I was looking for a larger fish for my 125 reef and I came across one of these, a lunare wrasse (Thalassoma lunare). I found it on another site and they said it grows to only 3-4 inches and is reef safe. I saw another source that said 13 inches in the wild. I was just doing some research and wanted to know if this wrasse would be suitable for my tank. Currently I only have a small Desjardinii Sailfin, Two Lyretail Anthias, and a Tomato Clown. Thanks for any info on this fish or any suggestions on another type.
Lunare Wrasse
- Thread starter mdog3000
- Start date
LauraCline
New member
He will gut the shrimp and possibly nip your anthias. They can be pretty aggressive.
i would say it is a 50/50 chance... i had one in my 72 for 10 months and was a model citizen...then one day brought home a zoa frag and not two seconds after i placed it in the tank he had already eaten all the zoas...next day he was gone. lol
as far as being aggressive he only showed aggression to my spotted hawk when first introduced...then he was fine with everyone
as far as being aggressive he only showed aggression to my spotted hawk when first introduced...then he was fine with everyone
I had one when I had my FOWLR setup. Grew from about 4 inches to 8 in about 6 months. I don't know about corals but you can kiss your clean up crew good bye. I tried a large softball size hermit crab and one morning woke up to legs and claws scattered on the sand bed. They are highly aggressive feeders and active fish I have read they should be that last fish introduced. I tried to add a tusk fish that was about 4 inches and it almost killed it before I could get it out of the tank. IMO not suitable for a mixed community or reef tank. There are a number of fairy and flasher wrasses that stay at 3-5 inches which would work. Check out Live Aquaria.
bureau13
New member
My experience is pretty similar to the others who have had shrimp or crab issues. I had a pre-existing cleaner shrimp when I introduced the wrasse, and I never saw any problems, however after a vacation one time the cleaner was gone. I didn't think anything of it, and bought another one. I put it in, left the room for maybe five minutes, and when I got back I noticed a pile of discarded cleaner shrimp parts in one coner.
The fish are amazingly fast swimmers, and when using live food especially they put on quite a show. Mine also liked to get into sand-spitting battles with my female maroon clown, which was always entertaining. However, if you want to keep stuff like cleaner shrimp...not such a good choice.
jds
The fish are amazingly fast swimmers, and when using live food especially they put on quite a show. Mine also liked to get into sand-spitting battles with my female maroon clown, which was always entertaining. However, if you want to keep stuff like cleaner shrimp...not such a good choice.
jds
gdavis17
New member
When I bought mine it was about 2 inches and very peaceful. In a year it grew to about 4 inches and started killing fish. I agree it is a 50/50 chance, but I believe it is one of the more aggressive wrasses. Good luck if you do decide to get one, they are a really beautiful fish.
Alright thanks for the opinions. Sounds like a should find a better choice. Good thing I didnt just go and buy one. I was looking at the two websites that you guys recommended and I am fond of several of the flasher wrasses. Are those alright? They seem to stay relatively small. Thanks for the help
Wrasses in the Thalasoma genus are voracious eaters and would probably take out most or all of your shelled inverts so I would not consider them reef safe. The are also very active to the point of being in a frenzy and that may bother your other fish. They will eat small fish although it doesn't appear you have any. They also get huge. I had a T. klunzingeri years ago that was a good 10 inches and thick when I sold it to a guy who had a 500 gallon fish only tank. The colors on my wrase were gorgeous. They are beautiful fish that are very common on coral reefs in the wild but would only be appropriate in a very large reef tank where their invert predation would have a smaller impact. Try one of the wrasses from the Halichoeres genus. Some of them get fairly large and overall they are less destructive.
sean48183
New member
Move the fire shrimp and get one. I have one and dig him. Very entertaining fish. He chases his own tail, dive bombs the substrate, and just swims real fast and stops and lays down for no reason. Got him when he was about 4" and he is now about 6 but wow have his colors changed. They really become show peices when they reach adults. I have 2 large hermits in there with him and he flips their shells over then gets a good pinch on the face and takes off. I would suggest glueing down any coral frags however as they do like to flip over small rocks to look for food underneath. As far as aggressive he is no trouble at all and gets picked on regularly by my tomato clown and 4 stipe damsel. Even my chromis chase him from time to time. Best part is I got him for around $10.
