The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

[Petcrazyson]

So a yellow watchman is not a sand sifting goby and that's a good thing. I f you want a sand-sifting goby try going captive bred. I also suggest that for the mandarin. Try Biota's Court jester goby with their mandarins if you can.

All good mostly though anthias need several feedings per day and I find cardinals pretty boring.

All great choices! Add the flashers first. But the fairies are all pretty peaceful. Maybe consider a halichoeres like an Iridis.

The foxface is an awesome choice. I don't like tangs so my suggestion isn't going to be great but having 4 of the same genus may cause aggression issues. Also tangs definitely last and together.

Also the filefish will probably eat corals, if aiptasia is a problem go with peppermint shrimp.

Why do you always beat me to my answers lol :grinning-squinting-face:

 

[KassScott]

So a yellow watchman is not a sand sifting goby and that's a good thing. I f you want a sand-sifting goby try going captive bred. I also suggest that for the mandarin. Try Biota's Court jester goby with their mandarins if you can.

Right. Yes I was just thinking if I was going to have bottom dwellers I needed at least some of them to go to work. lol. And yes. Def captives cuz I need all the help I can get to be less difficult

All good mostly though anthias need several feedings per day and I find cardinals pretty boring.

Yes that’s true on the multiple feedings. Any other suggestions for smaller but swimming around fish? I just think the pajamas are cute. Lol.

All great choices! Add the flashers first. But the fairies are all pretty peaceful. Maybe consider a halichoeres like an Iridis.

So the 2 flashers… will they be fine together? That was a one or the other and not both but to add an additional flasher with whichever I need up with. I was thinking I’d read the 2 together might be pushing it but also saw I needed another flasher to encourage the flashing? Yes. The iridis was on my original list and not sure why I excluded him here? Is 6-7 wrasses too many for what all I’ll have going on?

The foxface is an awesome choice. I don't like tangs so my suggestion isn't going to be great but having 4 of the same genus may cause aggression issues. Also tangs definitely last and together.

yeah tangs lol… I like them and their utility. But I def hope for minimal aggression. I did a lot of research to pick ones that will have smaller full grown size for my tank size and some of the lesser aggressive ones (compared to yellow purple p. brown and p blue) it’s a toss up I guess. Haha but I have time for them because definitely last and together. Lol.

Also the filefish will probably eat corals, if aiptasia is a problem go with peppermint shrimp.

Seeeeee. …. Everywhere you read this is THE answer. But maybe it’s not. Haha. We’re going to hope for no aiptaia so it’s not a problem. Lol. But I’m also realistic. Haha.

THANK UOU SO MUCH for taking time to help!

 

[Slocke]

Right. Yes I was just thinking if I was going to have bottom dwellers I needed at least some of them to go to work. lol. And yes. Def captives cuz I need all the help I can get to be less difficult

Yes that’s true on the multiple feedings. Any other suggestions for smaller but swimming around fish? I just think the pajamas are cute. Lol.

A basslet and more wrasses? Also more gobies just avoid Valenciennea as they need very established tanks and often suffer shipping starvation.

So the 2 flashers… will they be fine together? That was a one or the other and not both but to add an additional flasher with whichever I need up with. I was thinking I’d read the 2 together might be pushing it but also saw I needed another flasher to encourage the flashing? Yes. The iridis was on my original list and not sure why I excluded him here? Is 6-7 wrasses too many for what all I’ll have going on?

Flasher question I'll leave to one of the experts: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/genus-paracheilinus-the-flasher-wrasses.872/
As for the amount of wrasse that's one of the great things about them. You can have a lot of them without issue my only suggestion would be to add the halichoeres wrasse later but it probably won't matter.

yeah tangs lol… I like them and their utility. But I def hope for minimal aggression. I did a lot of research to pick ones that will have smaller full grown size for my tank size and some of the lesser aggressive ones (compared to yellow purple p. brown and p blue) it’s a toss up I guess. Haha but I have time for them because definitely last and together. Lol.

Seeeeee. …. Everywhere you read this is THE answer. But maybe it’s not. Haha. We’re going to hope for no aiptaia so it’s not a problem. Lol. But I’m also realistic. Haha.

THANK UOU SO MUCH for taking time to help!

No problem. Stocking suggestions are like my hobby within the hobby.

