Crazy, crazy yellow coris wrasse.

[jmm]

About three years ago I bought two tiny yellow coris wrasses. They were smaller than a kitchen match. They did well, burying at first but then learning my light schedule.

Fast forward three years. They grew up and it appears, since one was slightly larger and a somewhat different shape that I had a male and a female. The male was dominant and obnoxious. The female was a model citizen. The male ate all my small snails and hermits and kept the cleaner shrimp hidden in the rocks. He also harassed some of the other fish in the tank. He never hurt them but he challenged them and annoyed or scared them. I tried to trap him out but he was too smart for that.

One day, while feeding the tank, I turned my back for a couple of minutes and he jumped out. I gathered him up and put him in another tank. It had one inhabitant, a Harlequin Tusk about the size of the Coris. The Harlequin challenged and the Coris buried. I didn't see him for four days and as soon as he came out the Harlequin made him bury again.

I put a divider in the tank that kept the Harlequin on the opposite end from where the Coris buried. After four days he came out and ate and looked great.

I decided that the divided tank was too punishing for the Harlequin and since the Coris hadn't really hurt any body in his old tank I would return him. Of course he buried immediately upon his return.

I didn't see him for a month so I assumed he died under the sand. Then, today he came out. The female chases him now and appears to be the dominant one. But he's not hiding and he eats and looks well.

Crazy fish, crazy hobby.

 

[Nina51]

crazy but gorgeous fish! when i added one to my tank, he immediately dove into the sand. i figured i'd see him in a few days. a few days went by, then a few weeks. many weeks later, thinking he was a goner, i caught a couple of glimpses of him but they were fleeting and had i blinked, i woulda missed it. fast forward 3 months, there he was in all his yellow glory swimming around the tank. he was a bit ragged looking but ok. he's been out ever since. he goes to bed with the chickens and pops up out of the sand every day at 11 a.m. you can just about set your watch by him.

 

[2000se]

i too am looking at getting one of these, but i do fear for the safety of my snails and shrimp. Think they would be ok.. or is it just a "see what happens"?

 

[Marshall O]

Every fish is unique, but in general, most Halichoeres are safe with snails and shrimp. The larger members are more of a gamble. I have a Halichoeres in both of my reef tanks (H. melanurus and H. iridis) and neither have ever touched a shrimp or snail.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk

 

[PirateToast]

i too am looking at getting one of these, but i do fear for the safety of my snails and shrimp. Think they would be ok.. or is it just a "see what happens"?

Every yellow coris wrasse I've had has been a model citizen. Never even threatening anything. However, I think there may be multiple species marketed as yellow coris wrasses, but again, I've never had an issue.

 

[jmm]

Every yellow coris wrasse I've had has been a model citizen. Never even threatening anything. However, I think there may be multiple species marketed as yellow coris wrasses, but again, I've never had an issue.

Since I bought two from the same shipment at the same local store, I assume they were caught together. They were the same tiny size. But as they grew over the years they developed distinct differences, both in appearance and behavior. The smaller one is not aggressive and doesn't eat snails or hermits. The larger one is (or was) a disruptive fish that ate lots of snails and hermits. His stomach was swollen after a binge feast. The shrimp hid from him.

Now that he's back in the tank and pretty much adjusted, he's picking up his habit of barreling through a group of fish, scattering them in all directions, but usually does this only when feeding. He's really never hurt anyone but he does scare them.