Wetmorella

[Camaronero]

Good afternoon,
Please I need ALL the info I can get on the Wetmorella wrasses. Owned a yellow/white banded or a tanaka’s possum wrasse¿ LMK what your experiences were¡¡
I’m setting up a WaterBox 25 Peninsula and I’d prefer doing a species only reef with only ONE of the three types. I read that yellow banded possum wrasses like being in groups¿¿ Also my LFS has owned 2 yellow banded in the same tank for 1 year with no problems; so please let me know if you’ve had more than 1 in your aquarium and if I’m really playing with my luck if I go ahead and do a species only¡
Thank you I hope everyone who reads/replies enjoy the rest of their weekend!

 

[blaxsun]

You're playing with your luck on a 25-gallon, yes.

 

[PR_nano]

I had a white banded and a pink streaked wrasse in a 20 gallon. Unfortunately, the white banded didn't make it due to a freak accident. The time they were both together there were no issues. Make sure your pod population is sustainable because they will spend the entire day hunting and picking at rocks.

I really like the Tanaka the most with the white line going over the eye, seems to be the rarest of the three. Follow by the white banded and last the yellow banded which seems the most common of the group. The white lines pop under blue light. Good luck!

 

[Camaronero]

You're playing with your luck on a 25-gallon, yes.

100% My bad, sorry about that smh. I realized I would be pretty much gambling my water quality + raising high chances of conflict since it would be overstocking... 3+ fish is questionable for me now since I don’t want complications down the line.
Can I live in somewhat tranquility owning only a pair (I’ll wait patiently until my LFS gets a hand on another chill pair while growing my pod population as stated by the helpful person above ) if I plan to add nothing else except sexy shrimp OR anemone shrimp¿¿
The only other nano fish I’d debate getting if I just got a single wetmorella is either a geometric hawkfish (very debatable since they’re semi aggressive¿), OR a Pygmy coral croucher (rare)¿
LMK I’d rather be safe then sorry + thank you both for the input¡

 

[i cant think]

100% My bad, sorry about that smh. I realized I would be pretty much gambling my water quality + raising high chances of conflict since it would be overstocking... 3+ fish is questionable for me now since I don’t want complications down the line.
Can I live in somewhat tranquility owning only a pair (I’ll wait patiently until my LFS gets a hand on another chill pair while growing my pod population as stated by the helpful person above ) if I plan to add nothing else except sexy shrimp OR anemone shrimp¿¿
The only other nano fish I’d debate getting if I just got a single wetmorella is either a geometric hawkfish (very debatable since they’re semi aggressive¿), OR a Pygmy coral croucher (rare)¿
LMK I’d rather be safe then sorry + thank you both for the input¡

You can live in peace having a pair but pairs are hard to get and even harder to see which specimen is which sex.
I’d recommend sticking to one and maybe a pink streak wrasse - Also, NO to urchins. The reason why is due to a past experience when my urchin (Pincushion) ate my Wetmorella tanakai, I have now said no urchins again as I have a fish smaller than that - The griessingeri goby.
This was in my nano two years ago, and the urchin must have gotten hold of him when he was asleep.

 

[Camaronero]

You can live in peace having a pair but pairs are hard to get and even harder to see which specimen is which sex.
I’d recommend sticking to one and maybe a pink streak wrasse - Also, NO to urchins. The reason why is due to a past experience when my urchin (Pincushion) ate my Wetmorella tanakai, I have now said no urchins again as I have a fish smaller than that - The griessingeri goby.
This was in my nano two years ago, and the urchin must have gotten hold of him when he was asleep.

Thank you for the great input¡ I’ve held wild sea urchins when I was younger and the tiny little moving arms hold on to you with a light suction like feeling, so I can see why they easily have the potential to get a hold of any smaller fish/invertebrates. Reading that the wetmorellas and the pink streaked wrasse are curious rock dwellers, I’ll definitely take your word and stay away from urchins; or anything that would stray from being peaceful near and on the rock work. Also You couldn’t be more right about the difficulty of acquiring/owning a pair. Feeling like that’s gonna be a long wait + fat headache to identify the gender.
So.... I’m gonna see if I can add more to my aquascape to have more crevices for hiding/dining/sleeping and comfortably house 1 wetmorella and either a coral croucher goby or pink streaked wrasse. I’ll definitely add pods too and HOLD UP¡ Are these fish that delicate that I’m gonna need a cover/modified top for my vortech???

