The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

[i cant think]

While not exactly the same, my ornate leopard wrasse stayed in the sand for 6 days when he first went in the tank. Then he came out and ate.

I was originally intended on going with the Ornate leopard route however, my tank that the blue star is going in has the more common/Old school wrasse so I picked her up. I still don’t know if she will eat (Stress may have stopped her eating). Certainly both fish are beautiful however I think males hit differently to females because of them being so different in colour

 

[Jtleland]

Good day all! I have a 90g tank. Any reason why I wouldn't be able to have a McCosker's Wrasse (paracheilinus) and a Bluehead Fairy Wrasse (cirrhilabrus) in the same tank?

 

[i cant think]

Good day all! I have a 90g tank. Any reason why I wouldn't be able to have a McCosker's Wrasse (paracheilinus) and a Bluehead Fairy Wrasse (cirrhilabrus) in the same tank?

I don’t see an issue with it, however be careful because certain wrasse are aggressive (I don’t think blue heads are one of those wrasse) you could have more than just those two wrasses however, if you go with more than that be careful because wrasse like C. scottorum can be aggressive, along with H. chloropterus when they get older

 

[i cant think]

I knew taking her in would be a challenge however, does anyone know if when they’re in the sandbed they eat because although she showed up today, it was a few minutes after I got home and when the food was dethawing she decided home was the sand bed.
There’s no bullies in the tank (Naokoae & Cryptic leave her alone)

Also, I know this is a lot of questions however I wasn’t expecting to get a 1” leopard wrasse, I took her in because she’s healthy and eating she was also the only Blue star in there. Does anyone know if they hang out of the sand at a certain time of day or is it just random?

 

[fachatga]

My leopards go in in the evening and come out at night. Unless they’re new and hiding or something scares them. Just like fairy wrasses sleep in the rocks these sleep in the sand.

 

[fachatga]

I mean come out in the morning

 

[i cant think]

My leopards go in in the evening and come out at night. Unless they’re new and hiding or something scares them. Just like fairy wrasses sleep in the rocks these sleep in the sand.

Yeah, I know that they hide in the sand bed it’s just how mine was out for i don’t know how long and then she went in when I was defrosting the food (Around 5 minutes after I got home it was defrosted)

 

[fachatga]

It can be tough. I love alone with 3 small kids so nobody else can feed them. So I just paid attention really well on weekends to their schedule and tried to get 2 feedings in the morning maybe an hour or 90 minutes apart if I could before work to make sure they what I can get into them until I got used to taking care of them. Now I know they also eat the pellets from my automatic feeder too. I’ve time their schedules have shifted a little too but now it’s pretty constant. Almost every day my sand sleepers are away when I get home. Sometimes one is still up but not often. And they wake up around 6:30. They’re out maybe 8-10 hours a day. My black leopard is in the sand the longest. Spotted stays out longer.

 

[i cant think]

It can be tough. I love alone with 3 small kids so nobody else can feed them. So I just paid attention really well on weekends to their schedule and tried to get 2 feedings in the morning maybe an hour or 90 minutes apart if I could before work to make sure they what I can get into them until I got used to taking care of them. Now I know they also eat the pellets from my automatic feeder too. I’ve time their schedules have shifted a little too but now it’s pretty constant. Almost every day my sand sleepers are away when I get home. Sometimes one is still up but not often. And they wake up around 6:30. They’re out maybe 8-10 hours a day. My black leopard is in the sand the longest. Spotted stays out longer.

Okay, thanks! I’ll start trying to defrost the food before I go and then when I’m back throw some in and keep an eye on her
I would have put her with the other wrasse however with her at 1” i didnt want to risk anything and I knew the naoko was going into that tank so I put her in the nano with him to hopefully get them added at the same time

 

[BelieveInBlue]

As far as I know, sand-dwelling wrasses will eventually come out of the sand either to eat or to die. I don't think they eat while buried though.

 

[blaxsun]

As far as I know, sand-dwelling wrasses will eventually come out of the sand either to eat or to die. I don't think they eat while buried though.

They definitely don’t eat while buried. Maybe the Melanarus if there’s a snail sharing the substrate. My Melanarus has been ‘trained’ for the dinner bell, which is a pump slowdown followed by an automated breakfast of algae pellets. If he’s late for breakfast - he never misses brunch!

