The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

mapman · Feb 27, 2026

i cant think said:
Unfortunately I lost him to old age a couple of months ago (the downside to getting decent sized males),

My wrasse tank has taken a bit of a hit with major neglect, obviously the corals love it but my fish aren’t liking it too much.

Im interested in possibly acquiring a yellow fin I see they are available on Bluezooaquatics. I bought from them in the past and was impressed

TheNative192 · Feb 27, 2026

I got this bad boy (or girl, not sure how to tell) added to my tank a couple days ago. They are on the smaller side which I like (around an inch and half right now). Tank is four feet long. First two days they were out and about, but sleeping in the sand and today they did not seem to leave the sand for some reason. I assume they are just getting used to the tank & sleeping in the sand. They were eating like a champ with some mysis and I culture two one gallon tisbe pod cultures that I have been adding to the tank since the start with phyto so the glass is loaded with pods. Its the only pod eater/wrasse in the tank so far other than a Diamond goby from my other tank that I added today. I was a bit worried about him being a sand digger and the wrasse sleeping in the sand so if anyone has any experience with this definitely let me know!

85173 · Feb 28, 2026

TheNative192 said:
I got this bad boy (or girl, not sure how to tell)

The three "eye spots" on the dorsal fin shows it to be a juvenile, which means it will currently be female.

I'm sure someone will post a photo of a male for you to see the colouration differences. (Take notice, particularly around the cheek area, on the face.)

Tcook · Feb 28, 2026

TheNative192 said:
I got this bad boy (or girl, not sure how to tell) added to my tank a couple days ago. They are on the smaller side which I like (around an inch and half right now). Tank is four feet long. First two days they were out and about, but sleeping in the sand and today they did not seem to leave the sand for some reason. I assume they are just getting used to the tank & sleeping in the sand. They were eating like a champ with some mysis and I culture two one gallon tisbe pod cultures that I have been adding to the tank since the start with phyto so the glass is loaded with pods. Its the only pod eater/wrasse in the tank so far other than a Diamond goby from my other tank that I added today. I was a bit worried about him being a sand digger and the wrasse sleeping in the sand so if anyone has any experience with this definitely let me know!

You lucky dog. I think @i cant think and @OrionN have males

They will be adjusting to new tank and time zone so may sleep during lights on

Slocke · Feb 28, 2026

TheNative192 said:
I got this bad boy (or girl, not sure how to tell) added to my tank a couple days ago. They are on the smaller side which I like (around an inch and half right now). Tank is four feet long. First two days they were out and about, but sleeping in the sand and today they did not seem to leave the sand for some reason. I assume they are just getting used to the tank & sleeping in the sand. They were eating like a champ with some mysis and I culture two one gallon tisbe pod cultures that I have been adding to the tank since the start with phyto so the glass is loaded with pods. Its the only pod eater/wrasse in the tank so far other than a Diamond goby from my other tank that I added today. I was a bit worried about him being a sand digger and the wrasse sleeping in the sand so if anyone has any experience with this definitely let me know!

Tcook · Feb 28, 2026

Slocke said:

Looks like I’m the only one without a Members Only jacket

TheNative192 · Feb 28, 2026

TheNative192 said:
I got this bad boy (or girl, not sure how to tell) added to my tank a couple days ago. They are on the smaller side which I like (around an inch and half right now). Tank is four feet long. First two days they were out and about, but sleeping in the sand and today they did not seem to leave the sand for some reason. I assume they are just getting used to the tank & sleeping in the sand. They were eating like a champ with some mysis and I culture two one gallon tisbe pod cultures that I have been adding to the tank since the start with phyto so the glass is loaded with pods. Its the only pod eater/wrasse in the tank so far other than a Diamond goby from my other tank that I added today. I was a bit worried about him being a sand digger and the wrasse sleeping in the sand so if anyone has any experience with this definitely let me know!

She decided to grace us with her presence today so that’s a bonus! I am not sure why she stayed in the sand yesterday but maybe she just got spooked. I added a line of mesh between the emergency overflow to ideally prevent any jumping shenanigans too.

i cant think · Mar 1, 2026

Tcook said:
You lucky dog. I think @i cant think and @OrionN have males

They will be adjusting to new tank and time zone so may sleep during lights on

This is awful… My most recent photo of my Iridis is from back in September

I promise I still have him, he’s one of the few wrasses that I still have - All three of my Halichoeres are still here, I just haven’t managed to get a camera on the tank due to A Levels and the shop getting hectic.

JoJosReef said:
Tendency to become serial killers.

*Edit: I have no personal experience with Pseudocheilinus specifically because I avoid them due to reputation. Many individuals have good experience with them. Would be interesting to see statistics about probability of them becoming murder beasts. @i cant think @Slocke

I did I hear a mention of Pseudocheilinus

She’s a bossy one but stay in your lane and she won’t bother. Four lines are on the whole more peaceful and I used to recommend them when we could frequently source them (Hawaii was the main exporter for the UK’s availability). They never caused many issues likely due to their smaller size compared to the Sixlines and other relatives.

i cant think · Mar 1, 2026

JoJosReef said:
I think my pink streak cleans up, but I don't have direct evidence.

How’s this for evidence? I had Monti Eating Nudibranchs a few years ago, the only pest hunters in the tank at the time were a trio of Pink Streaks and within a short period of time (It’s on the Random Nano build thread, just after I upgraded to the 3 foot custom made) they were gone.

And my Macro Tank is the same, never found a single planaria in there (I know they enter because I’ve seen them on the macros I add - I leave them be as I know the fish will handle them).
An awful photo of my Female Pink Streak (I still have the pair) after hitching into the 78ltr on the Macroalgae.

And the Macros

i cant think · Mar 1, 2026

BTDBunch said:
Do you think possum wrasses do a good job?

Possums do a decent job but I wouldn’t rely on them, I have a pair of Wetmorella nigropinnata in my 100ltr nano and whilst they’re always hunting, I know I have planaria in the tank they were in (I moved my Nanos around last night so everything is now trying to settle in again) so generally, whilst they’re can be good as I said above, I wouldn’t rely on them as sole pest hunters. If you have the chance, small pipefish species mixed with them will help battle out pests.

i cant think · Mar 1, 2026

Tcook said:
Brought this home today to the observation tank.

And a pair of these

Can’t go wrong with a healthy ornatus! Cant wait to see her get fat in your systems.

i cant think · Mar 1, 2026

i cant think said:
How’s this for evidence? I had Monti Eating Nudibranchs a few years ago, the only pest hunters in the tank at the time were a trio of Pink Streaks and within a short period of time (It’s on the Random Nano build thread, just after I upgraded to the 3 foot custom made) they were gone.

And my Macro Tank is the same, never found a single planaria in there (I know they enter because I’ve seen them on the macros I add - I leave them be as I know the fish will handle them).
An awful photo of my Female Pink Streak (I still have the pair) after hitching into the 78ltr on the Macroalgae.

And the Macros