Royal gramma hates my six line wrasse!

[DAniel559]

My Royal gramma is being very territorial towards my six line wrasse only.
I've had the royal gramma for almost 2 months.
This started about two days ago it's gotten to the point where my royal gramma is even missing pieces of its fin from the wrasse fighting back.
It even chases the wrasse across the tank.
Will this be sorted out or should I go ahead and move one to the sump for now?

40 breeder
two clowns, Royal gramma, firefish, 6 line wrasse

 

[kyleinpdx]

I'd put my money on the 6line, maybe the royal gramma will get beatup enough to realize its not worth it. I have neither so I cant comment more. :-\

 

[Vette67]

My royal gramma and 6 line get into it frequently. Like several times a day. But it is only when the 6 line comes near the royal grammas territory. It’s amusing to watch the gramma open it’s mouth wide like it’s yelling at the 6 line. Nothing ever happens, and the 6 line eventually moves on... from what I have seen, it doesn’t seem like it will go away. Mine have been doing this for months. But my tank has a lot more room. The 6 line goes everywhere, searching in and around the rocks, but my gramma doesn’t stray far from it’s rock cave in the center of my tank. And mine don’t chase, it’s more of a stand-off. And since neither fish is being hurt, I find it amusing, and would love to get a picture of the gramma with its mouth wide open. I’m afraid you will probably have to intervene...

 

[Mrmiles]

Similar experiences but less severe. I added the sixline last in the hopes of avoiding aggression but no such luck.

 

[DAniel559]

My royal gramma and 6 line get into it frequently. Like several times a day. But it is only when the 6 line comes near the royal grammas territory. It’s amusing to watch the gramma open it’s mouth wide like it’s yelling at the 6 line. Nothing ever happens, and the 6 line eventually moves on... from what I have seen, it doesn’t seem like it will go away. Mine have been doing this for months. But my tank has a lot more room. The 6 line goes everywhere, searching in and around the rocks, but my gramma doesn’t stray far from it’s rock cave in the center of my tank. And mine don’t chase, it’s more of a stand-off. And since neither fish is being hurt, I find it amusing, and would love to get a picture of the gramma with its mouth wide open. I’m afraid you will probably have to intervene...

i reworked the rockscape hopefully that helps a bit. If not ill try and get one once lights are off.

 

[Vette67]

i reworked the rockscape hopefully that helps a bit. If not ill try and get one once lights are off.

That’s a good idea, to move the rock work. That can work with tangs to reduce aggression sometimes. It’s certainly worth a try...

 

[Vette67]

I know it’s only been a day @DAniel559, but did changing around the rock work seem to help at all?

Let us know...

 

[SaltyDog67]

I would recommend removing the 6 line ASAP! He will eventually kill the Royal Gramma and start sizing up his next victim which will probably be the Firefish, before he works his way and starts harassing the clowns and adding them to the hit list until hes the only thing left in the tank. The 6 line is great for taking care of pests on the reef but he will consider a 40 gallon as his entire territory. I have a 32 biocube with 50 lbs of live rock and plenty of hiding spots and my 6 line killed my Royal Gramma and Snowflake Clown and was constantly harassing my Yellow Watchman Goby. Needless to say, mine went back to the LFS before he killed my Goby and he's been replaced with another Clown and a Purple Firefish, which now live happily with the watchman. Beautiful fish but they are well known for their territorial aggression. Good luck with your decision and keep us posted with the outcome.

 

[DAniel559]

I would recommend removing the 6 line ASAP! He will eventually kill the Royal Gramma and start sizing up his next victim which will probably be the Firefish, before he works his way and starts harassing the clowns and adding them to the hit list until hes the only thing left in the tank. The 6 line is great for taking care of pests on the reef but he will consider a 40 gallon as his entire territory. I have a 32 biocube with 50 lbs of live rock and plenty of hiding spots and my 6 line killed my Royal Gramma and Snowflake Clown and was constantly harassing my Yellow Watchman Goby. Needless to say, mine went back to the LFS before he killed my Goby and he's been replaced with another Clown and a Purple Firefish, which now live happily with the watchman. Beautiful fish but they are well known for their territorial aggression. Good luck with your decision and keep us posted with the outcome.

Yeah its been almost a week and the aggression stopped after the rescape. That being said i'm trying to find away to catch the 6 line and take it to the lsf don't want to risk it.

 

[SaltyDog67]

Yeah its been almost a week and the aggression stopped after the rescape. That being said i'm trying to find away to catch the 6 line and take it to the lsf don't want to risk it.

Trust me, that's probably the best call...I tried to risk it thinking the aggression would subside and territories would be established since I had plenty of rock, but his need to be on the move constantly searching out every crack and crevice in the tank made that impossible in 32. The last straw for me was the clown, which didn't really have territory othe rockwork as most clowns hang on the outskirts of the reef anyway. Unfortunately the 6 line is going to be hard to catch! Be prepared to remove the majority of your live rock in order to catch that little rascal. I had to remove 90% of mine and the only way I caught him was from him swimming into a hole in a piece of live rock and luckily I was able to pull the rock and transfer him before he escaped lol. I tried coaxing him with food in hopes to net him but no such luck, and a trap didn't work either. Good luck with the fishing expedition, your other fish will thank you in the end.

