Pseudojuloides severnsi (Royal Pencil Wrasse)

[JM68]

Anyone have experience with these guys?? My lfs got one and i really like it so i did some reading and found out that they r supposed to be pretty tough. However, most of the stuff i read said that they ship terribly and that they usually die in transit. I didnt find much about mortality after established in a tank. I'm assuming that they have a better rate of survival once in acclimated. I also read they r hard to get eating. This one was eating frozen at the store. So long story short i picked it up today and its incredible looking. Anyone wrasse people out there with first hand experience that can lend some advice would be greatly appreciated. I have several fairies, but this is my first ever pencil. Oh yea and also am i right in assuming that he will jump just like the fairies do?? i read that they tend to stay towards the bottom of the tank and in caves.

 

[susan2626]

royal pencil wrasse

royal pencil wrasse

i've had mine for about 3 months and he is awesome. He ate flakes and mysis his first day in the tank and is out and about all day long - makes a dive for teh sand when he sleeps so you need a deep sandbed. He is very brave - almost eats out of my hand. And when he eats, you can hear his loud bite sound! I think the key to the success with this specimen is that he was in my LFS tank for several weeks and eating well there - so make sure you get a healthy specimen and you wlll love it!

 

[euod]

Very underated fish, great colors, but too bad my pbt knocked it off. Very easy to care for. Congrats.

 

[dvmsn]

Very hard to get in healthy.

 

[JM68]

so i'm assuming since i got one thats eating already i won half the battle. i'm just hoping that my fairies leave him alone. i turned the lights off before i put him in the tank today and i'm leaving them off till they come on tomorrow to limit the initial aggression that fish normally show.

 

[snorvich]

Congratulations. This fish is a very proficient jumper so you must have a covered tank (not egg crate).

 

[JM68]

yea, i have it covered with 1/4" mesh. i have 4 fairies so i got it taken care of already

 

[Bret61081]

I had one for about 6 months...ate everything in the tank including spectrum....just got skinny and died even though he was eating like a pig....good luck with it if you do get one, I just dont think we can offer them what they need to eat in the wild

 

[imanewbies]

I have kept two before and i didn't have any luck with either fish. I lost the first one when it went carpet surfing.

Tried again in another shipment, the 2nd fish died suddenly within few days after introduction despite appearing active & healthy. It was also eating at the store and in my tank prior to its death.

 

[JM68]

bret, sounds like maybe yours had worms. i read that a lot of them have worms and deworming is recommended upon arrival.

 

[JM68]

Here's a couple crappy pix that i was able to snap today one with flash and one without.

 

[mariowar]

I just got one yesterday and it seems to ve very healthy, he/she burrows at night and swims out about 1 hour after I turn the lights on.
He is VERY active, however I do not see that he is eating much even though he goes crazy when I feed the fish. I've tried Mysis, he gets them, chew them and spit them back, same thing with most of the bloodworms he catches...
Any idea how to entice it to eat? especially Spectrum Pellets?

Thanks

 

[Monkeyfish]

Mine loves Hikari mysis.