The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

[Cael Gallery]

That thing is pretty huge too!

Yeah, he was about a foot long, but he's a young male and i have seen them closer to 50cm.

 

[DCR]

Can any wrasse experts help me ID this flasher? It's not the best picture as it's in an acclimation box so hard to get a clear picture but the LFS said it was a juvenile blue flasher...

Looks like a Carpenters to me. No way it is a Blue Flasher

 

[PR_nano]

 

[TheNative192]

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice about aggression from my Timor wrasse.

Today, I added a leopard wrasse and two firefish to my tank. It’s an 80-gallon, 4-foot tank that’s been running for about eight months, with a 2-inch sand bed. I also culture phytoplankton and pods and have been adding both regularly. The leopard wrasse also eats frozen and I have actually suprisingly had it eat frozen food today already.

My Timor wrasse has always been good with the other tankmates, but he’s been extremely aggressive toward all three newcomers. Whenever any of them comes into his line of sight, he darts straight at them.

The leopard wrasse has already eaten frozen food, which is encouraging, but it’s also been glass surfing. I have a tight-fitting lid, so my main concern right now is the stress from being chased or if he nips at his fins etc. The leopard wrasse also for some reason has not dove into the sand which I thought it would do if it was stressed.

I tried catching the Timor to put him in an acclimation box, but he’s very skittish and buries himself in the sand as soon as I put a net in the tank. I’ve also added some rockwork and rearranged a few pieces to try to break up his territory. My tank already does have a decent amount of rock work though.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Since I introduced the new fish today, could this be an initial territorial reaction that settles down, or does this level of aggression suggest an ongoing compatibility issue? I’d appreciate any advice on managing it—and any tips for catching the Timor if separating him is the best option.

 

[tbrown]

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice about aggression from my Timor wrasse.

Today, I added a leopard wrasse and two firefish to my tank. It’s an 80-gallon, 4-foot tank that’s been running for about eight months, with a 2-inch sand bed. I also culture phytoplankton and pods and have been adding both regularly. The leopard wrasse also eats frozen and I have actually suprisingly had it eat frozen food today already.

My Timor wrasse has always been good with the other tankmates, but he’s been extremely aggressive toward all three newcomers. Whenever any of them comes into his line of sight, he darts straight at them.

The leopard wrasse has already eaten frozen food, which is encouraging, but it’s also been glass surfing. I have a tight-fitting lid, so my main concern right now is the stress from being chased or if he nips at his fins etc. The leopard wrasse also for some reason has not dove into the sand which I thought it would do if it was stressed.

I tried catching the Timor to put him in an acclimation box, but he’s very skittish and buries himself in the sand as soon as I put a net in the tank. I’ve also added some rockwork and rearranged a few pieces to try to break up his territory. My tank already does have a decent amount of rock work though.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Since I introduced the new fish today, could this be an initial territorial reaction that settles down, or does this level of aggression suggest an ongoing compatibility issue? I’d appreciate any advice on managing it—and any tips for catching the Timor if separating him is the best option.

Sand burying wrasses are actually easier to catch when they're buried in the sand. Put a net over the sand where he's buried then use a bowl to scoop him and the sand out.

You can put a acclimation box in the tank and put the bowl in there so he's still in the tank.

 

[TheNative192]

Sand burying wrasses are actually easier to catch when they're buried in the sand. Put a net over the sand where he's buried then use a bowl to scoop him and the sand out.

You can put a acclimation box in the tank and put the bowl in there so he's still in the tank.

I did try and do that but he literally dashed through the sand away from the net the one time he did not burry himself in the sand in his normal spot. His normal spot where he usually burries himself is behind my massive rock structure as well, under a rock that is dug into the sand where my return pumps are so he is nearly impossible to get out when he is in that spot or to let alone get a net there. Ill send a pic for reference. Maybe a fish trap tommorow will work if people recommend having the timor wrasse in a acclimation box (should I add sand to it as well?)