 

[Petcrazyson]

ocellaris clown pair - this is what I already have in small tank prior to this upgrade.
2 - lyretail anthias - male and 2-3 females
3 - yellow watchman goby and pistol shrimp
4 - ?? Other sand sifting goby?
5 - lawnmower blenny
6 - mandarin pair (pre stocking tank heavily w/pods well in advance)
7- pajama cardinals 2-3?
8 - C. lineatus
9 - C. exquisitus
10 - C. isosceles
11 - M. bipartitus
12. P. mccoskeri or P. carpenteri
13. Another flasher that would be compatible
14. Magnificent Foxface
15. Chevron Tang
16. Kole Tang
17. White Tail Bristle-tooth Tang
18. Tomini Tang
**Likely 3 of the 4 tangs. TBD.
and at some point (hopefully not but) aiptasia eating file fish
And CUC - assortment. Urchin etc.

Ocellaris Clowns: Clowns will be clowns lol. Are you interested in keeping an anemone? If you aren’t yet you still want the clownfish to be hosted by something, Euphyllia is your best choice, (not torches).

Lyretail Anthias: Good starter anthias as they aren’t as finicky as the others. If you like the idea of a small group then 4-6 is your best option with the minimum of one male to 3 females. This is so the females get a rest from the male’s constant attention. If you would like to see a male come about from a female get the group all females and in a few weeks there will be a pecking order established and a male will start to take form. Make sure to feed them 2 to 3 times a day.

Yellow Watchman Goby: These are a good goby to pair up with a pistol. I’m not going to get too in dept of the things that can help keep them successfully, unless you want lol. Make sure your rocks are stable and I mean stable because they will excavate and can potentially collapse the rock formation(s). These aren’t a sand sifting fish, a constant misjudgment of these fish. If you do end up getting a sand sifting goby, make sure to get it only at least after a year of your tank set up. It can not be stressed enough that these guys need a stable tank packed with micro fauna to sift through the sand. Add some easily to break pieces of food or pellets (not a fan of pellets for any fish except these gobies) in the sand so he can get a better snack here and there.

Lawnmower blenny: these blennies are funny enough one of the laziest of the algae eating gobies. They’ll eat certain algae’s in the tank if they want but if they see they can get better nutrition from you (which they obviously will) don’t expect them to do their job efficiently so if you want a fish to clean all the algae and rocks it’s best to consider a tang or a Foxface of some sorts. These guys can get a little mean towards other blennies.

Cardinals: IMO these guys are amongst the most boring fish in the hobby lol. These are easy though and they do good in a pair.


All Wrasse: Hopefully @i cant think can see your post as he can go into much more detail than most of us can. He’s one of your best go to guy‘s for wrasse knowledge. Aaron don’t let this go to your head ;):face-with-tears-of-joy: I do want to say lineatus get big and can get aggressive. I like the negrosensis or choati over the bipartitus IMO. A Paracheilinus I would add would be an attenuatus. Very pretty flasher. Another wrasse I like is Cirrhilabrus naokoae. They can get a little boisterous though. I’d recommend a Halichoeres wrasse to eat pests, and since you want a Macropharyngodon a a good depth sand bed will be there. A Halichoeres iridis and melasmapomus are among my favorites. However the iridis is a bit more tricky to keep. And of course there is the obvious Melanarus but it’s a bit overrated imo.

Maginificus Foxface: The best looking Foxface IMO. Really good algae eater and is a big helper. They are very peaceful. Add them at the beginning (so first fish in the tank) so they can be established before other more boisterous fish. These guys like all Foxface are venomous so don’t get stung by its dorsal spines. Pretty painful. Twice a day you can feed them nori (seaweed) so they have plenty of veggies in their belly.

All Tangs: In your tank, which is only 125 gallons and 4’ long, 4 midsized tangs calls for trouble. Many people have 3 4 or 5 in a 125, but what works for them may not work for you. Chevron’s get BIG, and can get aggressive. I’d wait to upgrade the tank to keep these guys but excellent choice of fish! FYI these tangs don’t keep those pretty colors all it’s life only in the juvenile stage. Once adult they are a brown or black with brown or black stripes. So just don’t get disappointed if he changes lol. IMO they look good either way but I know many people don’t like the adult coloration. One Bristletooth per tank unless it’s at least 6 feet long and 150 gallons is my personal preference. These guys are the most peaceful tang but are nasty at eachother if confined too close together. A White Tail is a type of Kole. If you like them get one from Tahiti as they look the best. The Tomini is a good choice as well, though not a Kole. Like all tangs feed them 2-3 times nori every day.

All tanks are different, all fish are different, so there really is no said amount of fish per a sized tank. Add the amount of fish that your bio-load can hold, and that there is a low amount of aggression. I’d cap it at 18-20 fish to keep down aggression.

