those two aren't _impossible_ ... though C. solorensis does get larger, and is probably the more aggressive of the two. I kept one of each for many months in a 65, which is probably too small to do that realistically - and would still have them, if it weren't for a cantankerous parrotfish... The solorensis never really did color up properly, although there was never any obvious aggression between the two, post-introduction. In my case, the orange-back was larger, and in first.

Right - that's the important distinction here - that aurantidorsalis is quite a bit more passive then the average of its complex. It's that differential aggression of the two species that will generally allow them to work if the tank is large enough.

 

[SnoQ]

Thank you for sharing this @randyBRS. I've read a lot of @evolved's posts and articles and have learned a lot about my favorite fish. Thank you Hunter for the great presentation. I just have a 375g tank delivered to my house and I can't wait to get it up & running and then adding some of my favorite wrasses.

 

[Brew12]

Wow Hunter, I am thoroughly impressed!

Your insight into these fish have me rethinking my future stocking plans!

 

[evolved]

Thank you for sharing this @randyBRS. I've read a lot of @evolved's posts and articles and have learned a lot about my favorite fish. Thank you Hunter for the great presentation. I just have a 375g tank delivered to my house and I can't wait to get it up & running and then adding some of my favorite wrasses.

Awesome! Good luck with it, and thank you!

Wow Hunter, I am thoroughly impressed!

Your insight into these fish have me rethinking my future stocking plans!

Thank you sir!

 

[TonapahNorth]

My 12 year old son and I watched this in person. I’m not sure I’ve seen him more interested in an aspect of reefing.

Honestly, I think I bored him a bit. He enjoyed the pin gathering and the displays. Maybe not so much “all” the talks I made him sit through with me. But I think it finally dawned on him after the weekend was over when he said to me, “this seems like real smart people doing real science.” I just chuckled.

 

[AtulR]

Great stuff @evolved!!!!! Absolutely loved the talk, and will have to get down to MACNA someday to meet you in person! Keep up the good work my man..

-Atul

 

[sil40sx]

I checked the vid, looks like its about 40mins long, I will have to watch it some other time. Have to finish my reports tonight. Ugh.

Hopefully it will give me tips or info on why I cant keep a flasher wrasse alive in my tank. I tried couple of times, on two different tanks, and they always die within a week (any other fish are fine)

 

[ritter6788]

Finally got to watch it all. I have to say this is a "Fairy" nice job Hunter.

#sorrynotsorry and again congrats.

 

[pfoxgrover]

Thanks for the awesome presentation and the great information! Where can I find the color coded chart from the video?

 

[stevo01]

I loved your lecture @evolved! I have a question for you. At 120 gallons im thinking 5-6 Cirrhilabrus is a good number. Thats pulling a species from each sub group that are the most docile that arent on the same branch. At what point in tank size is it safe to increase the number to say 10+ species? At that point does someone stay within most docile sub groups? Say choosing a lineatus after already having a rhomboid, or is it better to go into the slightly more aggressive additions such as cyanopleura or filamentosus?

Please answer tank size required, choices of additions, and how many?

Thank you Hunter for all you do!

 

[evolved]

Finally got to watch it all. I have to say this is a "Fairy" nice job Hunter.

#sorrynotsorry and again congrats.

;Hilarious

Thanks for the awesome presentation and the great information! Where can I find the color coded chart from the video?

Right here: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/cirrhilabrus-complexes-inferiority-need-not-apply-1st-revision.352/

I loved your lecture @evolved! I have a question for you. At 120 gallons im thinking 5-6 Cirrhilabrus is a good number. Thats pulling a species from each sub group that are the most docile that arent on the same branch. At what point in tank size is it safe to increase the number to say 10+ species?

The species choices matter more than anything, but a 180g and up is where mixing tends to get quite a bit easier (in general).

At that point does someone stay within most docile sub groups?

Not sure I understand?

Say choosing a lineatus after already having a rhomboid, or is it better to go into the slightly more aggressive additions such as cyanopleura or filamentosus?

I think you may be misinterpreting things a bit. lineatus and rhomboidalis are in different sub-groups, which is an important distinction. Accordingly, they usually mix okay together, but the larger the tank the more likely for success here. Mixing lineatus and rubrimarginatus is far more risky, since they're in the same sub-group. (and frankly, I wouldn't even bother to try, unless the tank was huge - like 500g huge)
filamentosus, being in a red box, is one that you shouldn't even try to mix with other fairys, regardless of tank size.

 

[stevo01]

Thanks hunter.

I thought lineatus and rhomboidalis are both from rubrimarginatus complex.

I cant deny how aggresive Filamentosus is!

I'm doing my best to understand the literature so I can make the right decisions going forward, as I've made some bad ones in the past.

 

[Brew12]

;Hilarious

Right here: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/cirrhilabrus-complexes-inferiority-need-not-apply-1st-revision.352/

The species choices matter more than anything, but a 180g and up is where mixing tends to get quite a bit easier (in general).

Not sure I understand?

I think you may be misinterpreting things a bit. lineatus and rhomboidalis are in different sub-groups, which is an important distinction. Accordingly, they usually mix okay together, but the larger the tank the more likely for success here. Mixing lineatus and rubrimarginatus is far more risky, since they're in the same sub-group. (and frankly, I wouldn't even bother to try, unless the tank was huge - like 500g huge)
filamentosus, being in a red box, is one that you shouldn't even try to mix with other fairys, regardless of tank size.

Have you ever considered putting together a "Wrasse for Dummy's" sticky? I'm thinking a recommendation of the 4 or 5 easiest fairy wrasses for beginners. And maybe some advice on what order to add them.

 

[evolved]

Have you ever considered putting together a "Wrasse for Dummy's" sticky? I'm thinking a recommendation of the 4 or 5 easiest fairy wrasses for beginners. And maybe some advice on what order to add them.

If I may be candid for a moment, a question I often read is "what wrasses would you recommend for me?". But that's also the question I won't directly answer.
It is simply not that simple. I can't pick fish that will necessarily appeal to you. What fish people select usually depends on what they find visually appealing, and that's not something I can decide for anyone. And there's also other complications at play, such as what species are available for purchase at the time they're looking and let's not forget about budget as well.
Therefore, I much prefer that someone approaches this after doing a bit of their own research, and asks "what about these 4-5 specific species together?".
As for order of addition, it often makes no difference with Cirrhilabrus, provided you haven't picked any which are incompatible and you use an acclimation box for introducing each new addition.

 

[Brew12]

If I may be candid for a moment, a question I often read is "what wrasses would you recommend for me?". But that's also the question I won't directly answer.
It is simply not that simple. I can't pick fish that will necessarily appeal to you. What fish people select usually depends on what they find visually appealing, and that's not something I can decide for anyone. And there's also other complications at play, such as what species are available for purchase at the time they're looking and let's not forget about budget as well.
Therefore, I much prefer that someone approaches this after doing a bit of their own research, and asks "what about these 4-5 specific species together?".
As for order of addition, it often makes no difference with Cirrhilabrus, provided you haven't picked any which are incompatible and you use an acclimation box for introducing each new addition.

Hmm.. you could have just said "No"... you didn't have to be so reasonable about it!

That makes perfect sense. Unfortunately, I'm not well set up for wrasses right now. I may have to rethink my stocking plans when I do my tank tear down and rebuild. I didn't appreciate wrasses nearly as much when I first set up my tank as I do now.