The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

[i cant think]

Quick question. I got an awesome yellow spotted leopard wrasse (M. negrosensis) yesterday. Good size and looked healthy. Of course she was NOT AMUSED and dove straight in the sand. Unfortunately she chose the front of the tank, where I only have a very thin layer of sand. Part of her was exposed and one of my crabs started nibbling on her flank. Still buried, she immediately pushed herself partially underneath the liverock. I think there's still some space between the sand and underside of the rocks where she's buried.

I know digging up a buried wrasse is stressful. But, will she be able to get out by herself? Or should I try and chase or push her away from the rocks?

She should be able to turn herself around if it’s her head under the rock and she should be alright. I’d get the crab out though because if that’s where she wants to sleep, she’s going to be nibbled on more… I’d replace the crab with snails though if you still want an algae eater.

 

[Bars]

she will manage

Great, I'll leave her then :)
I'm stoked to finally have a leopard wrasse, hopefully she'll settle in nicely.

 

[i cant think]

Great, I'll leave her then :)
I'm stoked to finally have a leopard wrasse, hopefully she'll settle in nicely.

I know the feeling, getting my blue star made me want to do EVERYTHING right, keep ontop of all of my parameters but unfortunately after two years of fighting cyano I don’t think I’m going to be able to keep to that hope I had with this wrasse.

 

[homer1475]

Interesting, never heard the black leopard (M. Negrosensis) called a yellow spotted wrasse?

I had to google yellow spotted, knowing negrosensis was the black leopard.

FWIW, always better to leave a wrasse under the sand, and do not disturb them. They are more stressed being uncovered, then just leaving them be. I wouldn't be surprised if it hid for a day or 2, do not worry though, IME they often hide for a day or 2 before coming out.

 

[Sgchick]

Well it depends on what you’d want the other wrasse(s) to do for you. By this I mean, add activity to the tank, help with unwanted animals on coral/rock/sand, adding colour ect…

I just love the blue star for the color. I had one in a smaller tank for 6 years until I moved and she was quite the personality. Not sure how much work she did, but would like one that is known to be a worker for sure!!...Now, if another wrasse was beautiful as well, that would be great too!!! Suggestions?

 

[homer1475]

I just love the blue star for the color. I had one in a smaller tank for 6 years until I moved and she was quite the personality. Not sure how much work she did, but would like one that is known to be a worker for sure!!...Now, if another wrasse was beautiful as well, that would be great too!!! Suggestions?

Personally, I would just dig through this thread(most wrasses in the hobby can be found in here), make a list, post it up. We can give you some recommendations on what will, and what won't work. Often times it's just a matter in which order you add them.

 

[i cant think]

I just love the blue star for the color. I had one in a smaller tank for 6 years until I moved and she was quite the personality. Not sure how much work she did, but would like one that is known to be a worker for sure!!...Now, if another wrasse was beautiful as well, that would be great too!!! Suggestions?

For colour AND working:
Halichoeres iridis
Halichoeres chrysus
Halichoeres biocellatus
Halichoeres cosmetus
Common names in order are:
Radiant/Multicolor Wrasse
Canary/Yellow Coris Wrasse
Christmas/Red lined Wrasse
Pudding wife/Cosmetus wrasse (I can’t remember the common name that isn’t pudding wife wrasse).
But as said above, look through images on this thread then we can say what will and won’t work aswell as what does jobs and what won’t do a job but just adds flashy colours!!

 

[Sgchick]

(I have the same tank) I went by order of aggression. Yes! you can have multiple wrasse in one tank. I have 3, Melanarus, Timor and a carpenter flasher , they actually get along awesome, tend to school together as well. I will be adding one more wrasse in the future. now that I think about it, all my fish pretty much stay together actually.

Beautiful tank!!

Any love for P. Hemitaeniatus?

Ohhh...that one is gorgeous!!

Personally, I would just dig through this thread(most wrasses in the hobby can be found in here), make a list, post it up. We can give you some recommendations on what will, and what won't work. Often times it's just a matter in which order you add them.

Thanks...I've been doing that as well!! What a great thread!

For colour AND working:
Halichoeres iridis
Halichoeres chrysus
Halichoeres biocellatus
Halichoeres cosmetus
Common names in order are:
Radiant/Multicolor Wrasse
Canary/Yellow Coris Wrasse
Christmas/Red lined Wrasse
Pudding wife/Cosmetus wrasse (I can’t remember the common name that isn’t pudding wife wrasse).
But as said above, look through images on this thread then we can say what will and won’t work aswell as what does jobs and what won’t do a job but just adds flashy colours!!

Wow!! Thanks so much!!!

 

[Bars]

Interesting, never heard the black leopard (M. Negrosensis) called a yellow spotted wrasse?

I had to google yellow spotted, knowing negrosensis was the black leopard.

FWIW, always better to leave a wrasse under the sand, and do not disturb them. They are more stressed being uncovered, then just leaving them be. I wouldn't be surprised if it hid for a day or 2, do not worry though, IME they often hide for a day or 2 before coming out.

Oh I see. Retailers in my country sell them as yellow spotted for some reason. I thought the black leopard would be the one with the yellow tail.