 

[i cant think]

Thank you for the great input¡ I’ve held wild sea urchins when I was younger and the tiny little moving arms hold on to you with a light suction like feeling, so I can see why they easily have the potential to get a hold of any smaller fish/invertebrates. Reading that the wetmorellas and the pink streaked wrasse are curious rock dwellers, I’ll definitely take your word and stay away from urchins; or anything that would stray from being peaceful near and on the rock work. Also You couldn’t be more right about the difficulty of acquiring/owning a pair. Feeling like that’s gonna be a long wait + fat headache to identify the gender.
So.... I’m gonna see if I can add more to my aquascape to have more crevices for hiding/dining/sleeping and comfortably house 1 wetmorella and either a coral croucher goby or pink streaked wrasse. I’ll definitely add pods too and HOLD UP¡ Are these fish that delicate that I’m gonna need a cover/modified top for my vortech???

I haven’t actually kept a possum with a powerful power head I don’t think, maybe but that was a few years ago so I can’t really remember. This is what the tank looked like though. Pretty sure it once had a silver belly wrasse in it - she was beautiful when I had her

 

[Camaronero]

I haven’t actually kept a possum with a powerful power head I don’t think, maybe but that was a few years ago so I can’t really remember. This is what the tank looked like though. Pretty sure it once had a silver belly wrasse in it - she was beautiful when I had her

Very neat¡ I’m not trying to deal with sand so I will be doing a bare bottom; I will be working with ~20ish pounds of live rock here is the front/side/top view of my aquascape (with some help it took 2ish hours since I was too scared to break them into smaller pieces lol). I have a nice little cave on the back side of the base piece that was created while making the sturdy base + the machine cut part of the rocks exposes multiple larger holes in each rock... Did I do good or did I just embarrass myself¿ Also forgive me for the black and white photos my walls are an undisclosed color which is very awkward to explain LOL.

 

[Hairyteeth]

No expert here, I’ve had my yellow banded for a few months now, tiny little juvenile… tank is 2.5yo great pod population and continue to pour pods in… hasn’t eaten any frozen yet, maybe a couple refrigerated tigger pods?
Thinking that scape doesn’t provide enough hiding places for the little guy, or at least until it’s packed with corals,
On the Pygmy perchlet, I wouldn’t I’ve own one before, they occupy the same area, eat the same bugs and the perchlet can be mean, but they are amazing fish, easier to keep than the wrasse and very inquisitive

 

[Camaronero]

No expert here, I’ve had my yellow banded for a few months now, tiny little juvenile… tank is 2.5yo great pod population and continue to pour pods in… hasn’t eaten any frozen yet, maybe a couple refrigerated tigger pods?
Thinking that scape doesn’t provide enough hiding places for the little guy, or at least until it’s packed with corals,
On the Pygmy perchlet, I wouldn’t I’ve own one before, they occupy the same area, eat the same bugs and the perchlet can be mean, but they are amazing fish, easier to keep than the wrasse and very inquisitive

Nice input and thanks for the heads up on the perchlet¡ I apologize for my way of wording things. Being my favorite fish, the wetmorella is gonna be introduced when the conditions allow so please hit me with all the constructive criticism y’all got. After reading more about them, I would compare this wrasse to a mandarin/dragonet, so even if my LFS ends up selling one that is happily eating prepared/frozen food and is outgoing like their Yellow banded pair listed as “not for sale” .... I prefer to be safe then sorry, so i can easily wait on it until the scape is more intricate w/ corals and invertebrates including a healthy pod population. I am not planning on stocking more than 2 nano fish so my choices have to be precise + well thought out. You make a great point comparing the behavior and diet of both species, I feel slow lol.
Do you think invertebrates like sexy shrimp would have a severe impact on the competition for food/living space of the wrasse¿¿

