Lennardi Wrasse

[RxMike]

I acquired a pair of beautiful Lennardi wrasses. They were conditioned to and QT'd aquarium life for 45 days by an expert fish keeper( supplies fish to Live Aquaria). The pair were absolutely stunning. They were eating pellet and frozen. I brought them home to my acquarium. The two fish quickly adapted to my reef. After about two weeks. I only saw one of the wrasses. The wrasse would surface every morning and go back into the sand the same time every day like clock work. Yesterday morning I found the fish dead. Water parameters are pristine. No signs of illness anywhere. The fish was perfectly fine the day before. I noticed that my mellanarus wrasse was chasing it the other day. But no signs of nipping or anything like that. Could the mellanarus stress the fish enough to make it die? The two have been tank mates from the beginning. This just happened recently. The mellanarus never really paid mine to it before.
What is the longest anyone has been able to keep this wrasse? I understand they are challenging and dont typically survive very long. I had mine for about 120 days.

What a stunning fish. Very sad to loose this one.

 

[evolved]

The mystery of the species is yet to be unlocked; the longest they have been kept in captivity (to my knowledge) is one year.

Personally, I believe the secret may lie with keeping them below 76F.

In answer to your other question, a wrasse can be stressed to the point of death by another, yes. And just because they start out okay, doesn't mean they will always be. Aggression can come with age. Being chased to the point of seeking refuge in the sand is quite stressful.

 

[RxMike]

Lennardi Wrasse

Thank you,

Yes I was told by the person who acclimated the fish that the ideal temp for these fish is between 74 to 76 degrees. My tank is a bit warm for this species then. I am running between 79- 80 degrees. It was an amazing experience to say the least.

 

[9thwonder]

Are you going to lower the water temperature?