The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

[JoJosReef]

My first thought would just be a fairy as they are a very different type of wrasse to your leopard. Halichoeres are the easiest though.

And whi doesn't like a salt pig!?

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

And whi doesn't like a salt pig!?

Impossible. They are universally liked, some of the best fish. Pest eater, easy, I could go on. What's not to like?

 

[CBonito]

I dropped 20 trochus snails into my tank today. When I put them in the water they were all clumped together so when they hit bottom they all started wiggling to right themselves. My Melanurus saw that crap, lost his freaking mind and killed like 2 of them. Didnt eat them. Just killed them.

I had to put them all over the place on rocks and stuff so dummy didn't kill any more of them.
I ended up turning the lights off so he would go bury himself.

 

[Slocke]

@i cant think is this what they claim it is?!?!
@SaltyT @Crabby48?

 

[Slocke]

They claim it is Coris venusta??

 

[i cant think]

@i cant think is this what they claim it is?!?!
@SaltyT @Crabby48?

A Coris caudimacula?!

If you have room for it, absolutely grab it.

 

[Slocke]

A Coris caudimacula?!

If you have room for it, absolutely grab it.

Yeah. I’m pretty sure it’s not venusta like they claim. They never have that much white. Shame

 

[i cant think]

Yeah. I’m pretty sure it’s not venusta like they claim. They never have that much white. Shame

If it was a Venusta I’d be surprised as I don’t believe anyone has them anymore.

Caudimacula is still a gorgeous wrasse especially when matured.

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

I'm curious, what makes the M. Choati so appealing to wrasse keepers? Seen pictures of them, and I saw one in store yesterday. They're beautiful, but why are they seen as the best leopard wrasse?

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

UPDATE on the wrasse! Picked up the China wrasse at my LFS yesterday, was a little too skinny for my liking but he is a strong eater and they did only feed him once a day so I'm not too worried, immediately buried herself in the sand. Have not seen her since apart from the occasional fin sticking out of the sand. I'll keep you updated!

 

[blecki]

Turns out the culprit keeping my xmas wrasse in hiding is the 'yellow coris' - it's Halichoeres chrysus as far as I know. I'm kind of at a loss here; not the fish I expected to be so aggressive. Today is the first day the xmas wrasse has come out before lights out so hopefully it's temporary, but I thought H. Chrysus was supposed to be a friendly fish?

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Though anyone know a good way to entice/make a China wrasse more comfortable in my system? As mentioned in the post above, I got her yesterday and she hasn't come out yet, and she is pretty skinny so I'm trying to feed her

 

[Tcook]

Turns out the culprit keeping my xmas wrasse in hiding is the 'yellow coris' - it's Halichoeres chrysus as far as I know. I'm kind of at a loss here; not the fish I expected to be so aggressive. Today is the first day the xmas wrasse has come out before lights out so hopefully it's temporary, but I thought H. Chrysus was supposed to be a friendly fish?

Mine is. Maybe sump him for 2 weeks.

 

[blecki]

Yeah right, like I can catch him. I can make a bottle trap but I'm likely to catch half the tank before I get him. I've got the mirror up but I can only keep it up so long because it drives the tangs into a frenzy.

 

[JoJosReef]

Rethinking my wrasse additions. I've been waiting for my local QT guy to get a C. rubeus and a pink streak, but he hasn't been lucky finding both (juvenile to boot).

Now I'm wondering, would a C. rubeus and C. brunneus work together or is that too much fairy for a 3' tank?

I've also become really interested in a M. negrosensis, but already have the M. bipartitis and H. chrysus occupying the sand sleeping niche. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'll only add the C. rubeus and max one other for this tank, so since the pinkie is not happening quickly, any other ideas?

 

[i cant think]

Turns out the culprit keeping my xmas wrasse in hiding is the 'yellow coris' - it's Halichoeres chrysus as far as I know. I'm kind of at a loss here; not the fish I expected to be so aggressive. Today is the first day the xmas wrasse has come out before lights out so hopefully it's temporary, but I thought H. Chrysus was supposed to be a friendly fish?

My Radiant male was the exact same, he could be quite pushy at times. IME, there is a broad difference between aggressive and boisterous in wrasses (in all fish but it’s mainly well seen in Wrasses). Is he tearing fins on the Christmas Wrasse or is he simply just chasing her around every so often?

Both of these can cause the Christmas Wrasse to hide in the sand however one is much more severe than the other.

 

[i cant think]

I'm curious, what makes the M. Choati so appealing to wrasse keepers? Seen pictures of them, and I saw one in store yesterday. They're beautiful, but why are they seen as the best leopard wrasse?

it’s all to do with if you like the colour - I personally love them as my favourite colour is orange and they’re filled with colour whilst it’s also quite minimal.

Other people may like them because in this hobby we always try to get a challenge going. These fish can be challenging to acclimate and keep long term (although now, quite a few people are keeping them long term and very easily).

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

Should I be limiting the amount of sand sleeping wrasse I keep to make sure there's space for all of them in the sand bed?

 

[i cant think]

Should I be limiting the amount of sand sleeping wrasse I keep to make sure there's space for all of them in the sand bed?

Yes, you’ll want to keep to a certain number of sand sleepers - I personally have 3 in my 4’ however did have 4 at one point and plan for 2 in my 3’ tank.

IMO, you should keep to around 1’ per sand sleeper. However it’s fine if you go over as they all find their own ‘room’ eventually.

 

[JoJosReef]

Yes, you’ll want to keep to a certain number of sand sleepers - I personally have 3 in my 4’ however did have 4 at one point and plan for 2 in my 3’ tank.

IMO, you should keep to around 1’ per sand sleeper. However it’s fine if you go over as they all find their own ‘room’ eventually.

Good rule to know! I have 2 sand sleepers currently in my 3'. Would you put in another Halichoeres or Macropharyngodon, or would you go with a non-sand-sleeper like a Cirrhilabrus (a C. rubeus is already going in soonish) or a possum? Pinkies are out unless I want to go overbudget.

Tank situation: H. chrysus, M. bipartitus, TSB, exquisite firefish, yasha goby, pair of clowns. Everyone very peaceful so far. Fed 4x/day liquid and 3x/day TDO pellets, plus Tues-Fri baby brine shrimp 1-3x/day and occasional supplemental feeds for fun (masstick press-ons, freeze dried mysis/calanus, liquid Mysis Feast or Pod feasts...). Having a hard time keeping NO3 positive and PO4 is now settling around 0.06ppm. A very little bit of Valonia, but othewise no nuisance algae explaining the low nutrients--it's all going to the corals it seems. So I don't feel like I'm over-bioloading the system. Don't want to overcrowd either, but no one seems bothered so far...

Thanks!!