 

[i cant think]

Nice input and thanks for the heads up on the perchlet¡ I apologize for my way of wording things. Being my favorite fish, the wetmorella is gonna be introduced when the conditions allow so please hit me with all the constructive criticism y’all got. After reading more about them, I would compare this wrasse to a mandarin/dragonet, so even if my LFS ends up selling one that is happily eating prepared/frozen food and is outgoing like their Yellow banded pair listed as “not for sale” .... I prefer to be safe then sorry, so i can easily wait on it until the scape is more intricate w/ corals and invertebrates including a healthy pod population. I am not planning on stocking more than 2 nano fish so my choices have to be precise + well thought out. You make a great point comparing the behavior and diet of both species, I feel slow lol.
Do you think invertebrates like sexy shrimp would have a severe impact on the competition for food/living space of the wrasse¿¿

I personally wouldn’t compare the genus wetmorella to Dragonets as they’re much easier to wean onto frozen. My tanakai loved the mix of frozen and mysis I fed my tanks (Still do). I personally started with a large population of pods, and having a peaceful bottom dweller helped it to eat frozen. I think it looked at the other guys and saw it’s good and not bad. The bottom dweller I had with the wrasse was a yasha goby. I also do this now, and have a few rather hard fish to keep;
- Radiant Wrasse (Going on 1.5 years now)
- Copperband Butterflyfish (Going on 2 years)
- Griessinger Goby (Going on a month now)
- Blue Star Leopard Wrasse (Going on 7-8 months now)
I even had an attempt at a Flashing Tilefish which are supposedly the hardest tilefish to keep and got him eating to the point he didn’t stop. Owned that guy for about 4-5 months.

I get them feeding by adding them straight to a reef, no QT or anything. Just straight in to get them settled and have them in with an established pod population. Once they settle in, if they don’t eat then I know they have enough food from the pods in the tank, but most of the time they’ll watch the other guys going ham at the food and do the exact same. In fact, it’s worked so well to the point a fish I own that is almost never known to eat frozen in captivity - The Griessinger Goby -will crawl over to a small piece of mysis/brine in the sand and eat it, he normally eats it if he sees it in the sandbed and it’s small enough for his mouth (Still rather large bites he has though).

 

[Camaronero]

I personally wouldn’t compare the genus wetmorella to Dragonets as they’re much easier to wean onto frozen. My tanakai loved the mix of frozen and mysis I fed my tanks (Still do). I personally started with a large population of pods, and having a peaceful bottom dweller helped it to eat frozen. I think it looked at the other guys and saw it’s good and not bad. The bottom dweller I had with the wrasse was a yasha goby. I also do this now, and have a few rather hard fish to keep;
- Radiant Wrasse (Going on 1.5 years now)
- Copperband Butterflyfish (Going on 2 years)
- Griessinger Goby (Going on a month now)
- Blue Star Leopard Wrasse (Going on 7-8 months now)
I even had an attempt at a Flashing Tilefish which are supposedly the hardest tilefish to keep and got him eating to the point he didn’t stop. Owned that guy for about 4-5 months.

I get them feeding by adding them straight to a reef, no QT or anything. Just straight in to get them settled and have them in with an established pod population. Once they settle in, if they don’t eat then I know they have enough food from the pods in the tank, but most of the time they’ll watch the other guys going ham at the food and do the exact same. In fact, it’s worked so well to the point a fish I own that is almost never known to eat frozen in captivity - The Griessinger Goby -will crawl over to a small piece of mysis/brine in the sand and eat it, he normally eats it if he sees it in the sandbed and it’s small enough for his mouth (Still rather large bites he has though).

That’s a very impressive list, I hope to reach your level of expertise, and I’ll serious consider your introduction process and diet so I can steer clear of any feeding complications. With a ~25 gallon bare bottom tank I can’t house most known nano fish that are sand dwelling so I’ll keep looking for other options for a tank mate that won’t give me or the wetmorella any problems.