 

[i cant think]

Good news! She was out when I got back and fed both tanks - She ate instantly. There was a bit of skittishness when I approached the tank slowly to take off the lid

 

[Jtleland]

I don’t see an issue with it, however be careful because certain wrasse are aggressive (I don’t think blue heads are one of those wrasse) you could have more than just those two wrasses however, if you go with more than that be careful because wrasse like C. scottorum can be aggressive, along with H. chloropterus when they get older

This will just be a beginning. I will most likely add a six line to the mix later as well as a yellow and purple tang.

 

[i cant think]

This will just be a beginning. I will most likely add a six line to the mix later as well as a yellow and purple tang.

I don’t recommend a six line since they’re very aggressive to other wrasse, I’d recommend something like a Cirrhilabrus or Paracheilinus wrasse instead. Filled with colour (The Halichoeres wrasses do the same job as six lines but without the aggression issue) or if you want the cryptic behaviour but not the aggression I recommend a Pseudochelinops ataenia (Cryptic sixline/Pink streaked wrasse)

 

[i cant think]

Good news! She was out when I got back and fed both tanks - She ate instantly. There was a bit of skittishness when I approached the tank slowly to take off the lid

She went into the sand around 20 minutes ago which is good because she’s staying out for longer than she was yesterday

 

[Luananeko]

Ok, I posted a little while ago about the Fiji Exquisite Fairy Wrasse that was getting bullied by my Splendid Pintail, which didn't make it... I have good news! After another attempt, this time making sure to put the Pintail bully into an acclimation box for a couple days while the new Exquisite wrasse settled, we have success! The Exquisite is still a bit on the shy side and occasionally gets some side-eye from the Pintail, but he's swimming together with the rest of the crew and eating like a champ! Pardon the dirty glass and cell phone pictures! Photos were taken at feeding time, so the random white spots are just R.O.E, not anything bad :P

 

[jt8791]

I missed having a six line wrasse so I’m taking a gamble and adding one to go with my blood orange clowns. Just ordered one from la coming from Wisconsin, haven’t seen any locally in a while. Think I wrongfully accused the last six line of eating shrimp, have a feeling it was the pistol shrimp after all.

Hoping it will encourage my clowns to explore the tank more, female stays in the rbta, which is on the backside of the rocks, and male is usually about 6” away. Hopefully the nem will split soon, a lot of empty rock work and I see no point in buying more when this one could easily fill it in with a few splits.

 

[jt8791]

Had called a few Petco’s nearby to see if they had six lines with no luck but did have one try to convince me put a Melanurus Wrasse in my tank. Would have been a recipe for disaster given the tank size and current occupants. It’s too bad I didn’t have a big tank started downstairs, definitely on the wishlist for a someday tank. Was cheap too if anyone in Maine is in the market for one, only $30.

 

[i cant think]

Had called a few Petco’s nearby to see if they had six lines with no luck but did have one try to convince me put a Melanurus Wrasse in my tank. Would have been a recipe for disaster given the tank size and current occupants. It’s too bad I didn’t have a big tank started downstairs, definitely on the wishlist for a someday tank. Was cheap too if anyone in Maine is in the market for one, only $30.

Six lines are aggressive in small tanks, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did eat the shrimp. I don’t think six lines should be in any tank less than a 55 because of the aggression most of them gain. The small wrasse I have that’s staying in my nano is a Cryptic and I’d say it does the same job as a six line but probably better - Unless it was the leopard that tried to go after a bristleworm which I doubt from the size she is

 

[i cant think]

Ok, I posted a little while ago about the Fiji Exquisite Fairy Wrasse that was getting bullied by my Splendid Pintail, which didn't make it... I have good news! After another attempt, this time making sure to put the Pintail bully into an acclimation box for a couple days while the new Exquisite wrasse settled, we have success! The Exquisite is still a bit on the shy side and occasionally gets some side-eye from the Pintail, but he's swimming together with the rest of the crew and eating like a champ! Pardon the dirty glass and cell phone pictures! Photos were taken at feeding time, so the random white spots are just R.O.E, not anything bad :p

There’s some really nice wrasse in there, I see 2 flashers with 3 fairies, strange that the pintail was the aggressor - I always thought of them as peaceful, well I guess they are peaceful compared to stories about Scott’s wrasse aggression