Which 6 wrasses for a 150 mixed reef

[Gjedde]

I am thinking that half a dozen wrasses would be about right for my tank in the long term. The only wrasses i am set on is a dusky wrasse, other than that i am really curious what 6 you would add if you had to have 6.
Current stock is as follows:
Yellowtail damsel
Clown pair
Longnose hawk
Two bar rabbitfish
Aptasia eating filefish. The aptasia has all been eaten so i call it a pellet eating filefish.

Next week i am recieving a blue jaw trigger and a chocolate tang from dr reef.

Mixed reef, cleaner shrimp and a coral banded shrimp. Very aware they may be on the menu.

Footprint of the tank is 60x28 with a 3” sandbed. Pod population is solid and i dose phyto daily.

 

[rcpiv93]

I am about to set up a similarly dimensioned tank. I plan to run a slightly minimalistic aquascape, so I don't think I would try six wrasses. That said...here are some of my favorites:

Melanurus
Leopard
Radiant
Yellow Coris
Exquisite Fairy
Harlequin Tusk

Would I ever dream of having them all in the same tank? No. But are they all amazing? Yes.

 

[Gjedde]

Yea, i do t have what you would call a minimalist scape. Lots lf caves and line of sight breaks.


I only have a partial list so far, that being:
Dusky
Naokos
Blue star leopard

I may look for a couple flasher wrasses and if i can ever find one a yellowtail tamarin….

 

[threebuoys]

ornate Leopard
or a more expensive Blue Star Leopard,
yellow (Halichoeres chrysus)
melanurus and 6 line are ok but not as flashy as the above.

if you aren't keeping coral, lots of attractive options but i don't have first hand experience

 

[i cant think]

I am thinking that half a dozen wrasses would be about right for my tank in the long term. The only wrasses i am set on is a dusky wrasse, other than that i am really curious what 6 you would add if you had to have 6.
Current stock is as follows:
Yellowtail damsel
Clown pair
Longnose hawk
Two bar rabbitfish
Aptasia eating filefish. The aptasia has all been eaten so i call it a pellet eating filefish.

Next week i am recieving a blue jaw trigger and a chocolate tang from dr reef.

Mixed reef, cleaner shrimp and a coral banded shrimp. Very aware they may be on the menu.

Footprint of the tank is 60x28 with a 3” sandbed. Pod population is solid and i dose phyto daily.

Warning for you, Hawkfish and wrasses can be a difficult one to mix, especially for the more sensitive species (Anampses, Macros, Pseudojuloides etc.).

Theres a lot of species to look at - I’ll find my starting list I gave to another person wanting to add wrasses ;)

 

[i cant think]

Throw out your sixline when you get the chance, that thing will murder flashers/fairies.
You can mix species from within the same genera too! I know, it’s so confusing with wrasses - the easy route is if we give you a starting list of wrasses to look at, and then you come back with a huge list (it will be giant, do not panic) that we can work through and end up with maybe 10 species to pick from :)
So… I would begin looking at;
Anampses
Macropharyngodon
Pseudojuloides
Cirrhilabrus
Paracheilinus
PseudocheilinOPS
Wetmorella
Halichoeres

And, for a starting list, some of my favourites that would suit that tank;
Cirrhilabrus lubbocki - INDO VAR.
Cirrhilabrus nahackyi (yes… I have expensive taste I know)
Cirrhilabrus efatensis/bathiphylus (The cheaper nahackyi)
Cirrhilabrus flavidorsalis
Cirrhilabrus rubeus
Cirrhilabrus naokoae
Cirrhilabrus exquisitus
Paracheilinus angulatus
Paracheilinus flavianalis
Paracheilinus carpenteri
Paracheilinus mccoskeri/amanda
Anampses meleagrides
Anampses melanurus
Anampses twistii
Macropharyngodon choati (Difficult… not a first choice but definitely worth keeping room for later on)
Macropharyngodon meleagris
Macropharyngodon kuiteri
Macropharyngodon ornatus
Macropharyngodon bipartitus/marisrubri
Pseudojuloides splendens
Pseudojuloides kaleidos
Pseudojuloides severnsi/edwardi
Pseudojuloides xanthomos
Pseudojuloides polynesica
Pseudojuloides mesostigma
Halichoeres iridis
Halichoeres biocellatus
Halichoeres leucoxanthus/chrysus
Halichoeres chrysotaenia
Halichoeres melanurus
Halichoeres pelicieri
Pseudocheilinops ataenia
Wetmorella albofasciata
Wetmorella tanakai
Wetmorella nigropinnata

Here we go! There’s so many out there… I’ll get the camera on my tank tonight to show you more ideas but take a look through that thread, give a list of ones you love and we will sort them with what is a good option straight away, what will want some more consideration and what will be almost impossible/we wouldn’t recommend at all.

 

[Gjedde]

@i cant think
I was hoping you might chime in.
Good to know about hawkfish and anampses/Macropharyngodon. The rabbitfish does tend to keep him in check, and ever somce the hawkfish broke its upper jaw, it’s aggression has been nearly nonexistent.
I've had a couple h annularis over the last decade, mccoskers, carpenters, Halichoeres chrysus, Thalassoma bifasciatum, and Halichoeres garnoti. Im hoping to try something different this go around although i always to have a dusky in the mix.
Howabout:
1 H Annularis
1 M bipartitus
1 C naokoae
1 P lineopunctatus
1 C rubrimarginatus
1 Pseudojuloides severnsi

I think that is roughly my ideal list, however if an anampses were to become available near me id probably have to switch it out for either the rubrimarginatus or the lineopunctatus.