Any wrasses I can add with a mystery?

[BL1]

I just saw the rare wrasse thread and it's got me thinking about a new wrasse. I had a female leopard wrasse originally and 2 days after adding my mystery, she jumped . Now, I've got a cover on my tank and I'd like to add another beauty to my 75. Are there any that will do ok with this guy?

 

[Willi]

Wrasses

Wrasses

I will start off by saying this is only my opionon that is based on my experience. You can keep other wrasses with the Mystery Wrasse. I currently have a Mystery Wrasse, Yellow coris, Radiant, Tricolor, Red velvet, and green coris in a 130 gallon display. In experience Mystery wrasses seem to set up and defend their territory rather quickly. To over come this a technique that has worked for me is as follows:
1.) Feed the Mystery wrasse very well 2-3 days prior to introducing new wrasses. Well feed fish tend to be less aggressive.
2.) Before adding new wrasses try to re-arrange the aquascaping to disturb the Mystery wrasses territory.
3.) Add several wrasses (3-4) at the same time. This has worked for me and it seems to displace any aggression from 1 fish to several fish. Basically everyone gets their but kicked a little rather than one fish getting pounded.
4.) If you can get wrasses that burrow in the sand like the coris sp. This seems to allow the new wrasses to dive under the sand when they feel to threatened and come back up after tension has resolved. Playing this game allows the wrasses to slowly get used to each other without anyone getting hurt.
5.) Buy wrasses that are atleast the size of your Mystery wrasse.
6.) QT your new wrasses for 3-4 weeks and feed them high protein foods like PE mysis. In my experience fish in general do better when they are conditioned with quality food.

I hope this is helpful!

Scott

 

[Sigmund]

BL1,

Although I agree with Willi that it can be done, I would still advise against it.

Over the years I have had three different Mystery wrasses, mixed with Possum Wrasses, Leopard Wrasses, Fairy Wrasses, and Pink Streaked wrasses. In all three cases even though the Mystery Wrasse was the last in, and I got them small eventually there was some aggression, and as it got larger, the aggression intensified. It never got to the point of that they could not be together at all (had them in both a 75 and ten a 150 gallon) but it definetly affected the behavior of the fish he was bothering. In my case it was usually the BSLW, Pepp Hogfish, fairy wrassses.

If you do do it the smaller wrasses that spend a lot of time in and out of the rock work seemed mostly unaffected. Although the mystery wrassses are beautiful fish, my experience is that they become pigs for food (grow faster than almost any fish i have ever had) and get meaner over time.

 

[cside]

IMO you might be ok with something like a yellow coris. @ sigmund: is that a pikeblenny?

 

[BL1]

Thanks guys, I kinda figured it was a risk having the mystery but, I thought if I added the other wrasse first I'd be ok.