Melanarus Wrasse... good / bad

[nseawater]

Has anyone kept a melanarus wrasse in their reef tank? I would search but.... it doesn't work.

I've been considering about getting one and would like to have people's input about this particular wrasse?

Is it reef safe?

Are my inverts safe from the wrasse, e.g. Hermit crabs, cleaner shrimp, nassarius, etc.?

TIA.

 

[RichK]

I had one for about 5 years until it mysteriously died. It is an extremely active fish which, IMO , needs plenty of swimming room. They do seem to grow fast. Mine went from 2" to about 6" in about 3 years. Either tank in you signature will be too small for it. Also, it will eat your cleaners and either harass or eat you hermits as well. I would also suggest a top on the tank as they are great jumpers. Since they hunt most of the day for food, plenty of live rock is also recomended. They also bury themselves in sand to sleep or when feel threatened, so keep that in mind also.

 

[RichConley]

I disagree with a 65 being too small. In my experience, they arent huge swimmers, but more like to cruise through the rocks, constantly lookign for food. They are reef safe in general, but like any of the Halichoris wrasses, theres a chance they may start taking swipes at your snails and hermits.

 

[Skorpinok]

I have one and are great - I have him in my 65g and they are fine in a 65g tank - melanurus.

They do eat the hermits and snails. Great fish but very expensive as to buying cleaners for your tank - it'll chow down on it.

 

[karid]

I agree pretty much with RichK, except about the tank size thing. I just got one about 3 weeks ago from a fellow reefer in the area. Granted, I know that's not much time for me to get to know the fish type, but I thought I'd chime in. I also tried the Search function in this forum unsuccessfully until I tried it one night at 2am.

The fish does bury in sand when it feels threatened, is a very active swimmer (swims back and forth all day foraging off rocks), aggressive eater, a jumper, and picks pods off rocks all day. It hasn't touched any of my inverts so far.

I have red legged hermits, electric blue hermits, turbo snails, peppermint shrimp, and a cleaner shrimp. So far, everyone is fine and he doesn't bother them. My fish is only about 3.5"-4" though.

I have mine in a 90g. That is plenty of room. I think a 65 gallon would be fine as well. It seems weird that RichK's grew to be 6". From all the literature I've read, they only grow to be about 4-5" in the wild (probably smaller in a home aquarium). If the fish stays 4" or so, I don't see a problem. But if for some reason this fish really does get to be 6", then I could see where 65g might be pushing it.

 

[RichK]

My fish was a "supermale" sent to me directly from the collection station in the Pacific. The colors were incredible. It was fine with my cleaners until it "grew up". Then, it ate them, plain and simple. It was smart too. It waited for the shrimp to molt. After the molt, when the shrimp is still "soft", it ate them. It never touched a snail. IMO, if I were to put the fish I had in a 65, it would go nuts. It used to literally jump out of the water when I dropped food in. It was also extremly active. True, when they are small, the 65 would be fine. I am just going on what I experienced with my fish in the 5 years I had it. One thing I can say, its colors never faded. It stayed as vibrant as the day I got it. BTW, it eats anything. I bet if I threw a Chips Ahoy cookie in the tank it would have eaten it.

 

[pamlee78]

M. Wrasse decimates pod population!

M. Wrasse decimates pod population!

I really love the colors on my M. Wrasse
I really don't like the fact that he has eaten ALL the pods in the tank. There might be some left and they all went into hiding. There are a lot of the speck size copepods, but i can tell my Spotted Mandarin is wondering where all the pods went.

I feel obligated to remove the wrasse for the sake of the Dragonette

Suggestions on how to catch the bugger if i decide he has to go??

 

[cubsFAN]

they will eat hermits and snails. i added a few snails and he didn't seem interested, so i added several hermits and snails a few weeks later and he took down quite a few right out the gate. i also think that they are very active fish. mine uses all of my 75 gallon. the tank seemed way too small when i first moved him in, but he has settled down quite a bit and just cruises now. sounds like the 65 should be fine. they are supposed to eat flat worms, but i find that my numbers are increasing again since adding the cleanup crew. doh!

 

[pamlee78]

I still have mine, he is beautiful but he makes a mess throwing sand all over when he comes and goes from under the sand. I still have a few hermits left. I added a Lawnmower Blennie to keep the hair algae down, but I am still having issues with the Caulerpa. I'd get an urchin if it wasn't for the Wrasse. It'd be dead in a flash. It tried to eat my CB Shrimp after it molted, but I caught him in time and put the Shrimp in another tank. The Wrasse had bitten off both his large claws. After a few molts they were back good as new! The Wrasse is very smart and will wait at the top till I throw in a cube of frozen krill. They remind me of Oscars, very aggressive. I wonder if it would tolerate a tang?

 

[LKGRenegade22]

I had one and it was a model citizen for the first few month. Then it started noticeably eating all my snails and killed my hermits. I still kept it around until it started killing and eating my small clams. I had mine a little over a year and it had went from about 4.5 to around 5" by the time I got rid of him. Awesome fish but all they do is hunt and they can wipeout your entire cleanup crew.

