Melanarus Wrasse question

Longnose Hawkfish · May 2, 2015

I have a melanarus wrasse in my 93 cube. I have some aptasia that I would like to remove with berghai nudibranches. But, would the wrasse eat them? Thanks.

Longnose Hawkfish · May 2, 2015

Would the wrasse eat the nudibranches? Sorry my question could be interpreted in a couple different ways. But I'm curios if the wrasse would just kill all of the berghais.

heathd.hd · May 2, 2015

it might or might not. Depends on the fish. Just like the malanarus might eat some snails and crabs. Mine nips at the smaller snails in my tank.

pugcrush · May 2, 2015

Melanarus would definitely eat berghias. Smaller than snail or hermits so I'd be sure they're fair game. Do you have shrimp in the tank? Peppermints have done the job for me. They can clean 50 of them in a week or so.

Longnose Hawkfish · May 2, 2015

Wouldn't the melanarus wrasse eat the peppermints? And I've heard some stories where the shrimp will eat some coral after the aptasia are gone.

heathd.hd · May 2, 2015

I have peppermint shrimp in my tank with 4 wrasse's. The shrimp stay hidden. They come out a bit at night when the wrasse's sleep. I'm good with there natural deal they have going on lol.

that Reef Guy · May 2, 2015

Longnose Hawkfish said:
Wouldn't the melanarus wrasse eat the peppermints? And I've heard some stories where the shrimp will eat some coral after the aptasia are gone.

They will.

Never trust Peppermint Shrimp.

I will never get them again.

My Acans are almost dead because of them.

Two Chalices died too.

My Friend noticed them picking at his Corals too.

They are evil.

heathd.hd · May 2, 2015

I never ever see mine out enough to mess with my coral. I think there scared and I don't blame them. Makes me less worried about them messing with corals.

pugcrush · May 2, 2015

I meant to add, REPUTABLE peppermints. A good source that is known to have them or someone locally that has them that did the job & are trying to pass them along. I asked about existing shrimp, due to whether or not your wrasse will find them as a tasty treat. I do agree with the comment that they do a good job hiding, especially if you have lots of caves, etc. That also does mean you might have 5 more aptasias for every 1 you see. I also meant to add, berghias can be rather slow on knocking out an aptasia problem (so I've read multiple times). Even then, you might not get them all & something might take out the berghias eventually.

heathd.hd · May 2, 2015

I got my 2 peppermint shrimp because I had apistasia in my fowlr tank. Than when I started my new tank I just kept them because they didn't seem like they were hurting anything. They did some work on the apistasia I had but didn't take care of all of them. I should say that my fowler had 2 good size triggers in it so the peppermint were really hiding in there.

Longnose Hawkfish · May 2, 2015

Ya I might have to get some. I just want them gone.

heathd.hd · May 2, 2015

U probably have a 50 50 chance of them eating the nems. I don't think they will mess with your coral if you have a malanarus. They just won't be that bold to be out when your feeding.

If all else fails trap them and get them out. It's a pain from what I've heard though.

Humblefish · May 2, 2015

Mel wrasses are very hit or miss. When small, they will usually leave everything alone. But as they grow, they usually start picking at snails/hermits. I personally wouldn't trust one with a nudibranch. Too easy of a target. :wink:

hejjo · May 4, 2015

I had the same problem and bought a peppermint shrimp. He ate all the aiptasia in 2 days then the next morning he was ripping apart my hammer head frogspawn. I tried to catch him to bring him back to the lfs but couldn't catch him. it's been about a week n a half and hasn't touched any more coral since but I've been giving him a pellet of fish food to eat so maybe that's why he hasn't gone rouge again.

that Reef Guy · May 4, 2015

hejjo said:
I had the same problem and bought a peppermint shrimp. He ate all the aiptasia in 2 days then the next morning he was ripping apart my hammer head frogspawn. I tried to catch him to bring him back to the lfs but couldn't catch him. it's been about a week n a half and hasn't touched any more coral since but I've been giving him a pellet of fish food to eat so maybe that's why he hasn't gone rouge again.

LOL Same thing happend to me.

Just it went for Acans and Chalices and left Hammer/Frogspawn Alone.

I feed it Pellets every day to keep it full until I can catch it.

-Logzor · May 4, 2015

Longnose Hawkfish said:
I have a melanarus wrasse in my 93 cube. I have some aptasia that I would like to remove with berghai nudibranches. But, would the wrasse eat them? Thanks.

It would devour all of them instantly. No doubt in my mind, those wrasses are hunters for anything soft and squishy.

Akida17th · May 4, 2015

If the melanarus is well fed it usually won't eat larger shrimp, maybe ornamental like a sexy. Although every fish is different just like people unpredictable at times! Good luck

evolved · May 4, 2015

If you'd like to try, make sure to add the nudi's after lights out (once the melanurus has gone to bed).

hybridazn · May 4, 2015

that Reef Guy said:
They will.

Never trust Peppermint Shrimp.

I will never get them again.

My Acans are almost dead because of them.

Two Chalices died too.

My Friend noticed them picking at his Corals too.

They are evil.