Pencil Wrasse thread

From what I have read on them is that they are poor shippers. If they come in with a bused nose/month there's a good chance they will not eat. That is want happen to the one I ordered. I think your best bet to get a good one is from DD. They have them every once and a while.
 
Thank you Gary. Ive got an egg-crate cover. Do pencil wrasses have a tendency to pick on clams?

I'm pretty sure they can get through egg-crate. People are having good success with doubled up netting, though. There are some threads about how to build your own screen somewhere in this forum I believe.
 
I just bought a "royal" pencil wrasse. Within 2 hours of being in the tank he started eating. So far he loves mysis. Will have to try something different tonight - maybe little pieces of squid and krill. Anyone feeding these guys Nutramar Ova for small fish?
 
Just got a 4-inch pencil wrasse earlier tonight (Pseudojuloides severnsi). He took to the tank very well and swam around for a few hours (150 gal) in complete tolerance of the light and tankmates. The only one to bother him was a maroon clown who was just trying to defend his anemone. My wrasse didn't eat when I added food, which worried me because I have read that they're poor eaters and don't survive long without being well fed. However, I'll try again in the morning. He buried himself in the sand to sleep so hopefully he'll wake up hungry.
 
Update: it's been a few weeks and he's doing well. He's a little skiddish and he has somewhat regular sleeping patterns that force me to feed more often and at different times than I would like, but he's healthy and out and about when not buried.

He hasn't shown any interest in jumping but will bury for the entire day if I bother him with any activity in the tank. He's housed with a leopard wrasse, a large carpenters, a larger Ruby margin, and a smaller solar. They sometimes bother each other but they all ignore the pencil wrasse. Pretty fish and very interesting, but he spends more hours of the day buried than swimming, especially if something spooks him.
 
I kept a royal pencil wrasse (Pseudojuloides severnsi) in my 75g for several months before it eventually just vanished. Before I took it home I spent a good month babying it at the LFS where I worked trying to coax him to eat. He shared a tank with a skunk tilefish, a pajama cardinal, a Lubbock's fairy wrasse, and a tiny royal gramma, so no serious competition there. He was *definitely* a jumper, and was constantly hovering right below the surface of the water, sometimes with his nose breaking the surface and made several attempts to leap out (the tank had a netted cover). I don't think my time with him was long enough to come up with any definitive information, but from what I DID see, and from what I DO know, pencil wrasses are peaceful and timid, need a sand bed to dive into at night, NEED a covered tank, and would probably do well without too many competitive fish in the tank. With that being said, he was still the most beautiful fish I have ever owned, absolutely stunning :beer:
 
Pencil Pseudojuloides kaleidos

Pencil Pseudojuloides kaleidos

I've had mine for about a week. Super shy. Super cool though.
 

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Pencil Pseudojuloides cerasinus

Pencil Pseudojuloides cerasinus

Nice to see thread alive. NOT a lot of info out there on these fish. Wanted to share my 2c.

I had a Pseudojuloides kaleidos for about 8 months - without a doubt the coolest and most beautiful fish I ever kept. Never jumped, was very social in 125G reef tank, and ate all foods. Would dart into live rock, and sometimes wound up in overflow, but always a model citizen. Would just hunt over rocks all the time looking for pods. Sadly, he died during a nighttime aquascaping accident about 2 months ago :(

I've just now added a Pseudojuloides cerasinus from DD. Coloration is pretty muted - not sure if it's from shipping or just initial phase , but hopefully he/she will progress in coloration and start eating like a pig soon!
 
Nice to see thread alive. NOT a lot of info out there on these fish. Wanted to share my 2c.

I had a Pseudojuloides kaleidos for about 8 months - without a doubt the coolest and most beautiful fish I ever kept. Never jumped, was very social in 125G reef tank, and ate all foods. Would dart into live rock, and sometimes wound up in overflow, but always a model citizen. Would just hunt over rocks all the time looking for pods. Sadly, he died during a nighttime aquascaping accident about 2 months ago :(

I've just now added a Pseudojuloides cerasinus from DD. Coloration is pretty muted - not sure if it's from shipping or just initial phase , but hopefully he/she will progress in coloration and start eating like a pig soon!

Again, I know its been a while but there is definitely not enough info on this gorgeous fish online.
How did the Pseudo. Cerasinus fair? I hope it's still alive.

I know that years ago the fish was hard to keep but I have seen several fellow reefers keep them with no problems. I would like to fire this thread back up!!!

I grabbed a Royal Pencil yesterday which was eating well in the lfs. He has been eating LRS and PE Mysis fairly well and so far none of my other fish have messed with him which is very important w his acclimation to the tank and community. I hope that I will be able to keep him for years to come.

Please chime in!
 
Curious as to why? Not a challenge, Jus wanting to know more info...Wrasse r my fav.

doesn't have tank longevity like sweetlips, moorish idols, choati leopard wrasses, tamarin wrasses and batfishes (and this is the short list..) the few success stories don't justify them for tank life. it may make the vendors a few bucks but the hobbyist will probably regret their purchase. from my friends who purchased them, they live for a few months then disappear into the sand - never to be seen again...and they had 300+ systems...i have 10 different fairy wrasses and 4 leopards plus 2 trios of anthias. all models citizens.
 
I’ve had a royal for about a year. Pretty care free fish. I probably just got lucky though. I do worm all my wrasses with flagyl. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.
 
TTT
Anymore experiences?
I just got a Splendid Pencil wrasse pair, Pseudojuloides splendens. Hope they will be with me for a long time.
SplendidPencilWrasse2025062201Female.JPG
SplendidPencilWrasse2025062203Male.JPG
 
Pictures under white light. I got home early enough today, before the light decrease and before the Splendid Pencil wrasse go to sleep. So far they are problem free. Very active feeding (and pooing) so I think they will be just fine.
SplendidPencilWrasse2025062301Male.JPG
SplendidPencilWrasse2025062303Male.JPG
SplendidPencilWrasse2025062304Female.JPG
SplendidPencilWrasse2025062305Female.JPG
 
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