6-line wrasse attacking mandarine

[reef_researcher]

I just added a mandarine to my tank and my 6-line wrasse almost instantly set out to attack him. My wrasse also bothered our green clown goby whenhe was new and out black clown goby all the time.

Has anyone else noticed this behavior or have any suggestions for dealing with the wrasse and mandarine?? There is no way to remove the wrasse and I really would like to have both.

 

[Angel*Fish]

I have heard of this - I would get one of them out before the 6-line has a chance to bite the mandarin's eyes off.

Mandarins are easy to catch while they are sleeping. So are 6-lines if you know what hole they sleep in. Just cover the hole & remove the rock into a bucket of salt water.

It makes sense that they don't work out together - they are both pod hunters. I have seen clown gobies hover & hunt mandarin style also.

Also many people say that 6-lines turn "mean" when they reach a certain level of maturity.

Good luck

 

[The steven liu]

I agree, these two fishes share almost the same diets so it makes sense for them to face off based on harvest territory.

 

[marrone]

6-Line wrasse equals bad news in most people tanks, even large tanks.

It's probably better to get rid of the 6-Line as it will cause trouble in time with other fish that you have or may want to add.

 

[Reefugee]

I had the same problem. My 6 line was constantly harassing my mandarin. It's a hard call because I like both fish. But my GF prefers the mandarin, so I guess the 6 line will have to go.

 

[Psyire]

You'll have to remove one of them unfortunately. They both compete for the same food and your tank probably isn't big enough to support the shared load on your pod population.

 

[Wolverine]

6-lines are often fairly aggressive, especially to smaller, peaceful fish, and especially to fish that are food competitors, both of which apply to mandarins.

In a tank that size, a 6-line will really limit what else you can keep. OTOH, a tank that size is unlikely to support enough fauna to keep a mandarin alive anyway, so I would return it if you can.

Dave

 

[Angel*Fish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7172547#post7172547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Wolverine


In a tank that size, a 6-line will really limit what else you can keep. OTOH, a tank that size is unlikely to support enough fauna to keep a mandarin alive anyway, so I would return it if you can.

Dave

Good point...especially if it's the red/blue kind as they get big- the green spotted one is more appropriate for a 30g tank and it wouldn't be a toss it in and forget it kind of thing - you might have to jump through some hoops to keep him fed...if you're not inclined to do that, I vote take the mandarin back also