The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

[SaltyT]

@evolved and everyone else, I am getting rid of my melanarus wrasse since he keeps killing my inverts. And also, I am going to put some berghia nudibranch in the tank to battle aiptasia problem.

What's the other alternative that invert and reef safe, and also eat pest?

Crabby's suggestion of H. iridis is a good option. A few additional options are H. chrysus and H. biocellatus.

 

[Devaji]

That's a nice wrasse list you've put together. If you can find H. leucurus post some pics for us! I don't get to see that one often. Having both a Mel and a Greyhead will be hard on your CUC as they mature. I would recommend getting your fairies in the same order you have them listed. An acclimation box will be a big help as you stock your tank. Another leopard you could look into that's usually easier to acclimate to tank life is M. moyeri.

thanks for the replay I was not sure if that many Hailichoers would work or not.
thanks for the suggestion on the M.moyeri. ill def. look into it.


on a side note where are y'all getting your wrasses from? I know of live aquaria, marine collectors, TMC, saltwaterfish.com anywhere else i should be/could be keeping an eye on?

 

[SaltyT]

thanks for the replay I was not sure if the many Hailichoers would work or not.
thanks for the suggestion on the M.moyeri. ill def. look into it.


on a side note where are y'all getting your wrasses from? I know of live aquaria, marine collectors, TMC, saltwaterfish.com anywhere else i should be/could be keeping an eye on?

Halichoeres are my favorite. I keep more of those than any other genus of wrasse in my tanks too.

TSM Aquatics is a great vendor. I just placed an order with Reef Pro (they're a R2R sponsor too) they take requests if you're looking for a particular wrasse. I've also heard that Dr. Reef is great and can take requests, but I haven't tried him yet.

 

[canadianeh]

Crabby's suggestion of H. iridis is a good option. A few additional options are H. chrysus and H. biocellatus.

And what’s the common name for these ones? Also, they are invert safe and Berghia Nudibranch safe?

 

[SaltyT]

And what’s the common name for these ones? Also, they are invert safe and Berghia Nudibranch safe?

H. iridis is commonly called Radiant wrasse. The other two wrasses have several common names if you google search halichoeres chrysus and halichoeres biocellatus you’ll see what I mean. All 3 are invert safe (maybe not with sexy shrimp) and I’ve kept all 3 with berghia in the past. Berghia don’t come out until the lights are off, these wrasses will be in the sand then.

 

[MPCReefer]

I have a question on adding wrasses to a new (4 month old) tank. Hopefully this is the correct thread for that. Is there a rule of thumb for order of adding wrasses or when they can be safely added? I currently have two black saltwater acclimated mollies and a yellow watchman. Is it ok to add a melanurus or a yellow coris now or should wrasses be added after other smaller, more shy fish such as Royal Grammas or other gobies or blennies? TIA

 

[Devaji]

Halichoeres are my favorite. I keep more of those than any other genus of wrasse in my tanks too.

TSM Aquatics is a great vendor. I just placed an order with Reef Pro (they're a R2R sponsor too) they take requests if you're looking for a particular wrasse. I've also heard that Dr. Reef is great and can take requests, but I haven't tried him yet.

thank you for giving me more options to find what I need/want.
once tank is fully cycled its wrasse time!

 

[saltyhog]

H. iridis is commonly called Radiant wrasse. The other two wrasses have several common names if you google search halichoeres chrysus and halichoeres biocellatus you’ll see what I mean. All 3 are invert safe (maybe not with sexy shrimp) and I’ve kept all 3 with berghia in the past. Berghia don’t come out until the lights are off, these wrasses will be in the sand then.

Agree! H. chrysus is so under appreciated due to being so common....as terminal males their head is strikingly beautiful. They also rarely cause problems with inverts. Biocellatus is a great Halichoeres that stays small. They definitely look much different as terminal males.

And later as a terminal male.

Claudia is very gentle as well.

Radiants are gorgeous and stay small and mild. I would avoid the Grayhead for the reasons given above. If you want a big Halichoeres that stands a great chance to be easy on CUC, consider an Earmuff (H. melasmapomas). Mine is approx 6 inches and never bothers a thing. He's truly a gentle giant.

