Lineatus Wrasse experts please chime in

[holdyourlight]

I got a male lineatus about a month and a half ago. He is a big boy~ about 4.5 inches, but his colors are definitely not supermale.

Should i add a submale to push his colors along? I want him to go "terminal male" eventually, and i don't think he will do this without another lineatus, correct?

If i go with the submale which is the better size to introduce? 2 1/2" to 3 1/2" OR 3 1/2 or 4"

I am thinking the smaller one.........?

 

[snorvich]

A female would be better. How large is your tank?

 

[holdyourlight]

A female would be better. How large is your tank?

I was hoping you would respond, snorvich

The tank is 120G - 6 feet long

Just curious why a female would be better?

I haven't had any luck finding one, so the sub-male is my best option right now. Will the submale turn the larger male terminal? What are the potential problems? any problems getting along with my male and female flames?

thanks so much for your help

 

[snorvich]

Well, I don't see problems with the males, but a female is likely to be immediately inspirational to the male. Lineatus are reasonably docile, but a submale may be difficult. Your tank size is excellent for a pair. If you can simulate sundown with your lights, you may even get mating behavior.

 

[snorvich]

I was hoping you would respond, snorvich

Will the submale turn the larger male terminal? What are the potential problems? any problems getting along with my male and female flames?

thanks so much for your help

I am not sure about this, but I think your male will become a supermale or terminal male given inspiration and time; I have seen it happen with a male female pairing.

Female flame wrasses can be very aggressive, especially if you have more than one female. I don't think there would be a problem with a lineatus however.

Be sure to socially acclimate (breeding cup) all additions once you have an established fairy wrasse in your system.

Also, I would deworm (prazipro) all newcomers.

 

[holdyourlight]

I am not sure about this, but I think your male will become a supermale or terminal male given inspiration and time; I have seen it happen with a male female pairing.

Female flame wrasses can be very aggressive, especially if you have more than one female. I don't think there would be a problem with a lineatus however.

Be sure to socially acclimate (breeding cup) all additions once you have an established fairy wrasse in your system.

Also, I would deworm (prazipro) all newcomers.

Thanks for the comments, Steve...really appreciate it

my female flame wrasse is very docile, there is only one female and i have never seen any aggression and she's been with lots of fish

In all honesty i would be fine with just the male i have now if he were to turn supermale/terminal in time, but it sounds like he would need inspiration in the form of a female/submale for that to happen??


also-- i have heard female lineatus can be aggressive, so i was worried about the female flame and female lineatus getting along--i thought maybe a submale would not be as aggressive as a female?

 

[rekn]

have you tried a mirror?

 

[holdyourlight]

have you tried a mirror?

He sees himself in the glass reflection all of the time, he could care less!

 

[snorvich]

In all honesty i would be fine with just the male i have now if he were to turn supermale/terminal in time, but it sounds like he would need inspiration in the form of a female/submale for that to happen??


also-- i have heard female lineatus can be aggressive, so i was worried about the female flame and female lineatus getting along--i thought maybe a submale would not be as aggressive as a female?

Females of almost all fairy wrasses are more aggressive. I don't know if the female flame and female lineatus would have a go, but I would think not as long as they are different sized. Personally, I would not risk a submale with a full grown male. I am reasonably sure your male lineatus will progress, I just don't know if it will get supermale coloration.

 

[tanglovers]

I am currently keepig 5 lineatus (1 male and 4 females) and 4 flame wrasses (1 male and 3 females) together without any issues. They will be going into a 520g tank but right now are in a 6' 100g tank without any aggression. I will be adding at least 1 more female flame to the group to get the numbers equal (I have 3 more females/juveniles in QT right now).

There is also a male chaoti leopard wrasse in the same tnak without any issues with him either.

 

[snorvich]

I am currently keepig 5 lineatus (1 male and 4 females) and 4 flame wrasses (1 male and 3 females) together without any issues. They will be going into a 520g tank but right now are in a 6' 100g tank without any aggression. I will be adding at least 1 more female flame to the group to get the numbers equal (I have 3 more females/juveniles in QT right now).

There is also a male chaoti leopard wrasse in the same tnak without any issues with him either.

Do you get mating behavior from either the flames or lineatus?

 

[holdyourlight]

I am currently keepig 5 lineatus (1 male and 4 females) and 4 flame wrasses (1 male and 3 females) together without any issues. They will be going into a 520g tank but right now are in a 6' 100g tank without any aggression. I will be adding at least 1 more female flame to the group to get the numbers equal (I have 3 more females/juveniles in QT right now).

There is also a male chaoti leopard wrasse in the same tnak without any issues with him either.

Are any of the female lineatus submale/turning submale?

Waynesreef was telling me that he started off with 2 females and ended up with a supermale and submale which is probably the route i am going to have to go

 

[tanglovers]

The full history of my group:

I had a pair for a long time (3 years or so). The super male jumped (found a small hole/gap in the screen top), leaving me with the female (who was quite large 4+"). I left her alone for a good year to year and a half and she never changd in color or grew. I then started the quest of looking for females and after a good 6-8+ months I finally found some. 2 are for sure females, 1 a juvenile and 1 possibly a submale but still small (range from 2.5-3.5") I QT'ed all of these fish and when this was done, I removed my old female (assumed to be male just not showing full color) and added to the QT tnak with the 4 others. There has been zero aggression and the old female has now started flashing and color starting to increase. They have been together for a few months now, the old female is still not show male coloration but I expect it to come. These 5 are now with 4 hawaiian flame wrasses in a 6' 100g holdin tank while I get the 520g display tank up and rolling for them. I was originally considering going with 8 flames and 8 lineatus in the show tank but I may leave the harems as is since they are doing great and no aggression.

 

[holdyourlight]

The full history of my group:

I had a pair for a long time (3 years or so). The super male jumped (found a small hole/gap in the screen top), leaving me with the female (who was quite large 4+"). I left her alone for a good year to year and a half and she never changd in color or grew. I then started the quest of looking for females and after a good 6-8+ months I finally found some. 2 are for sure females, 1 a juvenile and 1 possibly a submale but still small (range from 2.5-3.5") I QT'ed all of these fish and when this was done, I removed my old female (assumed to be male just not showing full color) and added to the QT tnak with the 4 others. There has been zero aggression and the old female has now started flashing and color starting to increase. They have been together for a few months now, the old female is still not show male coloration but I expect it to come. These 5 are now with 4 hawaiian flame wrasses in a 6' 100g holdin tank while I get the 520g display tank up and rolling for them. I was originally considering going with 8 flames and 8 lineatus in the show tank but I may leave the harems as is since they are doing great and no aggression.

Thanks for the info, very informative and interesting
I would leave them alone if it's working !!

I added a female/submale/juvi/whatever it is yesterday. half the size of the male. zero aggression so far. very hopeful in time the male will turn supermale due to the addition

 

[holdyourlight]

OK guys the submale lineatus experiment did not work out too well:

first off the submale came in with swim bladder and only lasted 2 weeks. i got a refund because it came from the doctors still bummed out the fish didn't make it though

also- the male did not pay any attention to the submale whatsoever.

i found a female that i am thinking about purchasing, and hoping that the male will pay more attention to the female than the submale. snorvich, i think you would agree with this?

also can i get away with just one female? my tank is almost maxed.
or do i need to add more than one female for the male to go terminal?

 

[holdyourlight]

can i get away with just one female? my tank is almost maxed.
or do i need to add more than one female for the male to go terminal?

bump
if someone has input on this it would help tremendously!