 

[oreolk]

I have a white banded that lives in my 20 gallon frag tank. She has no problems with the reefwave 25 in the tank and she loves sustainable aquatics hatchery diet pellets,

 

[Camaronero]

I have a white banded that lives in my 20 gallon frag tank. She has no problems with the reefwave 25 in the tank and she loves sustainable aquatics hatchery diet pellets,

Awesome to hear it’s eating pellets! You own my favorite of the 3 types so thank you for replying¡ What was she eating when you acquired her¿ Also do you have any inverts in that frag tank¿

 

[jkcoral]

I have a yellow banded possum and a pink streaked wrasse in my 30g long. They are, by far, my favorite fish I’ve ever owned, and the first (and only) I’ve given names to in my combined time in the hobby.

Yes, you’ll see various websites/sources of information claim that possum wrasses can be kept in groups. But I’ve never seen it done in practice. This is mostly due to a couple of factors. First, they are difficult to sex, so being able to find one male and one or more females can be incredibly challenging and you run the risk of mortal combat in the event of two males being in the same tank. And second, they have been known to be bullies to their own kind (likely because they are the same sex), with the larger of the possums beating up on the smaller almost without fail.

Here is another short, interesting read: https://reefs.com/magazine/aquarium-fish-possum-wrasses-genus-wetmorella/

Now on to the pink streaked… wow… what a great fish. Absolutely beautiful colors on these fish. The bright pink and blueish hues are just stunning, and their “glowing” orange eyes always catch your attention. I’d highly recommend one. They have a reputation for being shy and cryptic like the possum wrasses, but in my experience, my little guy is not shy in the least. He is always out and swimming along with the other fish, and he holds his own too, even flaring up his spines if one of the bigger fish run him the wrong way haha!

You asked about these fish being “delicate” or fragile. And on this point, I had absolutely no issues with my possum wrasse and they are known for being pretty hardy little fellas. Now pink streaked wrasses are a slightly different story. I’ve had no issues with mine, and he quickly accepted ocean nutrition “real oceanic eggs” within minutes of being in the tank and was eating small mysis 24 hours later (a voracious appetite for such a small fish!). This being said, they are horrible shippers, and the loss rate on shipping is extremely high. From suppliers I’ve talked to, only about 4 out of 10 survive shipping, and only half of those survive in customer tanks a month out.

Given they are such bad shippers, the best thing you can do is get a pink streaked wrasse that has been in the store for a at least a few days and is eating. That is, try and avoid taking a pink streaked home if it was just received at the store earlier that day.

Both are great fish! And they are awesome to see cruising around together!

P.S. - get a tuxedo urchin, they are great, tiny, and completely reef safe.

 

[Camaronero]

I have a yellow banded possum and a pink streaked wrasse in my 30g long. They are, by far, my favorite fish I’ve ever owned, and the first (and only) I’ve given names to in my combined time in the hobby.

Yes, you’ll see various websites/sources of information claim that possum wrasses can be kept in groups. But I’ve never seen it done in practice. This is mostly due to a couple of factors. First, they are difficult to sex, so being able to find one male and one or more females can be incredibly challenging and you run the risk of mortal combat in the event of two males being in the same tank. And second, they have been known to be bullies to their own kind (likely because they are the same sex), with the larger of the possums beating up on the smaller almost without fail.

Here is another short, interesting read: https://reefs.com/magazine/aquarium-fish-possum-wrasses-genus-wetmorella/

Now on to the pink streaked… wow… what a great fish. Absolutely beautiful colors on these fish. The bright pink and blueish hues are just stunning, and their “glowing” orange eyes always catch your attention. I’d highly recommend one. They have a reputation for being shy and cryptic like the possum wrasses, but in my experience, my little guy is not shy in the least. He is always out and swimming along with the other fish, and he holds his own too, even flaring up his spines if one of the bigger fish run him the wrong way haha!

