Dragon Wrasse

[birdman1979]

Anyone have experience keeping the dragon wrasse in a mixed FOWLR. I just set up a 75 gallon and was wondering if this would make a good tank mate. The one at my LFS is a juvenile. I hear they become more aggressive once they mature. How are they towards other wrasses?

 

[birdman1979]

Current inhabitants are a percula clown and a 3" hippo tang.

 

[SMOOTHIE]

It would be fine. Small rubble will be turned and if you have a cleanup crew it will be toast. Great fish in a fish only system

 

[iamwrasseman]

awesome personality for a fish and very active too . i have a couple and they are not aggressive at all as they are in with plenty of leopard wrasses and tamrin wrasses which are very docile community fish . the tamrins are always tormenting any new fish in my tanks .i would go for it as there are more upsides then downsides .

 

[jd474]

I'll agree they are one of the most interesting fish to watch, but I have a pretty different experience with them. IMHO, they are by far one of the most aggressive, and destructive wrasses, especially as adults. Our pair (8" & 9", respectively) are total terrors to tank mates, and can easily displace 10 lb. rocks (and do so frequently). They are a "busy" fish, and if they don't like where something is in your tank, they're gonna move it. If you decide to get one, just be prepared. They might be cute and nice as juveniles, but I guarantee their temperament changes as they get bigger/older (esp. in a 75).

Here's a pic of the male, doing what they do when they're not chasing other fish, digging and moving stuff around.

 

[iamwrasseman]

he looks great in that picture . yes they can be aggressive after 5 or six years as i had one that actually lost all his color and finnage he became a boisterous fish to say the least . for at least four years i would say they will be good tank mates after that yes they do get crazy to deal with . most people cant keep a fish for that long so they don't or wont experience it at all .

 

[birdman1979]

Thanks for the info. JD474 the one i'm looking to get is 3" or less. How long will I have before it starts to display the behaivior you describe? Do they grow quite fast? I have a large fuge (20 gallons) I can move him to if he starts trouble and eventually move to a bigger tank.

 

[iamwrasseman]

i have had one for three years now and he still has juvinile finnage and markings . he gets fed way to much but just hasn't turned yet into an adult .i have two others that are very young as they are 1 1/2"long or so and i have had them for a few months . the one that i had for six or seven years changed at about his fifth year to a full blown adult and became a different fish .

 

[jd474]

the one that i had for six or seven years changed at about his fifth year to a full blown adult and became a different fish .

I would agree with that. Ours are close to 10 years old, I believe. Surprisingly enough, they leave the school of shrimp fish alone that are in the tank as well, but give a good "hello" to every other fish in there as they pass by.

 

[birdman1979]

Thx... this has been very helpful. I went and got him this afternoon and he's been eating live brine. Won't touch flakes yet. He's got lots of character already moving rubble and digging in sand. He makes a great addition.

 

[oodle]

I've had my juvenile Dragon Wrasse for about 4 months, and I love him! :spin1:

He does make a mess of my aquarium floor, digging holes and littering it with rubble.

I have also in the tank 1 Longnose Butterfly, 1 Longnose Hawkfish,
1 Sailfin tang, 2 Yellow Tale Damsels, 1 Oceleris Clown, Skunk Shrimp,
and a Sea Urchin.

The wrasse does not bother them at all. They get out of his way and
give him his space, but everyone gets along.

I feed him krill, blood worms, Leopard Danios, and O.N. Reef Prime. :thumbsup:

Be sher to ceep him well fed, and you will have no problem.