This would be my list:

Pair of Clowns
4 Lyretail Anthias
Yellow Watchman/Pistol Shrimp
Yellow Headed Sleeper Goby
Mandarin Pair
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus
Cirrhilabrus iscoseles
Macropharyngodon negrosensis
Paracheilinus carpenteri
Paracheilinus attenuatus
Halichoeres melasmapomus
Magnificent Foxface
White Tail Kole Tang

 

[Petcrazyson]

@KassScott the reason I didn’t go into detail for the wrasss is because I tend to write a long paragraph and talk too much about them lol. If you do want to read some though lol I’ll be happy to do so.

 

[Crabby48]

If you can only have 3 wrasse what is everyone ones choice.
potters
Viviens
Hemi

 

[Petcrazyson]

If you can only have 3 wrasse what is everyone ones choice.
potters
Viviens
Hemi

Potters! 110%

 

[Slocke]

If you can only have 3 wrasse what is everyone ones choice.
potters
Viviens
Hemi

M vivienae
C gaimard
C naokoae

 

[Crabby48]

Hi y’all. I’ve read through quite a few pages of this thread and while I’m in information overload, I’m doing my best to take notes. I’m working on my stock list so I am very well prepared and can buy all in the correct order etc. I’ve got a 120g 4ft w/sump, sand bottom will be mixed reef (hopefully). Listed in “sort of” order of potential addition and some will be several at a time as necessity for aggression etc. I tried to give consideration to the areas (sand feeders, rock dwellers, etc) and variety of size. Please feel free to offer advice, opinions etc. This is not a hard and fast list and for some I’ve listed several just of my choices (for research haha) I’m clueless other than lots of research in the last few months lol but also every time I think I have something figured out someone makes a post in contrary. Haha opinions. They’re like * right? Hah. JK. Not on any of my posts but just reading through different threads. So….

1- ocellaris clown pair - this is what I already have in small tank prior to this upgrade.
2 - lyretail anthias - male and 2-3 females
3 - yellow watchman goby and pistol shrimp
4 - ?? Other sand sifting goby?
5 - lawnmower blenny
6 - mandarin pair (pre stocking tank heavily w/pods well in advance)
7- pajama cardinals 2-3?

Here’s y’all’s part. Time to shine!! In Latin since I know that’s how y’all roll here…. Haha
8 - C. lineatus
9 - C. exquisitus
10 - C. isosceles
11 - M. bipartitus
12. P. mccoskeri or P. carpenteri
13. Another flasher that would be compatible

14. Magnificent Foxface
15. Chevron Tang
16. Kole Tang
17. White Tail Bristle-tooth Tang
18. Tomini Tang
**Likely 3 of the 4 tangs. TBD.
and at some point (hopefully not but) aiptasia eating file fish
And CUC - assortment. Urchin etc.

I would knock lineatus off or realize he may need to be pulled. They get bigger and more aggressive why they mature. Or the pintail probably won’t do well with him. They are very chill and stress easier. Not saying it won’t work but just know it’s a risk. Get wrasse small and young so they have a better chance. If you do lineatus add last or add with others but would rather have others settle few weeks

 

[Crabby48]

Potters! 110%

 

[KassScott]

A basslet and more wrasses? Also more gobies just avoid Valenciennea as they need very established tanks and often suffer shipping starvation.

Flasher question I'll leave to one of the experts: https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/genus-paracheilinus-the-flasher-wrasses.872/
As for the amount of wrasse that's one of the great things about them. You can have a lot of them without issue my only suggestion would be to add the halichoeres wrasse later but it probably won't matter.

No problem. Stocking suggestions are like my hobby within the hobby.

Awesome!! I’ll dig into this information the next few days. Haha. I’m glad it’s your hobby. With all the conflicting info I’m def down for suggestions. Haha. Thanks again.

 

[KassScott]

I would knock lineatus off or realize he may need to be pulled. They get bigger and more aggressive why they mature. Or the pintail probably won’t do well with him. They are very chill and stress easier. Not saying it won’t work but just know it’s a risk. Get wrasse small and young so they have a better chance. If you do lineatus add last or add with others but would rather have others settle few weeks

Ah gotcha. Noted. And thanks!!

 

[KassScott]

Ocellaris Clowns: Clowns will be clowns lol. Are you interested in keeping an anemone? If you aren’t yet you still want the clownfish to be hosted by something, Euphyllia is your best choice, (not torches).

Def considering the Euphyllia. I’d like for the clowns to be as comfy possible and with the problems with anemones the corals just sound easier. lol. They are ony list.