 

[Coastie Reefer]

Royal Grammas and 6 Lines are both jerks in my experience. The 6 Line is a psycho serial killer kind of jerk though!

 

[Vette67]

Trust me, that's probably the best call...I tried to risk it thinking the aggression would subside and territories would be established since I had plenty of rock, but his need to be on the move constantly searching out every crack and crevice in the tank made that impossible in 32. The last straw for me was the clown, which didn't really have territory othe rockwork as most clowns hang on the outskirts of the reef anyway. Unfortunately the 6 line is going to be hard to catch! Be prepared to remove the majority of your live rock in order to catch that little rascal. I had to remove 90% of mine and the only way I caught him was from him swimming into a hole in a piece of live rock and luckily I was able to pull the rock and transfer him before he escaped lol. I tried coaxing him with food in hopes to net him but no such luck, and a trap didn't work either. Good luck with the fishing expedition, your other fish will thank you in the end.

Hmm. Interesting. That must be the key to keeping a 6 line is to make sure it has enough space. The one in my tank doesn't bother anyone, except the occasional spat with my gramma. But he has 180 gallons to roam, and mine is the smallest fish in my tank. But like you said, he his constantly prowling my rockwork in search of pods / worms or whatever. So I didn't really get everyone saying the 6 line is the meanest fish they've ever owned. I just haven't seen that side. They must like lots of room to roam and then they're fine. Even though they are a small fish that could easily fit into a 40 gallon or smaller, perhaps the retailers should put a minimum tank size of like 75 gallons (or whatever), so that they have enough territory that they don't think the whole tank is their territory.

 

[Marsh980]

I have a 200 gallon and wanted a six line and royal gramma and when i asked my LFS owner to order me both he laughed at me and said it wouldn't be worth it. He's told a number of people this before, some didn't listen and brought back one of the fish often the six line haha.

I have a royal gramma and it can sometimes be a jerk to my canary wrasse. It tried to scare off my two new skunk cleaner shrimp who were hanging upside down on the rock outside its 'cave'. It lost and the shrimp are still there 2 weeks later. It mustn't see them as a threat and must like the 'antennae tickles'.....

 

[SaltyDog67]

Agreed

Royal Grammas and 6 Lines are both jerks in my experience. The 6 Line is a psycho serial killer kind of jerk though!

Agreed, 6 lines are just phycho!

Im discovering there are a lot of old Coasties on R2R! Must be our love for the ocean, lol.

 

[hawk82]

My Royal Gramma dosent bother my Melanurus, but maybe because hes so much bigger. The Melanurus could care less about the other fish in the tank, he just keeps his nose to the rocks all day looking for snacks lol.

 

[SaltyDog67]

Hmm. Interesting. That must be the key to keeping a 6 line is to make sure it has enough space. The one in my tank doesn't bother anyone, except the occasional spat with my gramma. But he has 180 gallons to roam, and mine is the smallest fish in my tank. But like you said, he his constantly prowling my rockwork in search of pods / worms or whatever. So I didn't really get everyone saying the 6 line is the meanest fish they've ever owned. I just haven't seen that side. They must like lots of room to roam and then they're fine. Even though they are a small fish that could easily fit into a 40 gallon or smaller, perhaps the retailers should put a minimum tank size of like 75 gallons (or whatever), so that they have enough territory that they don't think the whole tank is their territory.

Yeah, I think space is the key...as well as size and maturity of the fish. My first 6 line was small and only about an inch + and it was taken out by a yellow tail damsel which are suppose to be less aggressive damsels. Nope, he thought the 32gal was his and his alone. That $10 damsel managed to stress and kill over $100 worth of fish until I decided he had to go. Unfortunately I replaced him with the next 6 line wrasse which was a mature adult that stuffed himself on the reef buffet and then decided to take out all the tank mates much like the yellow tail. Both are gone and my reef inhabitants are now happy and stress free without the serial killers on the loose, lol.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

Yeah, recommendations like SaltyDog's are why I didnt get a Six Line. If you are looking for alternative nano wrasses I would absolutely look at a Pink Streaked or Possum Wrasse. I bought my Pink Streaked and love it, all of the coloration and none of the aggression.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

Species Spotlight: Pseudocheilinops ataenia – The Pink-Streaked Wrasse

I would like to take a moment to share with all of you one of my favorite fish in reef aquaria, and one that has consistently been a great addition to not only my tank, but to a lot of fellow hobbyists’ tanks as well. Pseudocheilinops ataenia, or as it is commonly known, the “Pink-Streaked...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[SaltyDog67]

Yeah, recommendations like SaltyDog's are why I didnt get a Six Line. If you are looking for alternative nano wrasses I would absolutely look at a Pink Streaked or Possum Wrasse. I bought my Pink Streaked and love it, all of the coloration and none of the aggression.

Im waiting to find a Pink Streaked locally to replace the 6 line for pest control. All the research Ive done said they are not aggressive at all, so its good to hear another positive review before I purchase.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

Mine is awesome, I had a flatworm break out and used flatworm exit to get rid of them. Seemed to work but they would come back and then disappear over time. I found out they were living in my refugium that I made in chamber 2 of my biocube and I'm quite certain they are just being snacks for my PSW. I rarely see them in the display but when I pull my filter media tray they are in there.