Opinions on best wrasse for pest control ?

[i cant think]

Yeah at moment I'm more inclined have leopard rather than melanarus wrasse
So leopard wrasses get labelled " EXPERT ONLY "
Is this because feeding or they shy fish or what reason I can't remember now.need re- look reason why they say expert lol

So, leopards are labelled as expert only because of how they are usually a pod only eater. If bought at an LFS, check for:
- Mouth issues,
- Swimming behaviour,
- Breathing,
- All basic signs of illness,
Most importantly:
- How long has it been in the shop
- is it eating?
If it has been in the shop for Atleast a week or two and is eating and showing no sign of stress then that could be a good specimen. When bringing it home, put it straight into a reef tank (I don’t recommend QT with any wrasse like the macropharyngodon or anampses) wether that be a grow out or the final tank. If she doesn’t come out for say 1 month+ then yes this is normal, they can go months on end without food and few actually come out the next day. These fish are from Africa most of the time so their body clock will be different for the first week or so, mine now goes to sleep at 7pm and wakes up at 8am so they will eventually get used to your lighting schedule.

 

[i cant think]

Leopard Wrasse: Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums

Ummm just read live aquaria description but can't work out why they say expert only.i have read threads why they say expert but forget pffft

The females are white and imo are best looking rather than males..so as juveniles they start off female then if have more than one or as it ages it turns into a male maybe ?

Macropharyngodon tend to remain female even if they’re the only one in the tank, although they can transition to male it’s rarer than with paracheilinus and Cirrhilabrus ect… All wrasses are born female no matter what species however, in many species the juvenile form is different to the adult female form.

 

[i cant think]

Aw yes the lunare wrasse,I think I looked at this one when " I can't think" mentioned it in a thread, thanks for reminder.
And what about a red scooter dragonet ? I'm sure I've read somewhere that they eat flatworms or some kind pest?
I'm just little concerned as my rockwork not typical nsa but half nsa and half normalish as like a tree with little touching the actual glass and raises up into water column with caves and over hangs etc ,ive got a few other pieces of rocks on the sand but I read that scooter dragonets or mandarins mainly hunt on rock work low Down so this is a concern that not enough rockwork low down on the sandbed etc

For sure a pretty wrasse isn’t it - I love these guys however if I did get a thalassoma species I would get a Cortez rainbow female and hope it didn’t transition haha.
I can’t remember what thread I mentioned it in but I remember mentioning it for sure!

 

[ying yang]

Lyretail Wrasse

Just looked up lunare wrasse again on live aquaria and states need 125g tank minimum and can get agressive/ territorial and be best added last to tank and be with other agressive fish.
You think this is a good assessment of fish?
If so then my tank to small and I got quite a few small peacefull fish.be a shame if true as such beautiful fish Indeed

 

[ying yang]

Leopards only eat pods, they are not natural “pest” eaters - I have and still do own a Macropharyngodon bipartitus and can admit this guy is bad for pest control against a jade and radiant wrasse. Halichoeres are natural “pest” eaters though. My personal favourite team for pests is:
- Halichoeres iridis for the colour and “rarity”
- Halichoeres chrysus for the nudi/more bug eating ability,
- Halichoeres leucoxanthus for the male colours and goes after a mix of both flatties and the bugs (almost like the bridge way between Chrysus and Iridis).
I would only pick 1 of these guys though for a 300l tank and that would be H. leucoxanthus for the male colours and the mixed appetite.
Here’s a photo of a male:

Thanks for all useful info and recomendations.
Picture you show is a silver belly wrasse correct ? I've already one of them so you saying don't get anymore wrasse in same genus ?

 

[i cant think]

Lyretail Wrasse

Just looked up lunare wrasse again on live aquaria and states need 125g tank minimum and can get agressive/ territorial and be best added last to tank and be with other agressive fish.
You think this is a good assessment of fish?
If so then my tank to small and I got quite a few small peacefull fish.be a shame if true as such beautiful fish Indeed

I would say yes but it could get into a 4’ tank with minimal rockwork. Any thalassoma wrasse is aggressive but these guys tend to be worse. Cortez rainbows could go into that tank however they will need 4’ by the end of it, it could live in a 3’ tank till it was around 2-3” though.

