Mccoskers Wrasse Questions

[Harris3005]

I got a Mccoskers wrasse a few weeks ago and it’s quickly becoming one of my favourite fish.

I was wondering how easy it is to sex these and if it’s possible to keep a pair in the same 6ft tank?

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

I got a Mccoskers wrasse a few weeks ago and it’s quickly becoming one of my favourite fish.

I was wondering how easy it is to sex these and if it’s possible to keep a pair in the same 6ft tank?

From the look of the fins I would say you have a male.

 

[rkpetersen]

Nice fish. It would be better to keep one male and several females. Males can be aggressive toward females and having several will dilute that aggression out. Also the male will have better colors and do more flashing with more females around.

 

[Harris3005]

Thanks. I did wonder if more than one female might be better. Any tips on identifying the females? I’ll ask my LFS for them but I’d feel better if I knew what I was looking for.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

Here is a pic of male vs female

 

[HairyGary]

I would advise against two in a tank. The female will turn male and then you will have issues. There are others that would work well in that tank if you like the flashers - P. flavianalis or P. lineopuntatus for instance.

 

[Jesterrace]

Yup, there is a thread here on wrasses and it rarely pans out well in the long run for those who try to do pairing. Wrasses simply aren't wired that way. They do harems with females and one dominant male in the wild and when the male dies, is shown to be weak, etc. the biggest female mimicks the behavior of the male and eventually turns male and takes the place of the male and the cycle continues. In captivity all Wrasses generally default to male. That's why it's generally recommended to do one wrasse for each variety/species.

 

[ngoodermuth]

Here’s a good read on “pairing” wrasses.

You can have multiple wrasses in the same tank (I have 7), but generally they should be different species.

‘Pairing' Wrasses: That's Not How Any of this Works!

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...t-How-Any-of-this-Works!.258310/&share_type=t

 

[Jesterrace]

Here’s a good read on “pairing” wrasses.

You can have multiple wrasses in the same tank (I have 7), but generally they should be different species.

‘Pairing' Wrasses: That's Not How Any of this Works!

https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=1020&share_tid=258310&url=https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/'Pairing'-Wrasses:-That's-Not-How-Any-of-this-Works!.258310/&share_type=t

Thanks, that's the one I was thinking of.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I will reiterate- only 1 specimen per species for flasher wrasses. Do NOT try to pr.

 

[Harris3005]

Thanks everyone, really appreciate the replies. I’ll take the advice given and stick to the one I have. I’ll check out some of the other flashers that have been suggested instead.