Lyretail Anthias: Good starter anthias as they aren’t as finicky as the others. If you like the idea of a small group then 4-6 is your best option with the minimum of one male to 3 females. This is so the females get a rest from the male’s constant attention. If you would like to see a male come about from a female get the group all females and in a few weeks there will be a pecking order established and a male will start to take form. Make sure to feed them 2 to 3 times a day.

I’d read that the lyretail are some of the easier.compared to others. May have missed the
appropriate number. I def want hardy fish …. I’ll have to do some more thinking on the

Yellow Watchman Goby: These are a good goby to pair up with a pistol. I’m not going to get too in dept of the things that can help keep them successfully, unless you want lol. Make sure your rocks are stable and I mean stable because they will excavate and can potentially collapse the rock formation(s). These aren’t a sand sifting fish, a constant misjudgment of these fish. If you do end up getting a sand sifting goby, make sure to get it only at least after a year of your tank set up. It can not be stressed enough that these guys need a stable tank packed with micro fauna to sift through the sand. Add some easily to break pieces of food or pellets (not a fan of pellets for any fish except these gobies) in the sand so he can get a better snack here and there.

Rocks are all glued together and sitting in the bottom of the tank with sand poured around that so hopefully stable. And this is where some of that confusing information came in I knew the more aggressive fish needed to be added later but I also knew that some of these fish needed a more established sandbed etc. so then I was just stressed. Lol but I guess in hindsight that they’re not competing fish if you’re considering the aggressive fish to be the bigger ones like the tangs and wrasses or whatever so it should be a non-issue, right?

Lawnmower blenny: these blennies are funny enough one of the laziest of the algae eating gobies. They’ll eat certain algae’s in the tank if they want but if they see they can get better nutrition from you (which they obviously will) don’t expect them to do their job efficiently so if you want a fish to clean all the algae and rocks it’s best to consider a tang or a Foxface of some sorts. These guys can get a little mean towards other blennies.

Of course they are. . Well I’m open to fish that skitter along the rocks. Haha or whatever really. Haha

Cardinals: IMO these guys are amongst the most boring fish in the hobby lol. These are easy though and they do good in a pair.

Lol. I think the pajamas are so cute. But noted. Haha

 

[KassScott]

All Wrasse: Hopefully @i cant think can see your post as he can go into much more detail than most of us can. He’s one of your best go to guy‘s for wrasse knowledge. Aaron don’t let this go to your head ;):face-with-tears-of-joy: I do want to say lineatus get big and can get aggressive. I like the negrosensis or choati over the bipartitus IMO. A Paracheilinus I would add would be an attenuatus. Very pretty flasher. Another wrasse I like is Cirrhilabrus naokoae. They can get a little boisterous though. I’d recommend a Halichoeres wrasse to eat pests, and since you want a Macropharyngodon a a good depth sand bed will be there. A Halichoeres iridis and melasmapomus are among my favorites. However the iridis is a bit more tricky to keep. And of course there is the obvious Melanarus but it’s a bit overrated imo.

I’m definitely open to all the wrasse suggestions the ones I came up with we’re just kind of what I put two and two together with with the chart and trying to not take too many from the same group etc. I’ll look at the ones you mentioned. I’m not familiar with all of them. And sandbed shouldn’t be a prob. Mine is a good amount. I may need to add an area of finer sand? I have the Caribsea arag-alive which I believe was a -2mm size?
Maginificus Foxface: cool. Wasn’t sure when to add him.

All Tangs: In your tank, which is only 125 gallons and 4’ long, 4 midsized tangs calls for trouble. Many people have 3 4 or 5 in a 125, but what works for them may not work for you. Chevron’s get BIG, and can get aggressive. I’d wait to upgrade the tank to keep these guys but excellent choice of fish! FYI these tangs don’t keep those pretty colors all it’s life only in the juvenile stage. Once adult they are a brown or black with brown or black stripes. So just don’t get disappointed if he changes lol. IMO they look good either way but I know many people don’t like the adult coloration. One Bristletooth per tank unless it’s at least 6 feet long and 150 gallons is my personal preference. These guys are the most peaceful tang but are nasty at eachother if confined too close together. A White Tail is a type of Kole. If you like them get one from Tahiti as they look the best. The Tomini is a good choice as well, though not a Kole. Like all tangs feed them 2-3 times nori every day.