 

[ying yang]

They even like worms... yum yum! A bit rare to find so takes awhile but when they come in they are not expensive. They are super hardy can can survive in very low oxygen and temps as high as 100 degrees. This is so they can survive in shallow water.

They are cryptic and in my 80g I can only find it at night moving around looking for things to eat.

Cool picture and very good suggestion getting a fish that eats at night when the pests come out to play .

 

[ying yang]

For sure a pretty wrasse isn’t it - I love these guys however if I did get a thalassoma species I would get a Cortez rainbow female and hope it didn’t transition haha.
I can’t remember what thread I mentioned it in but I remember mentioning it for sure!

Ok great thanks for all super useful info and recommendations,it's much appreciated indeed.
And yeah about if wrasse been in lfs week or 2 and eating then it's good sign.
I always try find out when lfs get certain fish in and go the day before next batch they get in as some fish when newly acquired just die so rather it died in lfs tank than mine so I have been known to ring lfs and ask if got certain fish and ask them keep it until I come to kfs 6 days later or so and make up some reason why can't get there sooner and reserve fish for me for above reasons .

And thankyou to all who reply and give info and recommendations in this thread,been super helpful ^_^

 

[i cant think]

Thanks for all useful info and recomendations.
Picture you show is a silver belly wrasse correct ? I've already one of them so you saying don't get anymore wrasse in same genus ?

Yes, the photo is of a Silver belly (H. leucoxanthus). I think you could get one other small Halichoeres wrasse in there such as H. iridis. I don’t recommend H. chrysus since it’s similar in colour to H. leucoxanthus.

Cool picture and very good suggestion getting a fish that eats at night when the pests come out to play .

This to me is a very good idea, fish that predate on pests during the day are good but they’re also good if they predate on them in the night. As said above, dragonets that eat worms are rare but they aren’t expensive either. I would say your rock scape is alright for a nocturnal goby or a dragonet just as long as you supply pods Atleast a month prior to introduction.

 

[ying yang]

If you need something to eat pests at night then the wrasses won't be helpful. Those would fall on nocturnal gobies. I have a hasslets goby which is a pretty awesome nightime hunter. I am guessing other cave gobies are similar.
[/QUOTE]



Just did a search on these but can't find much info.well not info I looked for which is " are these hasslets goby safe around the cuc and pistol shrimp as mine comes out his burrow a little at night sometimes ,you any experience with them and shrimps?
I'm taking because it's a goby then its safe around shrimp?
And thanks for this suggestion as imo the best as pests at night time play out so makes sense to get a nocturnal fish that will search and eat them ^_^

 

[ying yang]

Poor shippers, prone to internal parasites and flukes, can be finicky to get feeding at first. If you can pick one up local that is eating at the store and does not have a pinched head or belly then it's generally not too hard. The shipping is the biggest hurdle.

If you need something to eat pests at night then the wrasses won't be helpful. Those would fall on nocturnal gobies. I have a hasslets goby which is a pretty awesome nightime hunter. I am guessing other cave gobies are similar.

Sorry messed up with quotes.
Question 1 post above about pistol shrimp if I may

 

[Tamberav]

If you need something to eat pests at night then the wrasses won't be helpful. Those would fall on nocturnal gobies. I have a hasslets goby which is a pretty awesome nightime hunter. I am guessing other cave gobies are similar.