He sleeps here: under the small rock under the arch and there is barely enough room to get a net behind the arch in the back.

 

[Cael Gallery]

I did try and do that but he literally dashed through the sand away from the net the one time he did not burry himself in the sand in his normal spot. His normal spot where he usually burries himself is behind my massive rock structure as well, under a rock that is dug into the sand where my return pumps are so he is nearly impossible to get out when he is in that spot or to let alone get a net there. Ill send a pic for reference. Maybe a fish trap tommorow will work if people recommend having the timor wrasse in a acclimation box (should I add sand to it as well?)

He sleeps here: under the small rock under the arch and there is barely enough room to get a net behind the arch in the back.

In my experience the worst of the aggression will be in the first few days to a week and usually after that the aggressor calms down. If the leopard hasn't been spending much time in the sand and is eating well then it is probably tolerating the aggression pretty well.
In the future it's always best to place new fish in an acclimation box for at least week before releasing them

 

[TheNative192]

In my experience the worst of the aggression will be in the first few days to a week and usually after that the aggressor calms down. If the leopard hasn't been spending much time in the sand and is eating well then it is probably tolerating the aggression pretty well.
In the future it's always best to place new fish in an acclimation box for at least week before releasing them

So I finally did catch the trouble maker timor wrasse. Right now I have him in a cheaper smaller acclimation box with a nesh DIY lid so there is a chance he escapes.

Tommorow my 12x6x6 inch acclimation box arrives so as soon as that arrives ill move the agressive timor wrasse into that. The leopard wrasse ate the first day and then has been in the sand ever since. I know that is typical. I also ordered some PVC piping to give him some places to hide.

I still have not seen my leopard wrasse but my firefish did pop their heads out a couple of times and as soon as he got into line of site my timor wrasse would chase after them until they went into their whole.

I read people recommend keeping the aggresive fish in the acclimation box or new fish for around 3 days to 1 week so I may keep him in for 1 week to be on the safe side since he was very difficult to catch and put a lot of stress on all the fish to be able to catch him.

If my leopard wrasse never leaves the sand in a week and my timor wrasse is in the acclimation box for a week do you think when he emerges even if the leopard is not swimming around that he will be peaceful to him or do I need to wait for my leopard wrasse to emerge for my timor wrasse to get used to him.

Any tips are welcome.

 

[Cael Gallery]

Missing my tank so spent another wrasse wednesday fishing. I caught 4 species of wrasse in about 3 hours, nearly 10 individuals total.
These guys were pretty common, this is the female/intial phase of Coris auricularis. I caught a male a couple weeks ago at a different spot that i posted earlier in this thread. I caught 3 of these, all around this size.

This was one of the three species i was targeting today - Redbanded wrasse (Pseudolabrus biserialis).
This species is quite similar to the closely related Pseudolabrus guentheri, which i have kept before, which was a very aggressive fish but with a lot of personality. I'd really like to keep this species too in the future. This one is a female, the males become even redder, losing the white and black scales with nice yellow fins.

By far the highlight, and the 2nd of the 3 species i was targeting was this absolutely gorgeous Blackspotted wrasse (Austrolabrus maculatus). I think this one is a young male, he's fairly small at about 12-13cm (fishbase lists the species up to 20cm) and he still seems to have a bit of the female colouration. I was very surprised to actually catch one since they supposedly prefer deeper water around 10-20m, but i was just fishing off of some rocks in maybe 3-4m. The photos don't show it well but he had some gorgeous golden lines and spots on the head, i also really like the long and tall dorsal and anal fin. I definitely will be including this species in any future aquarium.

The final species i was targeting, which has also been caught by people at this location before was the Senator wrasse (Pictilabrus laticlavius), which unfortunately i wasn't able to catch this time. The males are bright green, yellow and blue, yet another species that i'd have to have when i start another tank.