Best wrasse for pest with exception

[Jasanden]

Can't be aggressive because I would like a couple wrasses. So no six line. But what would be my best option in the fairies or flashers?

 

[curlykid]

melanurus wrasse. best wrasse everrr by far. eats any pest just about (flat worms, red bugs, AEFW, anyhting! even those annoying collonista snails!

 

[Jasanden]

Are they invert safe? I thought I remember reading that they could get aggressive.

 

[aquaph8]

For pest control your better off with halichoeres wrasses than fairy/flasher. Halichoeres leucoxanthus and H. radiatus are both awesome fish along with H. melanurus as mentioned above. They may eat small shrimp though.

 

[pmrossetti]

what's small shrimp mean?

 

[SDguy]

Halichoeres biocellatus is a smaller choice

 

[aquaph8]

what's small shrimp mean?

They dont usually mess with my cleaner or fire shrimp but small pepermints get munched.

 

[pmrossetti]

They dont usually mess with my cleaner or fire shrimp but small pepermints get munched.

"usually"?

 

[aquaph8]

Yeah, it happens.LOL

 

[MCCOOL]

I recently removed my Halichoeres melanurus because it was being overly aggressive with my fairy and leopard wrasse... Just sayin'

Perhaps a larger tank would of curbed some of that aggression

 

[Jasanden]

I recently removed my Halichoeres melanurus because it was being overly aggressive with my fairy and leopard wrasse... Just sayin'

I thought I read this before.

 

[aleonn]

I like my halichoeres chrysus (yellow "coris" wrasse). Hasn't bothered corals or CUC/shrimp, and destroyed the zoa-eating nudibranch pest population.

 

[Jasanden]

What about leopard wrasses? Do they do anything for pest control?

 

[aleonn]

Leopard wrasses are very difficult to keep, as they're quite picky on foods if I remember correctly. With an established tank and attached refugium they have better odds. I don't know them for pest control, but may be wrong.

 

[billyzbear]

Can you keep any of these wrasses without sand?

 

[Akrite]

Can you keep any of these wrasses without sand?

I keep halichoeres in QT for 6 weeks without sand but I think in the long run they will need sand. Small green coris wrasse and melanurus wrasse worked great against pest for me, yellow coris wrasse not so much. Although the yellow coris was much larger +4".

 

[oyster45]

Red flat worms

Red flat worms

Everyone says melanurus is good on falt worms I dont think anything likes those buggers

 

[R-nel]

Melanurus and Leopard for me. yellow coris a hit and miss mine eat nothing but pellets he wont even hunt for food :thumbdow

 

[Jasanden]

Well, I went with Halicheroes Biocellatus. Beautiful wrasse thats constantly on the prowl. But I don't believe he is doing much to the flatworm population.

 

[SDguy]

Anyone tried the cryptic wrasse, Pseudocheilinops ataenia? I saw some at a LFS the other day...they are very pretty, and quite small.