Wrasse eating leather corals

[laurendonatella]

hi there! So I’ve been in front of my tank most of the morning trying to figure out what is going on with my leather corals. I have two in my tank and they have been closed up now for about a week. They aren’t shedding and all other coral seem to be doing fine. I moved one thinking maybe it was warfare but I know in general leathers are supposed to be really pretty resilient. So I’ve been wondering what the heck is going on and then I catch sight of my big banana wrasse chomping at one of my leathers. I don’t see any bite marks in the leather itself. Could this be why my leather is closed up? Any recommendations for how to get him to stop doing this?

 

[dwest]

hi there! So I’ve been in front of my tank most of the morning trying to figure out what is going on with my leather corals. I have two in my tank and they have been closed up now for about a week. They aren’t shedding and all other coral seem to be doing fine. I moved one thinking maybe it was warfare but I know in general leathers are supposed to be really pretty resilient. So I’ve been wondering what the heck is going on and then I catch sight of my big banana wrasse chomping at one of my leathers. I don’t see any bite marks in the leather itself. Could this be why my leather is closed up? Any recommendations for how to get him to stop doing this?

If he’s biting it, the coral will close up. It probably comes down to which do you like more.

 

[DarthSimon]

I believe Banana Wrasses can be destructive for reef tank...
Let's ask the Resident Expert:
#Evolved

 

[evolved]

When you say "banana wrasse", what species do you mean? Is it Halichoeres chrysus or Thalassoma lutescens? If it's H. chrysus, then it's simply picking off pests/pods from the coral and not eating the coral itself. If it's T. lutescens, then it could be suspect.

 

[laurendonatella]

Thalassoma lutescens

What is weird is that my toadstool will “bloom” for an hour or two but then close back up. So I’m not sure if it’s related to me seeing my wrasse nip at it or not, but when I have seen him nip, he seems to more go for it at the base where the frag is glued to my rock.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Thalassoma lutescens

What is weird is that my toadstool will “bloom” for an hour or two but then close back up. So I’m not sure if it’s related to me seeing my wrasse nip at it or not, but when I have seen him nip, he seems to more go for it at the base where the frag is glued to my rock.

That behavior is it picking at microfauna, but inadvertently biting the coral, too.

 

[laurendonatella]

Thank you!!

 

[jeffchapok]

I've caught my six-line picking at the polpys and the body of my long polyp toadstool. There appear to be some nibbles along the edges too, although I haven't actually seen him doing that.

The coral has been unhappy for some time, and I suspected it was getting ready to shed, but then I saw the wrasse picking at it last week. It appeared that he actually bit off one of the polyps.

 

[betareef]

When you say "banana wrasse", what species do you mean? Is it Halichoeres chrysus or Thalassoma lutescens? If it's H. chrysus, then it's simply picking off pests/pods from the coral and not eating the coral itself. If it's T. lutescens, then it could be suspect.

Hey know it's an old thread, but I just put a Halichoeres species wrasse in my tank and a day later saw him take a bite or two from some leather coral. There is actually a chunk missing from a toadstool leather and showing the white inside. I saw him bit at a sinularia as well.

He seems to attack the bases - so maybe there are some things living down there that he is after - but he was definitely taking the coral flesh with it.

A few days after that, he has dug a hole behind a rock, settling in, and seems to have stopped biting the coral (hopefully). Maybe he decided leather coral does not taste so good :)

The wrasse is similar to melanurus. It's a local fish that annoys us fisherman by stealing bait at the local jetty. Usually abut 4 or 5 inches long.