Multiple male flame wrasse compatibility

[SDguy]

Yeah, it's a real shame. On a side note, I am impressed with the way they hold their color, as compared to anthias for example, which get a bit less vibrant over time.

 

[SDguy]

Sorry to report I lost the last one yesterday. He just slowly seemed to wither away... eating less, hiding more, and over time, just looking old and tired. I feel like I watched the lives of these fish in fast motion... from a young group, to males in their prime (flashing every day), to feeble older fish. Compared to my $25 lubbocks that lived a solid 5+ years, these flames were very disappointing...

 

[Reefing Newbie]

Sorry to hear Peter. I was going through this thread as I have a situation where I am starting to get two female pylei on the verge of going male. I think a pair would have worked had the second to last one lived. My LFS currently has a pair of flame wrasses. I think they will be going on three years in the next few months. They started out with a trio in a 185. One female went male and the dominant male killed it. The current female has stayed female.

 

[tfp]

oh man peter...sorry about the last flame standin'

 

[flameangel88]

Peter--that's a beautiful male you have there.

I received a male 9 days ago and was going to get 2-3 females at the same time but only males were available. The females are back in stock but I am very concern after reading this thread that I may only end up with one at the end. After the male goes through quarantine (along with a capenter pair) he will move into a tank that's currently housing a pair of eightline and a male Labout's wrasse.

Any thoughts on adding 2-3 female flames and/or 2-3 female labout's wrasse or I should be contend with the one male each? I welcome any inputs on this matter.

Edit: one more thought--instead of the above how about adding a trio of hooded wrasse (C. bathyphilus)? Debating here which is the best route to go.

 

[albano]

Sorry to report I lost the last one yesterday. He just slowly seemed to wither away... eating less, hiding more, and over time, just looking old and tired. I feel like I watched the lives of these fish in fast motion... from a young group, to males in their prime (flashing every day), to feeble older fish.

+1
Sorry to hear...
lost 2 of my 'original' trio 1 M and a F that became M

it seems after awhile they all turn male

+1...absolutely

Any thoughts on adding 2-3 female flames and/or 2-3 female labout's wrasse or I should be contend with the one male each? I welcome any inputs on this matter.

Edit: one more thought--instead of the above how about adding a trio of hooded wrasse (C. bathyphilus)? Debating here which is the best route to go.

after my Flame trio became 2 Ms, I added 2 more small Fs...a new F became M and within 6 months I lost the 2 oldest males...about a week ago my smallest >3" F became a M (I still have a 4"+ M and F) and is now starting to chase my 2 slightly bigger M Hooded Wr.

IMO the Hooded are nicer than the Flames, so if there's a problem, the Flame will have to go.

***I have removed Labouti, Scotts, Whipfin, Condi, and a Pylie awhile ago...all got too aggressive...and they seemed to prefer to chase my 'expensive' wrasses, not the $30 ones!

 

[acronautical]

Peter, I wonder if the water temperature of the island/area of Hawaii where they are collected is on the cool side. A quick search shows some areas averaging about 74 degrees Farenheit. If so, maybe that is part of why they aren't lasting so long. Just a thought.

Steve

 

[SDguy]

Could be Steve, can't really rule that out.

 

[RJT]

I am sorry for your loss SDguy. I also want to thank you. This thread and others like it showed me that a trio of flame wrasses do not live happily ever after, usually.

 

[flameangel88]

***I have removed Labouti, Scotts, Whipfin, Condi, and a Pylie awhile ago...all got too aggressive...and they seemed to prefer to chase my 'expensive' wrasses, not the $30 ones!

In my case it used to be the $15 one chasing the expensive one. Right now I want to to make sure no one is going to chase my eightlines pair and these are not easy to come by till this past few months.

 

[SDguy]

I am sorry for your loss SDguy. I also want to thank you. This thread and others like it showed me that a trio of flame wrasses do not live happily ever after, usually.

Thanks, I try to share both good and bad times on here

 

[solitude127]

How did you remove your wrasses?

 

[prop-frags]

Peter, I wonder if the water temperature of the island/area of Hawaii where they are collected is on the cool side. A quick search shows some areas averaging about 74 degrees Farenheit. If so, maybe that is part of why they aren't lasting so long. Just a thought.

Steve

It is interesting you mentioned this. We purchased a male/female pair in early 2010 and our tank temp was 79.5. In September of 2010, they were moved to a temporary tank for 7 months that was not hooked up to our chiller, so there were periods where the temp would peak out at 81.5. The female morphed into a male within a month of being housed in the temporary tank.

They were moved to our current tank in April of last year and we lowered the tank temp to 75.5. We did this after doing some research on deep water fish as we have a few.

We lost our super male flame a couple of months ago and I have to say he looked like an "old man". He had no obvious signs of disease and he and our sub-adult got along fine. We believe that the higher temps did shorten his lifespan.