What fish for red planaria?

[legendary]

What fish is my best opportunity for getting rid of the planaria? I currently have a 6-line and it eats them sparingly but not near enough to rid my tank of the planaria.

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

Sixline wrasse stories usually end poorly. I got a H. melarunus ate them all in 2 days haven't seen them since.

 

[ThaBeast]

I think any of the halichores species will do the trick

 

[no1268]

Six line wrassel will definatly drive crazy later on, remove it

 

[xtlosx]

halichoeres melanurus or halichoeres chrysus are great choices. I have both in our system (no planaria) and they are fantastic fish.

 

[Marshall O]

Couple of thoughts. First, I definitely agree that a Halichoeres is your bets bet. However, your existing Sixline likely won't welcome a new Wrasse with welcoming fins. I would strongly consider re-homing it before attempting to add another Wrasse. Second, you need to have a sandbed (and of course a completely covered tank!) for a Halichoeres. Third, I would go with a H. chrysus over H. melanurus. As H. melanurus mature they can get a bit crazy. I have one ~3.5" that I think is partially insane, especially at feeding time. I have heard of many others becoming aggressive once they are mature.

 

[legendary]

My tank has a handful of shrimp and all that I would like to keep alive and have heard stories about the melanurus. Is the chrysus typically reef safe?

 

[Marshall O]

My tank has a handful of shrimp and all that I would like to keep alive and have heard stories about the melanurus. Is the chrysus typically reef safe?

They are as reef safe as a Halichoeres can be :) A new one likely won't touch your existing shrimp, assuming they're not Sexy Shrimp. After it is established, you would need to add any after dark.

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

My melarunus eventually killed both my cleaner shirmp that were introduced first. I dont think my H iridis would hunt shrimp though. H. melarunus get pretty big, but they rock at their job!

 

[scottsdale454ss]

Solid blue damsels eat them up like candy