Melanarus a good idea?

[RoDogVillan]

I was thinking of adding a melanarus wrasse to my attack but i am unsure of the compatibility and the hardiness. Any advice?

 

[lhm nole]

I have a melanarus have not mess with my cleaner crew or me cleaner shrimp pair he is not a adult yet.. He did have a small bristle star in his mouth the other day.. Fairly hardy just have to get them through fish few weeks of shipping stress. Yes I had a few flatworms and after 3 months of having him do not see a single one

 

[Winwood]

I recently had to remove one from a tank because it was killing cleaner shrimp.

 

[silverarrow27]

I had one that kept stealing food from my bta and cleanup crew, got rid of it for free.

 

[Dmorty217]

mine leaves the cleaning crew alone but it has been a SOB trying to catch the wrasse out of my DT to let the DT go fallow

 

[rjallen]

I got a pair supposedly a male and a female. After 6 months the "female" had grown faster than the formerly larger male and began to turn male and WWIII started. The male got the worst of it and stayed in the sand all day and was covered with visible cuts/ bite marks. Tried to trap the "female" literally caught every fish in the tank with the exception of two m. wrasses. Then one morning, the cowed male came out to eat and entered the trap. Bang! the formerly female entered and I had two fish locked in close quarter combat. Go them both out and put the wounded male in my QT tank. I gave him away after he healed.

The formerly female was put back into the display tank. Neither fish ever bothered anyone else. I have two large cleaner shrimp and they are left alone as is the a cleanup crew of snails and hermit crabs. I enjoy he, she or whatever but will not put two in a tank again.

As to trapping you wrasse, try a mirror with reflective side facing inward. If you use something like an aqua medic trap made out of clear plastic you might be able to use the wrasse's reflection as bait.

Good luck

RJA

 

[HiImSean]

I love my melanurus wrasse, probably one of my favorite fish in my tank. IMO it's been a very hardy fish, eats everything I feed the tank including free floating nori. It is interested in new fish but nothing violent or damaging is done. They are constant hunters, picking at rocks and in the sand. I also had a flatworm problem, that's the main reason I purchased the fish. Over the next few weeks the flatworms were gone.

He does go for my CUC every once in a while, but I try to keep my tank well fed to avoid that. I will see him eat a hermit here and there and the occosinal asterina star off the glass. I also had 5 peppermint shrimp that have gone MIA and can only assume it was my melanurus. Not enough for me to rehome the fish.

mine leaves the cleaning crew alone but it has been a SOB trying to catch the wrasse out of my DT to let the DT go fallow

I left this in my tank for about a week. Put some mysis inside and the wrasse couldn't stay out, given I wasn't trying to catch the wrasse.


image by slu13913, on Flickr

 

[Wrench]

I maintained a large male melanarus for several years. I bought it as a juvenile and it quickly grew to a stunning 6" male. It was my favorite fish but it did eat shrimp and other small inverts. During a tank move I took the opportunity to find it a new home. I was sad to see him go but I like my shrimp now.

 

[JoelA7]

I have one about 2" in size. When returned to DT after fallow period it started to hunt in 10 minutes. Belly was fat in short order. He's very striking and personable. Love the fish.

 

[3dees]

I bought a female about a year ago. it's now a beautiful male. doesn't bother my peppermints but my snail population is going down.