Just did a search on these but can't find much info.well not info I looked for which is " are these hasslets goby safe around the cuc and pistol shrimp as mine comes out his burrow a little at night sometimes ,you any experience with them and shrimps?
I'm taking because it's a goby then its safe around shrimp?
And thanks for this suggestion as imo the best as pests at night time play out so makes sense to get a nocturnal fish that will search and eat them ^_^
[/QUOTE]

I had one with some small crabs and a saron shrimp without issue.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Lyretail Wrasse

Just looked up lunare wrasse again on live aquaria and states need 125g tank minimum and can get agressive/ territorial and be best added last to tank and be with other agressive fish.
You think this is a good assessment of fish?
If so then my tank to small and I got quite a few small peacefull fish.be a shame if true as such beautiful fish Indeed

Poor assessment. I had them in my store tanks and know others who have one in a 55g with no issues.
They can be aggressive with other wrasses but not overall

 

[ying yang]

Poor assessment. I had them in my store tanks and know others who have one in a 55g with no issues.
They can be aggressive with other wrasses but not overall

Ok thanks.
Guess like all fish,some can be a bit from the norm.maybe live aquaria always suggest more of say can get aggressive just incase

 

[ying yang]

I had one with some small crabs and a saron shrimp without issue.
[/QUOTE]

Ok great I will research these best I can then see if any of local lfs got them in or can get them in if ask for one .
I got 4 lfs within half hour drive but also got another big city 35 miles away from my city so probably 15 lfs within a hour and a bit drive so lots choice, so im quite lucky

 

[Saltyanimals]

Leopards only eat pods, they are not natural “pest” eaters - I have and still do own a Macropharyngodon bipartitus and can admit this guy is bad for pest control against a jade and radiant wrasse. Halichoeres are natural “pest” eaters though. My personal favourite team for pests is:
- Halichoeres iridis for the colour and “rarity”
- Halichoeres chrysus for the nudi/more bug eating ability,
- Halichoeres leucoxanthus for the male colours and goes after a mix of both flatties and the bugs (almost like the bridge way between Chrysus and Iridis).
I would only pick 1 of these guys though for a 300l tank and that would be H. leucoxanthus for the male colours and the mixed appetite.
Here’s a photo of a male:

I have a Blue Star Leopard (Macropharyngodon bipartitus) that literally hid for weeks after introducing it to my tank. I thought it was surely a goner, but came from a QT vendor so I know it was eating prior to my tank. One of those that you just leave alone and try not to dig up. Eventually it came out and now happily swims along with other tank mates. It constantly seems to hunt and eat what I assume are pods or pest, but does compete during feeding time. Eating several types of pellets, flakes, live, you name it. It was purchased as a medium and quickly changed to a male which I think is pretty cool, but never had a chance to experience the female colors. May introduce another one to see if it'll stay female.

 

[i cant think]

I have a Blue Star Leopard (Macropharyngodon bipartitus) that literally hid for weeks after introducing it to my tank. I thought it was surely a goner, but came from a QT vendor so I know it was eating prior to my tank. One of those that you just leave alone and try not to dig up. Eventually it came out and now happily swims along with other tank mates. It constantly seems to hunt and eat what I assume are pods or pest, but does compete during feeding time. Eating several types of pellets, flakes, live, you name it. It was purchased as a medium and quickly changed to a male which I think is pretty cool, but never had a chance to experience the female colors. May introduce another one to see if it'll stay female.

I wouldn’t introduce one female and instead recommend adding 2 females (Pairs of wrasses tend to go wrong and they prefer to be in harems) and I would say yours is going after pods over pests - I think only M. meleagris is heard of to go after pests but not known to.

 

[TheBiochemist]

To add to all suggestions above, I suggest adorned wrasse (H. cosmetus). Mine is a cool guy, model citizen and a hard worker. I have seen him eating flatworms and he also significantly contributed to my win over monti-eating nudis. He is also great in stirring my sandbed.

 

[i cant think]

To add to all suggestions above, I suggest adorned wrasse (H. cosmetus). Mine is a cool guy, model citizen and a hard worker. I have seen him eating flatworms and he also significantly contributed to my win over monti-eating nudis. He is also great in stirring my sandbed.

I’ve recently been planning out a dream reef (A few years - Maybe 10-15 down the line) and I have had my eye on these guys for a while!!

 

[saltyhog]

H. chrysus is the best for pest control I've seen. Very laid back, will get along with almost any other fish.

Lunar wrasse is not compatible with any other wrasse. They can get to 10" plus. They can and will kill other wrasses. Despite what some say, they are not appropriate for tanks smaller than 6' and really should be in a FOWLR without small fish.