Wrasse aggression help needed

[Perpetual Novice]

I have a tank with two resident female leopard wrasses. I recently added an ornate leopard wrasse (a different species than the ones I have) and a yellow coris wrasse to my tank at the same time. The yellow wrasse adjusted well and the established wrasses accepted it without a second thought. The ornate leopard wrasse, on the other hand, is very timid and being bullied. It buried right away and stays buried. once or twice a day the new leopard wrasse emerges and is immediately swarmed by the other three. It reminds me of a timid dog at a dog park with everyone coming to investigate. only, in this case, they antagonize it somewhat and the established wrasses make occasional lunges and nips. They don't outright attack it or chase it arround. They swim right up to it slowly back and forth alongside it, as if sizing it up, and seem curious/anxious to put the newcomer in its place. I don't know what is actually going on or how aggressive this behavior really is so nut hope my impressions of the behavior can help give an idea of what I'm observing. The new leopard wrasse is clearly overwhelmed and never ventures more than a foot from where it buries. within minutes it retreats without getting the opportunity to explore or feed. Will this aggression dissipate? is there anything I can do? this has been going on for three days now.

I only saw the new leopard wrasse half-heartedly pick at frozen food in store so I am worried it won't have enough time to learn to eat prepared foods before it starts to go hungry. especially since it doesn't have the chance to explore and hunt pods. Any advice?

 

[Perpetual Novice]

The other thee wrasses spend most of the day patrolling around where it buries waiting for it to come out.

 

[Seanislav]

If you have the option, try putting the newcomer in an acclimation box, so the residents can become more accustomed to the newbie and the newcomer can get something to eat.

 

[Perpetual Novice]

If you have the option, try putting the newcomer in an acclimation box, so the residents can become more accustomed to the newbie and the newcomer can get something to eat.

I have a small mesh cube that could do that job probably. And since I know where it burries I think there’s a decent chance I could catch it. But I highly doubt it will eat in the 9x5x5 enclosure.

how bad is this aggression? Will it maybe resolve on its own? And if not, how long should I wait to act?

 

[Perpetual Novice]

For reference, the new yellow wrasse is almost 6 inches. The original leopard wrasses are 3 and 3.5 inches. And the new leopard is about 4 inches. I know the three leopard wrasses are all female. Not sure about the yellow coris.

 

[Eggs]

I went through something similar. I ended up placing some egg crate around the area where my new wrasse would bury in the sand. Not a full-proof barrier but enough to create somewhat an isolated area which kept the aggressor at bay.
I literally baby sat the tank when I was home and the new wrasse was out; if the aggressor came close I put a net in to keep it away (fish psychology lol). You could probably could just leave a net in the area since most fish will stay away.
After a few days with the new wrasse getting more comfy the aggression did let up and now they get along.

 

[evolved]

If you have the option, try putting the newcomer in an acclimation box, so the residents can become more accustomed to the newbie and the newcomer can get something to eat.

Agree - something like this is always the best option when introducing new wrasses alongside existing ones.

how bad is this aggression? Will it maybe resolve on its own? And if not, how long should I wait to act?

The fact that it is being forced into hiding isn't good. There's no way to say if it might resolve without intervention, but if nothing has changed after a weeks time or so, I would doubt that it would change beyond then.

I ended up placing some egg crate around the area where my new wrasse would bury in the sand. Not a full-proof barrier but enough to create somewhat an isolated area which kept the aggressor at bay.

Something like this is also a fine option.

 

[Perpetual Novice]

I was able to catch the interaction on camera today. The leopard wrasse being bullied was out for about 3 minutes before it retreated. The aggression doesn’t look particularly bad. But it still isn’t getting the chance to hunt or eat. Here is a video.

 

[Perpetual Novice]

The other fish that aren’t wrasses really don’t seem interested in the new ornate wrasse despite what it may look like in the video. When I saw the wrasse emerge I quickly ran to my freezer to thaw out food and feed my tank. I was hoping if I could feed the tank before it buried again that it would have a chance to eat the prepared food. But it backfired because the whole tank saw me open the freezer and began swarming and following me around the tank as I tried to record more video. The end result was just more stress on ornate leopard wrasse that prompted it to bury before I could add any food.

 

[Jesterrace]

Honestly IMHO it's because they are simply too close of a species and the established Leopards aren't keen on the addition.

 

[evolved]

I was able to catch the interaction on camera today. The leopard wrasse being bullied was out for about 3 minutes before it retreated. The aggression doesn’t look particularly bad. But it still isn’t getting the chance to hunt or eat. Here is a video.

Yeah, it doesn't look all that bad, but if it's still continuing today I don't see this ending well. Being forced into constant hiding, be it be aggression or just intimidation, is not sustainable.