Melanurus Wrasse Question

[Jarret]

We have a flatworm problem in 2 of our tanks at the LFS I work at. I've read online that the Melanurus wrasse can do a great job at eradicating the flatworms from a tank.

The only issue that I run into is that the tanks at the store with the flatworms have a crushed coral base instead of sand and I've read that the wrasse sleeps in the sand.

My question is.....could we maybe remove some of the crushed coral substrate and stick some sand in there is a area of the tank and the wrasse will sleep there? Or is that not something that is feasible and wouldn't really work?

 

[38bill]

I have had a Melanurus Wrasse in a bare bottom tank for about three years and no problem. I have flatworms in the sump but never see a single one in the display. I also have a Red Head and a Ornate wrasse in the same BB tank and they do fine without sand but I do have a lot of live rock for them to sleep in. I would think that they would do just fine with a coral gravel bottom.

 

[rekn]

sandbed required for this species. you need to have a sandbed in there asap-even if its in a tupperware or something.

 

[38bill]

Thats simply not true.

 

[iamwrasseman]

okay its best for the wrasse to have a substrate suitable for his sleeping habits ?
first crushed coral over the period of time will cut the wrasses scales and he will get infected .
yes its possable for him to live without sand just not advisable as he does naturally burrow in the sand for sleep and safety .
they will figure out that a Tupperware container filled with sand is a better more comfortable place to sleep .
he also may shun that sand and hurt himself as he may never figure it out .
IMO give him some sand and give it a try but be observant and keep in mind his health .

 

[LKGRenegade22]

Thats simply not true.

Well you don't technically need a roof over your head but it sure makes things nicer. I had a melly for a good while and would never have any fish without attempting to provide it as much of its normal habitat as possible. They do sleep in the sand in nature.

 

[Ralph ATL]

I know someone that has a tang in 24 gallon cube.............yes, it's alive..........they need a sand bed to sleep & feel safe & thrive, they might not need one to just live...

 

[Jarret]

Thanks for the answers everybody, yes I'm sure that they can live without a sand bed but the general consensus from what I've read is that they do need one and I want to provide one for it.

My question was more along the line of whether or not we could setup a sand bed area in part of the substrate for the wrasse since we can't really replace the entire crushed coral base in the tank.

 

[Ralph ATL]

I have sugar fine sand 3/4 from the back forward, and a 1/4 of crushed coral in the front. They always dive in the rear in the sand.

 

[WuHT]

I know someone that has a tang in 24 gallon cube.............yes, it's alive..........they need a sand bed to sleep & feel safe & thrive, they might not need one to just live...

to be fair he's had his wrasse in a BB for 3+ years. If your tang has lived in the 24 gallon for that amount of time then you'd have a point.

 

[rekn]

it needs a sand bed- the tupperware trick in a bb or cc bed is fine. i dont care how long some one has had 1-sand bed REQUIRED.

 

[techigirl78]

At one point, I did keep a large tupperware container in the center of my tank that my melanarus wrasse used. If you notice the wrasse burying itself in the crushed coral, I'd remove it. Since it is at a LFS, I wouldn't think it would be a issue to move to another tank. As a side note, my melanarus successfully cleared a tank with a big flatworm issue in a few weeks.

 

[Myvirtue]

well imo theres alot of ways fish a can survive. i think the key thing is here is we want it to strive.

 

[Korrine]

My melanurus would dive into the sand every night. I did put a tupperware container (maybe a 6"x4") of sand in a BB QT and it dove into that where it stayed for 5 days before venturing out. I had 3-4" of crushed coral and sandy substrate in my DT tank. Again as I stated earlier, EVERY night she would dive right in and stay until the next morning. No, she didn't die. I tore down the tank due to a house move and sold her to a friend.

Here is some info if you want.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/halichoeres.htm

Forgot to say that it did eat my flatworms

It was time I log into my photobucket so it didn't time me out (have to log in every 90 days I think). It's hard fish to photograph. Always swimming and picking at the rocks. Think I ended up changing my camera settings on my plan 'ole digital camera to get some.

 

[tozzi]

I had 1, i have a shallow sand bed and it would still dive in it and cover up

 

[Jarret]

Thanks for the answers all

 

[wantacookie]

Is the caribsea seaflor special grade sand suitable size grain for this species?

 

[iamwrasseman]

yes it will work just fine