You asked about these fish being “delicate” or fragile. And on this point, I had absolutely no issues with my possum wrasse and they are known for being pretty hardy little fellas. Now pink streaked wrasses are a slightly different story. I’ve had no issues with mine, and he quickly accepted ocean nutrition “real oceanic eggs” within minutes of being in the tank and was eating small mysis 24 hours later (a voracious appetite for such a small fish!). This being said, they are horrible shippers, and the loss rate on shipping is extremely high. From suppliers I’ve talked to, only about 4 out of 10 survive shipping, and only half of those survive in customer tanks a month out.

Given they are such bad shippers, the best thing you can do is get a pink streaked wrasse that has been in the store for a at least a few days and is eating. That is, try and avoid taking a pink streaked home if it was just received at the store earlier that day.

Both are great fish! And they are awesome to see cruising around together!

P.S. - get a tuxedo urchin, they are great, tiny, and completely reef safe.

That picture just put the biggest smile on my face thanks for sharing. I think I’ll steer clear of trying to stock more than one possum wrasse. Thanks to everyone’s advice and that very handy article you provided, I guess trying to keep a pair/harem should be left for +100 gallon systems or left to occur only in the wild. Your right, I still haven’t seen anyone with more than a pair (which already has luck involved since I know my LFS is gonna have a hard time telling me which is male and female of their pair) and I read they’re way more outgoing if conditions are right so I think the Pink Streaked is a perfect tank mate¡ Taking your advice, I’m not trying to have a DOA fish, so I’ll ask my LFS if they could try to source some pink streaked wrasse (since I know I’m not the only person who finds these fish absolutely beautiful and unique) to save myself from having to order one online. Also, I heard urchins are a vital for algae control in a bare bottom system BUT I’m scared to death that he’ll get a hold of a fish (keeping in mind that these fish are curious and constantly chilling and picking at anything close to/on the rock work).

 

[i cant think]

I have a yellow banded possum and a pink streaked wrasse in my 30g long. They are, by far, my favorite fish I’ve ever owned, and the first (and only) I’ve given names to in my combined time in the hobby.

Yes, you’ll see various websites/sources of information claim that possum wrasses can be kept in groups. But I’ve never seen it done in practice. This is mostly due to a couple of factors. First, they are difficult to sex, so being able to find one male and one or more females can be incredibly challenging and you run the risk of mortal combat in the event of two males being in the same tank. And second, they have been known to be bullies to their own kind (likely because they are the same sex), with the larger of the possums beating up on the smaller almost without fail.

Here is another short, interesting read: https://reefs.com/magazine/aquarium-fish-possum-wrasses-genus-wetmorella/

Now on to the pink streaked… wow… what a great fish. Absolutely beautiful colors on these fish. The bright pink and blueish hues are just stunning, and their “glowing” orange eyes always catch your attention. I’d highly recommend one. They have a reputation for being shy and cryptic like the possum wrasses, but in my experience, my little guy is not shy in the least. He is always out and swimming along with the other fish, and he holds his own too, even flaring up his spines if one of the bigger fish run him the wrong way haha!

You asked about these fish being “delicate” or fragile. And on this point, I had absolutely no issues with my possum wrasse and they are known for being pretty hardy little fellas. Now pink streaked wrasses are a slightly different story. I’ve had no issues with mine, and he quickly accepted ocean nutrition “real oceanic eggs” within minutes of being in the tank and was eating small mysis 24 hours later (a voracious appetite for such a small fish!). This being said, they are horrible shippers, and the loss rate on shipping is extremely high. From suppliers I’ve talked to, only about 4 out of 10 survive shipping, and only half of those survive in customer tanks a month out.

Given they are such bad shippers, the best thing you can do is get a pink streaked wrasse that has been in the store for a at least a few days and is eating. That is, try and avoid taking a pink streaked home if it was just received at the store earlier that day.

Both are great fish! And they are awesome to see cruising around together!

P.S. - get a tuxedo urchin, they are great, tiny, and completely reef safe.

I may just have to grab a possum as my last wrasse in my nano, they’re beautiful and I miss my old Tanakai.
The Tuxedo mention is actually a good call but even then if it was the size of the tanakai I had, I wouldn’t be 100% sure it won’t take a snack when it has the chance. My tanakai was .25 inch long, and with their very slim body he was tiny.