Yellow wrasse in a 40 br???

[dougers31]

I really would like to keep a yellow(some refer to it as a canary) wrasse in my new 40 breeder reef. Is it possible to keep one in a tank with either bare bottom or a shallow sand bed? Also would it attack cleaner shrimp or other inverts??? The other fish I would like to keep are a clownfish, blenny(algae eater), firefish(?), royal gramma(?), and a cherub pygmy angel. Any thoughts....

 

[pumarjr]

I kept one in my rimless without issue. until he decided one night that he wanted to try being an acrobat and I found him in the morning on the floor.

 

[dougers31]

I kept one in my rimless without issue. until he decided one night that he wanted to try being an acrobat and I found him in the morning on the floor.

Bummer. I plan on having some kind of netting or plexiglass cover on the tank so hopefully there will be no acrobatics.

 

[Ace25]

I had one in a 29G for 6+ years without any issues. Great peaceful wrasse but it will try and jump out at some point. Mine has been in a 75G for the past 5 years and still doing great. I have a euro braced tank with a canopy and at least once a week I hear him try and jump out but since it can't it flops right back in the tank. It never tried to jump when it was in my 29G open top tank thankfully. It is the oldest fish in my collection now at 11+ years.

 

[Ace25]

Oops, forgot to answer the rest of your questions. Mine developed a taste for small cleaner shrimp at age 5, lasted about a year where I couldn't have any shrimp in the tank, but then it got over it and I have peppermint and cleaners in the tank again.

The wrasse does need a good size sandbed. Not a DSB, but at least 1", preferably a little deeper in order to sleep at night. They dive in the sand and you don't want them smacking their heads on the bottom. The other fish you want to keep all sound fine from my experience, I have had all of those same fish in with the yellow wrasse, but I could never keep firefish from jumping.

 

[dougers31]

Sounds like good info, thank you. Might have to add some more sand since my sandbed is about a 1/2 inch at the moment...

 

[evolved]

Agree with the advice you've been given; the only issue you have is you need more sand.

 

[dougers31]

I might be able to put up to an inch of sand in there but that would be at the max....

 

[ReeferBee]

I think in inch will be alright. That's about all I have in most of my tank, and I keep a canary and a melanurus.

 

[dougers31]

Thought I would finally add an update. I picked up a yellow wrasse and he is awesome. I have just under an inch of sand and he seems to be doing fine burying himself each night Great fish!