Yeah I was thinking 3 of the 4 for the whole spread out the aggression business. I was thinking the chevron didn’t get that big? Maybe I read wrong? I had like 6” in my notes ‍ all 4 I had notes to be around that size versus the bigger yellows/Nasos etc. if I could only have one I’d love a naso but just too big. Lol. I like their adult colors/patterns too. Hmmmmm

All tanks are different, all fish are different, so there really is no said amount of fish per a sized tank. Add the amount of fish that your bio-load can hold, and that there is a low amount of aggression. I’d cap it at 18-20 fish to keep down aggression.

For sure. Like I said open to all the suggestions and info. I def like your list below. More research!!

This would be my list:

Pair of Clowns
4 Lyretail Anthias
Yellow Watchman/Pistol Shrimp
Yellow Headed Sleeper Goby
Mandarin Pair
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus
Cirrhilabrus iscoseles
Macropharyngodon negrosensis
Paracheilinus carpenteri
Paracheilinus attenuatus
Halichoeres melasmapomus
Magnificent Foxface
White Tail Kole Tang

 

[KassScott]

@KassScott the reason I didn’t go into detail for the wrasss is because I tend to write a long paragraph and talk too much about them lol. If you do want to read some though lol I’ll be happy to do so.

Hahah. Fine by me. I’m a sponge with the info right now.

 

[Crabby48]

Hahah. Fine by me. I’m a sponge with the info right now.

Acclimation box. Most my fish are released in 1 or so. When I think it’s time I open the box and when fish is ready they leave. Alows them to meet tank mates and tank mates meet him while you watch behaviors. Mostly fish can see the tank and find a hole to ride before leaving box. I don’t like clear bottoms as it freaks out some fish more.

trap. Keep a trap as wrasse tend to be food driven and can be trapped if needed or a safer way to remove.

holding tank. Hold new fish and get fat while they settle in before dealing with others. Also great way to raise salinity. I don’t raise more then .001 - .002 in 24 hours.
Quick top few things that helped me

 

[AZReef13]

Mine came the other day, amazing reference book.....

 

[Tcook]

I like the suggestions. I think you will have aggression with those tangs. I recommend you pick one, tomini or the bristletooth. This will give you more room for perhaps a genicanthus angel or two. The chevron is endemic to Hawaii? So that won't be obtainable. I don't think it made the list.

Sand sifting anything. PIA imo. Especially if you want nice sandbed corals like scolymia, trachyphyllia, or fungia. They get worn down with sand being constantly spit on them.

Lyrtail are great. Recommend 5-6 for a 120. All female or 1 mail is fine. Can throw in a bimac as well.

I like the wrasse suggestions above. This will be a fun build to watch.

 

[KassScott]

Acclimation box. Most my fish are released in 1 or so. When I think it’s time I open the box and when fish is ready they leave. Alows them to meet tank mates and tank mates meet him while you watch behaviors. Mostly fish can see the tank and find a hole to ride before leaving box. I don’t like clear bottoms as it freaks out some fish more.

Yes. I saw these mentioned so many times in the number of pages I read just in the wrasse thread never mind the other threads that I knew it must be important lol

trap. Keep a trap as wrasse tend to be food driven and can be trapped if needed or a safer way to remove.

Check!! Gotta get one of those.

holding tank. Hold new fish and get fat while they settle in before dealing with others. Also great way to raise salinity. I don’t raise more then .001 - .002 in 24 hours.
Quick top few things that helped me

Do you do this separate from your qt? Or you just do this to let them settled from shipping but they’re not QT personally? I definitely get the merit of letting them fatten up and adjust slowly to the salinity. Thanks for the tip for sure.

 

[KassScott]

I like the suggestions. I think you will have aggression with those tangs. I recommend you pick one, tomini or the bristletooth. This will give you more room for perhaps a genicanthus angel or two. The chevron is endemic to Hawaii? So that won't be obtainable. I don't think it made the list.

I’m totally fine with one tang. I wasn’t sure what all angels could go in mixed reef. I’ve seen a few but just didn’t know who was safe with what. I just knew I wanted a few bigger fish.

Sand sifting anything. PIA imo. Especially if you want nice sandbed corals like scolymia, trachyphyllia, or fungia. They get worn down with sand being constantly spit on them.

Lol. Oh really. Welp. I’ll cross them off too. Haha. I’m not hard set on them either.

Lyrtail are great. Recommend 5-6 for a 120. All female or 1 mail is fine. Can throw in a bimac as well.

I like the wrasse suggestions above. This will be a fun build to watch.

I need to start a build thread. Loo. I thought I loved my rock scape but I’ve been second guessing it so trying to think what I can do to add to it. Thanks for you help!!