Yeah I'm preparing for a looooong wait before she comes out. I've had a few Halichoeres wrasses stay in the sand bed for 2 weeks even. My only concern was her being in the sand and underneath the rocks :)

 

[i cant think]

I have, they seem to be a slightly harder Halichoeres both to keep and get hold of. If you have anything stressing it or it has any reason to do the Up and left or Up and right trick (I’ll try find a diagram of what I’m on about) they do in the wild, chances are they will be rebounded into the water but there is a small chance it can slip through the mesh.
Care level I would say is rather close to the iridis (Halichoeres iridis/Radiant wrasse) in which they are more sensitive to shipping, I’d love to see another one soon.

I found a diagram I did in a note book I had hidden around in case I ever needed some help on something

 

[Bars]

I know the feeling, getting my blue star made me want to do EVERYTHING right, keep ontop of all of my parameters but unfortunately after two years of fighting cyano I don’t think I’m going to be able to keep to that hope I had with this wrasse.

Oh that sucks. But, the hard part about leopards is getting them to eat, right? Or am I missing something? Other than that they shouldn't be more demanding than other wrasses.

 

[homer1475]

Oh I see. Retailers in my country sell them as yellow spotted for some reason. I thought the black leopard would be the one with the yellow tail.

Yeah I'm preparing for a looooong wait before she comes out. I've had a few Halichoeres wrasses stay in the sand bed for 2 weeks even. My only concern was her being in the sand and underneath the rocks :)

If you have a look at this link, and the subsequent picture section, you'll see there are many variation in coloration on the black leopard.

https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2303

 

[noobreefer2]

I used to have a 6 line, and I got it because I thought it would eat some nudibranch and flatworms, but it ended up scaring my firefish into staying in their cave 24/7. The 6-line ended up dying, and I would like another wrasse. I was looking into the Halichoeres genus, because they seem to munch on coral pests as well. Anyone got peaceful wrasse suggestions? Thanks.

 

[i cant think]

Oh that sucks. But, the hard part about leopards is getting them to eat, right? Or am I missing something? Other than that they shouldn't be more demanding than other wrasses.

Yeah the big thing about these wrasses is feeding.

 

[i cant think]

I used to have a 6 line, and I got it because I thought it would eat some nudibranch and flatworms, but it ended up scaring my firefish into staying in their cave 24/7. The 6-line ended up dying, and I would like another wrasse. I was looking into the Halichoeres genus, because they seem to munch on coral pests as well. Anyone got peaceful wrasse suggestions? Thanks.

Nothings better than a Halichoeres when it comes to working and peaceful (Although, don’t be fooled not all of them are peaceful). The Iridis is apparently 50/50 on if it eats unwanted animals but the Chrysus is about 95% likely to eat unwanted animals. I personally would go for an iridis (But that’s just me). If you go through this thread, look at all the wrasses then make a list we can help you more :)

 

[homer1475]

When I first got into wrasses, always read the leopards were extra hard because of their specialized eating habits.

I don't if because they were usually my last wrasse(or fish in general), or because I have always introduced them into a well established tank, but I have never had an issue getting any leopard to eat. Only reason I lost my last adult melagris(had her for 8 years), she apparently got spooked one day and dove so hard into the sand, she broke her beak on the bottom glass. She never ate again, and slowly wasted away. I felt super bad for her, and eventually when she could barely swim anymore I caught her and put her out of her misery.

Granted I have only kept over the years, a couple melagris, a couple negrosensis, and a few blue stars, as far as leopards go.

They see all my other fish eating what goes into the tank, and they usually try it out after a couple days, and continue to eat whatever gets put in.

I have found over the years, they love PE msysis, and PE calanus. Calanus is like candy to my wrasses.

 

[saltyhog]

Any love for P. Hemitaeniatus?

I loved mine. I wish they didn't get so dark on their back over time in brightly lit tanks. Mine was prettier as a newly transitioned male than as a terminal....almost like the difference of H. biocellatus over time.

My H. biocellatus as a juvie in QT


And as a terminal male.

Wish I had pictures of my Diamond Tail flasher but I can't seem to find them.

 

[homer1475]

I loved mine. I wish they didn't get so dark on their back over time in brightly lit tanks. Mine was prettier as a newly transitioned male than as a terminal....almost like the difference of H. biocellatus over time.

My H. biocellatus as a juvie in QT


And as a terminal male.

Wish I had pictures of my Diamond Tail flasher but I can't seem to find them.

Love your black cap! Another fish I have never had luck with. They always seem to find the smallest hole in any screen top.

 

[J1a]

I loved mine. I wish they didn't get so dark on their back over time in brightly lit tanks. Mine was prettier as a newly transitioned male than as a terminal....almost like the difference of H. biocellatus over time.

My H. biocellatus as a juvie in QT


And as a terminal male.

Wish I had pictures of my Diamond Tail flasher but I can't seem to find them.

I would say the true beauty of this fish is when it flashes.

 

[czoolander]

For colour AND working:
Halichoeres iridis
Halichoeres chrysus
Halichoeres biocellatus
Halichoeres cosmetus
Common names in order are:
Radiant/Multicolor Wrasse
Canary/Yellow Coris Wrasse
Christmas/Red lined Wrasse
Pudding wife/Cosmetus wrasse (I can’t remember the common name that isn’t pudding wife wrasse).
But as said above, look through images on this thread then we can say what will and won’t work aswell as what does jobs and what won’t do a job but just adds flashy colours!!

Halichoeres Cosmetus is Adorned Wrasse.

I have one very beautiful wrasse but very aggressive . Mine is anyway makes me nervous to add more wrasse in with him/her because the last fish I added was a clownfish and it was chased/nipped for a week straight all day completely obsessed with the clownfish