 

[skibum9884]

I still have mine, he is beautiful but he makes a mess throwing sand all over when he comes and goes from under the sand. I still have a few hermits left. I added a Lawnmower Blennie to keep the hair algae down, but I am still having issues with the Caulerpa. I'd get an urchin if it wasn't for the Wrasse. It'd be dead in a flash. It tried to eat my CB Shrimp after it molted, but I caught him in time and put the Shrimp in another tank. The Wrasse had bitten off both his large claws. After a few molts they were back good as new! The Wrasse is very smart and will wait at the top till I throw in a cube of frozen krill. They remind me of Oscars, very aggressive. I wonder if it would tolerate a tang?

Interesting that yours was so aggressive. I have a red-headed (H. rubricephalus) who is extremely peaceful towards tank mates that don't live in a shell! It has slowly eaten a good portion of my cleanup crew (I suspect, I haven't actually seen it) and I will replace some of them soon. That said, I have a tuxedo urchin that it doesn't not pay any attention to.

 

[jt_milstead]

Ive seen them up to about 6". When they get larger they can be aggressive to other wrasses as well. They are good bug hunters as well.

 

[skibum9884]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1931755&highlight=halichoeres

FYI, here's another good thread on Halichoeres sp. with lots of pictures.

 

[60G]

I have a melanurus wrasse in my 60 gallon reef its only about 3'' but its doing great.

 

[cubsFAN]

they will eat hermits and snails. i added a few snails and he didn't seem interested, so i added several hermits and snails a few weeks later and he took down quite a few right out the gate. i also think that they are very active fish. mine uses all of my 75 gallon. the tank seemed way too small when i first moved him in, but he has settled down quite a bit and just cruises now. sounds like the 65 should be fine. they are supposed to eat flat worms, but i find that my numbers are increasing again since adding the cleanup crew. doh!

As far as the flat worms are going, they are pretty much gone. If they weren't in my sump I would probably have none at all. He has been ripping apart a nuked acan lord this morning. Don't know what thats all about. I'm getting a smaller tank and this guy will be finding a new home. He's done a great job controlling critters in the tank, but he picks apart the cleanup crew and flips my frags. He won't really be missed.

 

[caligirl84]

We've had our Melanarus Wrasse for about 3 months now. He's beautiful and very active...but, I'm starting to think that maybe he needs to find a new home! He seems VERY aggressive. I believe (not positive) but I believe he ate our clam....I had to keep chasing him away from it.....it might have been dying already and the Wrasse just helped it along, but I actually think he killed it.....now I see he's found one of the brittle sea star and is after that.......are they usually this aggressive? I'm a newbie to a reef tank......oh, and this guy is SO NOT afraid of us or anything else! I have two Tangs (Sailfin and Yellow) in our QT tank, they'll be in there for another week.......what affect will they have on the Wrasse if any?

 

[60G]

i have had mine for a few months and love it

 

[reefsafe]

We've had our Melanarus Wrasse for about 3 months now. He's beautiful and very active...but, I'm starting to think that maybe he needs to find a new home! He seems VERY aggressive. I believe (not positive) but I believe he ate our clam....I had to keep chasing him away from it.....it might have been dying already and the Wrasse just helped it along, but I actually think he killed it.....now I see he's found one of the brittle sea star and is after that.......are they usually this aggressive? I'm a newbie to a reef tank......oh, and this guy is SO NOT afraid of us or anything else! I have two Tangs (Sailfin and Yellow) in our QT tank, they'll be in there for another week.......what affect will they have on the Wrasse if any?

FYI-Melanarus eat the bad worms on clams. He was probably trying to eat the parasistes that were killing it.

I have had a melanarus in my reef for 2 years with no issues.

 

[el aguila]

My experience pretty well mirrors much of what has previously been mentioned. Snails and copepods have disappeared. I have a variety of small snail that hides in daylight and feeds on algae at night - there numbers are reduced but still some of them are around.

I tried a few turbo snails and they did not last long. So far my cleaner shrimp and clam have not been bothered. I have switched to tuxedo urchins instead of snails for cleanup crew.

The wrasse is beautiful and has not been aggressive to other non aggresive fish - fire fish, flasher wrasses, and dart fish.

 

[MCCOOL]

My experience pretty well mirrors much of what has previously been mentioned. Snails and copepods have disappeared. I have a variety of small snail that hides in daylight and feeds on algae at night - there numbers are reduced but still some of them are around.

I tried a few turbo snails and they did not last long. So far my cleaner shrimp and clam have not been bothered. I have switched to tuxedo urchins instead of snails for cleanup crew.

The wrasse is beautiful and has not been aggressive to other non aggresive fish - fire fish, flasher wrasses, and dart fish.

This has been my experience as well, seems pretty standard for these guys. Snails and hermits slowly dwindle off, but it's great with other fish.