Halichores iridis... Safe addition?

[MCCOOL]

I really like the radiant wrasses (Halichores iridis), but liveaquaria lists them as not reef safe. Is this because they eat small inverts like other halichores?

I've got a very peaceful tank (P. Dispar, M. Meleagris, P. Inermis, etc.) And I'm determined to keep it that way, is this fish aggressive at all?

I don't mind if it eats a few crabs/snails but I've got 2 large cleaner shrimp that I'd like to keep, would they be in danger with this fish?

Any other pertinent info on these fish? Thanks for any help

-Jordan

 

[LukFox]

My largest one ate all of my shrimp, picked off snails, and ate small fish. Definitely not aggressive though; he just ate a lot of things.

 

[Jacob D]

My largest one ate all of my shrimp, picked off snails, and ate small fish. Definitely not aggressive though; he just ate a lot of things.

Your Halichoeres iridis ate shrimp and fish? How big was your wrasse? Are you sure it wasn't another Halichoeres species that you had? What types of fish and shrimp did it eat? How big were they?

I can't imagine H. iridis fitting anything but maybe a peppermint shrimp in its mouth.

 

[LukFox]

It was definitely a radiant; I had 3 of them. My big male was caught huge and was about 6 inches. He was a big wrasse that did wrasse things like eat things that would fit in his mouth. He ate camel shrimp, peppermints, and possibly skunk cleaners. Not 100% sure if I had skunks in this tank at the time, though I'm sure he would eat those too. I saw him with a shrimp in his mouth once, and soon after all of them were gone. These were all adult shrimp that I had long before the wrasse. I saw him with my clingfish in his mouth once but it escaped. Shortly after that incident the clingfish disappeared, and I'm pretty sure he just got a better grip the second time. All other fish were not bite size, and he was fine with my percula clowns for example. Not sure how my other radiants would treat shrimp or small fish because by then I wasn't keeping those things thanks to the big guy. The smaller radiants were fine with shrimp in their grow out tank, but the wrasses were very small at the time.

 

[treylane]

The juvis are mellow, prettymuch same behavior as a yellow wrasse.... I've found them to be a little bit less hardy, fwiw.

As adults, most/all halichoeres wrasses are a mixed bag when it comes to shrimps.

 

[Jacob D]

I definitely agree that they're wrasses in all senses of the definition, and I'm not surprised about them eating smaller shrimp (if that was the case). Personally I think large cleaner shrimp like the OP has would be fairly safe (depending on their def. of "large"). Yours is the first account I've heard of any of the smaller Halichoeres sp. eating fish in someone's aquarium.

BTW, according to fishbase H. iridis maxes out at 4 1/2" inches.

 

[lunner]

I had not problem with mine. It was approx. 4.5-5"

 

[MCCOOL]

I've had the shrimp for about 2 years, they are larger than any i have ever seen for
sale, but I have no idea if they're full grown.

Liveaquaria also lists the max size at 4.5", I'm afraid anything bigger might feel cramped in my 60g.

Thanks for all the input so far, it's very helpful.

 

[Moort82]

Mine is a perfect reef citizen. Never seen it pick at anything other than the odd flatworm, which i'm more than happy about.
The only thing that worries me about it is that it does jump ocassionally when spooked but i guess which wrasse doesn't.

 

[MCCOOL]

Moort82,

how big is yours and how long have you had it?

I've got a top made with 2 layers of 1/4" netting for my leopard wrasse and anthias, so jumping isn't an issue.

Thanks

 

[LukFox]

I definitely agree that they're wrasses in all senses of the definition, and I'm not surprised about them eating smaller shrimp (if that was the case). Personally I think large cleaner shrimp like the OP has would be fairly safe (depending on their def. of "large"). Yours is the first account I've heard of any of the smaller Halichoeres sp. eating fish in someone's aquarium.

BTW, according to fishbase H. iridis maxes out at 4 1/2" inches.

Yeah I can't explain why fishbase says that as the max size, but I've seen at least two others on here with large radiants (like mine). Even the female I grew from 1.5" got quite big. If a wrasse wants to eat the shrimp it can just bash it around, too. Doesn't need to eat it whole. The only thing I'd worry about out of the op's list are the shrimp and the P. inermis depending on how big it is. I've seen some really tiny ones lately. Basically I would use caution if adding one, as they don't have tiny fairy wrasse mouths to say the least. Beautiful fish with a great personality, though. I loved mine.

 

[MCCOOL]

Alexa,

you've been very helpful, thank you.

I don't think this is the right fish for my tank. My P. Inermis is pretty small (~1.5") i'd hate for it to get eaten, it's been with me for about a year now.

I also don't think a ~6" fish will be very happy in my 60g tank

 

[LukFox]

At 1.5" with that body shape it would probably be fine, especially if you don't buy a fish that was collected large. After 3 years my 1.5" female only grew to around 5 inches, too. A 60g might be fine depending on the dimensions. I'd still worry a bit about the shrimp as the wrasse grew, though, but it's up to you.

 

[LukFox]

Okay I just went through some old posts and he did eat skunk cleaners. The count was 3 skunk cleaners and 3 peppermints. No camels! Not saying they all will of course, but they can.

 

[oct2274]

I had one for over a year and it was a model citizen, but I did not have any shrimp. They are definitely not going to touch corals and mine didn't pay any attention to other fish. Not aggressive at all. It ate like horse when it was feeding time and would eat anything I put in the tank.

 

[Moort82]

Moort82,

how big is yours and how long have you had it?

I've got a top made with 2 layers of 1/4" netting for my leopard wrasse and anthias, so jumping isn't an issue.

Thanks

Mine is around 4-5" and i've had it around a year or so. Wouldn't hesitate to buy another but i have seen some monsters from time to time that were 6" or so. The big one my friend has was also very laid back and well behaved.

 

[MCCOOL]

thanks for all the info everyone,

sounds like they are fine most of the time, but still too risky for me. I'll have to look elsewhere for a suitable addition.

 

[iamwrasseman]

the radiant will definitely eat snails ,crabs ,shrimp ,and may pick at clams . they are very peaceful and an awesome fish but are also a bit boisterous in a reef tank as they burrow at night and fling gravel around as they burrow . they also can be a pita if the figure out that there are critters on the undersides of your frags and corals . they will relentlessly flip corals over looking for a snack if they figure this out . i have had three or four and all but one were model citizens ,the one that learned that flipping corals meant a snack was a bit of a pain .i still have him and he is in my larger aggressive tank ,there he is a great fish and very beautiful too .they dont eat corals ,just make a mess sometimes but IMOP its worth it .
good luck to ya !

 

[Daniel Reef]

I'm confused about the radiant wrasse. Would you recommend it in a reef tank (I haven't set it up yet)? I noted that Live Aquaria designates the radiant wrasse as not being reef safe, but it also designates the mystery wrasse as being reef safe and says that both wrasses eats snails and shrimp. I'm not sure if I will have any shrimp, but I am concerned about my CUC. I have the radiant wrasse on the top of my list. Any info is appreciated. TIA

P.S. - the picture of the radiant wrasse on LA appears to show the wrasse in a reef tank.

 

[iamwrasseman]

a "reef tank"? no i would not recomend one in a full blown reef . however the radiant will probably not pick on your corals he will disrupt things in your tank . he may flip corals over and try to find pods on the underside etc but he will eat the crabs ,snails and other assorted treats that he likes that usually are in a "reef tank" .