 

[Crabby48]

And what’s the common name for these ones? Also, they are invert safe and Berghia Nudibranch safe?

I agree with saltyT but will add my experience with a radiant. When I added berghia if I didn’t put them in a hole the radiant would bite them in half. Any wrasse that eats pest their is that chance.
When adding berghia after the wrasse just give the berghia a safe spot and you should be good

 

[canadianeh]

I agree with saltyT but will add my experience with a radiant. When I added berghia if I didn’t put them in a hole the radiant would bite them in half. Any wrasse that eats pest their is that chance.
When adding berghia after the wrasse just give the berghia a safe spot and you should be good

So I rehomed my Melanarus today.
My plan is to get Berghia first then radiant wrasse. How long should I wait before I get the wrasse after adding Berghia?

 

[Crabby48]

So I rehomed my Melanarus today.
My plan is to get Berghia first then radiant wrasse. How long should I wait before I get the wrasse after adding Berghia?

You should be ok once berghia is in the tank. I would say it’s always a risk having fish that eat pest adding berghia but hasn’t been a problem for most of us

 

[Bepis]

Hello guys, I know a-lot about wrasses but am no expert, my ruby head fairy wrasse has been a female for a long time now and has reached 4” give or take. Does anyone know the approximate size that
Cirrhilabrus cf cyanopleura transitions to male coloration?

 

[OrionN]

And what’s the common name for these ones? Also, they are invert safe and Berghia Nudibranch safe?

I highly recommend the Radiant Wrasse also, H. iridis, as well. Very beautiful, unique wrasse that stays small.
Female is the smaller one. Male, IMO, is not fully developed in coloration yet.

 

[jmichaelh7]

I wish I could find a Leopard wrasse in California. Someone willing to meet ... this thread is just a reminder of how hard they are to obtain

 

[OrionN]

I wish I could find a Leopard wrasse in California. Someone willing to meet ... this thread is just a reminder of how hard they are to obtain

You got to be kidding. LA and the Bay Area are teaming with great LFS. All the whole sales are there. In Corpus I have to drive 3-4 hrs to Houston to get fish and Coral. Once in a long while I can get luckily and get fishes and anemones from the local Petco. Looking for any wrasse in CA is like looking for bread in a bakery.

 

[jmichaelh7]

You got to be kidding. LA and the Bay Area are teaming with great LFS. All the whole sales are there. In Corpus I have to drive 3-4 hrs to Houston to get fish and Coral. Once in a long while I can get luckily and get fishes and anemones from the local Petco. Looking for any wrasse in CA is like looking for bread in a bakery.

Maybe I need to make the 5 hour drive lol

 

[OrionN]

5 hrs to LA isn’t bad consider all the nice LFS in LA.
Think of it like this: LA LFS cherry picks the animals. There is no shipping involved from the wholesalers to the LFS there. They get the best and healthiest animals. In Houston or San Antonio or Austin there will be shipping involved from LA, plus inability to cherry picks for the LFS.
IMO a good LFS in LA’s life stocks are head and shoulder above other LFS in the country, except in places like NY or Florida. Great majority of life stocks come in the country through LA.

 

[ppatches24]

My Naoko went missing on the first night after swimming around nicely for the day.
Panicked a little and then found it had hidden itself extremely well in the rockwork. Comes out all the time though, just at night he goes invisible.

Really worried about the jumping aspect because when he moves, he's like the Flash so I can understand that if he did that up to the surface, who knows how far he'd get. Might have to invest in some netting.

NOT MIGHT IF YOU HAVE WRASSE YOU NEED A NET. THAT BE SO RUDE TO PUT YOU IN A CAGE THAT YOU COULD FALL TO YOUR DEATH IN.

How can people that claim to care about animals not do simple things like this. Don't have a net. Wait. never understand.

 

[OrionN]

My Naoko wrasse jumped out to his death when I open the top to add food in, all in about 2 seconds. I was in a hurry and just lift the lid to dump the food in and close it again. That afternoon I found him dried on top of the net on the other side of the tank

 

[Crabby48]

@sfin52 you need to post your Melanurus here.