Pinkface Wrasse

[jetbkk]

Hi All,

I just bought a small male Pinkface Wrasse (Thalassoma quinquevittatum) which is now in my QT tank. He's a great looking, active fish. I've been told it will be fine in my tank, but then I read the odd horror story online so I just wanted to get some more opinions from you guys here...

I have a 230g reef tank. SPS dominated. My tank is also Wrasse dominant with a large 7" Harlequin Tusk, Melanarus Wrasse, Exquisite Wrasse, Redhead Wrasse, 2 Leopard Wrasses, Blueside Wrasse, Solan Wrasse, Mystery Wrasse, Radiant Wrasse, well as a Purple Tang, Sohol Tang, and Kole Tang and 2 clownfish and some large Bartlett's Anthias. All the fish are decent sizes.

I don't care about shrimp and don't have any. I have snails, and none of the Wrasses have touched them for some reason. Hermits did disappear, but I'm not really bothered by that.


So the question is: will the Pinkface be ok in this tank or should I be concerned about anything? Right now all the fish are getting along just fine.


Many thanks for your thoughts!

 

[jjk_reef00]

He will defiantly liven up your tank and may chase your other wrasses some. I've mixed Thalassoma wrasses with other aggressive wrasses but never with common reef safe wrasses. Put him in an acclimation box and see how he reacts. It may be a disaster if he will not tolerate other wrasses. Thalassoma wrasses are great for aggressive tank mates, if you want to keep a true peaceful tank you should not put him in.

 

[evolved]

I wouldn't do it; too much risk he could kill your existing wrasses or at least cause some of their eyes to go missing.

 

[jetbkk]

The Pinkface is one of the smallest Thalassoma wrasses, which is one of the main reasons I picked this one.

Evolved, have you had one of these wrasses or are you just going on what you've heard? I tend to agree with JJK that I should put it in with some other fish in the QT and see how it reacts. However, the real issue is probably 1-2 years down the line when it gets bigger, not now..

I'm still leaning towards trying this fish, probably 80-20, but it will be in the QT for at least another 3 weeks so I have some time to figure it out.

 

[evolved]

However, the real issue is probably 1-2 years down the line when it gets bigger, not now..

Precisely.

No; I have never kept a Thalassoma because they're Thalassoma. Not worth the risk Thalassoma bring to a reef tank, especially when you have more money than you care to admit in fish.

 

[jetbkk]

Here is a photo of the Pinkface Wrasse, now in my main tank. Very active, rarely hiding, and not aggressive yet. My Blue-sided Wrasse is being aggressive towards it actually, and frequently chases it away.

 

[SDguy]

Good news is that all wrasses, IME, are SUPER easy to catch with a trap if things go badly

 

[drej424]

I've never had a pinkface wrasse, but I had a lunar in my FO tank. It wouldn't tolerate any other wrasse. Right now, I have 2 leopard wrasse in my reef tank. I feed heavily and frequently ( 2-3 x's daily) to make sure they're eating and to keep aggression to a minimum. Unlike Peter, I've never had great success trapping wrasses, especially in a reef tank! I'd love to know how it's done!
Is the picture your actual fish? It certainly is beautiful!

 

[Rutrag]

I've never had a pinkface wrasse, but I had a lunar in my FO tank. It wouldn't tolerate any other wrasse. Right now, I have 2 leopard wrasse in my reef tank. I feed heavily and frequently ( 2-3 x's daily) to make sure they're eating and to keep aggression to a minimum. Unlike Peter, I've never had great success trapping wrasses, especially in a reef tank! I'd love to know how it's done!
Is the picture your actual fish? It certainly is beautiful!

I had to pull a melanarus due to aggression from my 75. I used "The Trap" made by Ultralife. (An acrylic cylinder with a trap door on one end held open with monofilament and a bait box on the other end.) I just put a little mysis in the bait holder, sunk the trap, and waited 45 seconds for him to find the door. he was trying to get to the food through the sides up to that point. Dropped the door, and then worried about him hurting himsefl bashing the sides until I dumped him into a small stryofoam box I use for acclimation. It was VERY easy. When they go off food, then they are hard to trap.

 

[jetbkk]

Denise: yes this is the actual fish ;-)

He hasn't been aggressive to anyone yet at all. My Blue-sided wrasse (who is quite large) and my Exquisite (who is half the size of the Pinkface) chase it away quite often.

My tank is full of decent sized wrasses so I guess it can be considered an aggressive tank but more or less everyone is getting along. The biggest fear is a couple years down the road as the Pinkface reaches full maturity but let's see.

Drej424: my understanding is that Lunar Wrasses are much more aggressive (and get much larger) than Pinkface Wrasses...

 

[MrTuskfish]

I like this entire genus of wrasse and have a few. IMO, the Lunare is the nastiest and the Pinkface I have now is one of the milder ones. But he's in with fish his size or bigger. IMO, there just isn't an answer to the question you're asking; other than "its a 50-50 shot.

 

[jetbkk]

So far he doesn't bother anyone, so he'll have to undergo a big character change to be a problem. I'll report back if anything changes!

The Blue-sided wrasse, Exquisite wrasse, large Aussie Harlequin Tusk, Sohol Tang and Purple Tang will keep him in check for a while I have no doubt..

 

[jjk_reef00]

I'm glad things are working out. Sounds like he has lots of distractions in your tank which works in your favor. What are the dimensions of your tank?

 

[jetbkk]

The tank is 60x30x30 ...