Reef-Safe Wrasse Q&A

[gofor100]

Hey Guys,

For some reason, I just found out how awesome some of the reef-safe wrasses look, but have a few questions:

1a. I currently have a Yellow Wrasse (Halichoeres chrysus) and was wondering if all of the Halichoeres wrasses are as sociable (do well with others of the same species/genus) as the H. chrysus, and whether all of them are just as "reef-safe" (I know, loaded term, but, for my purposes, won't eat any corals, clams, cleaner shrimp). I was particularly looking at the Radiant Wrasse (H. iridis), Vrolik's Wrasse (H. chrysotaenia), and Christmas Wrasse (H. claudia)... any info would be great.

1b. Speaking of the Halichoeres family, would they outcompete a Mandarin Goby for food in a large tank (i.e., around 300 gallons)? I see my Yellow Wrasse pecking at the rock, but not sure how efficient of a hunter they are.

2. Also, just started noticing the super-expensive wrasses (particularly the Lennard's Wrasse on DD- Anampses lennardi) from Western Australia, and wondering whether these wrasse are also sociable (can be kept in groups) and hardy, or if buying one is pretty much like flushing a few Benjamins down the toilet.

Don't ask me why it took me so long, but I think I'm in love... hahaha. These will definitely be in the plans for my upgrade.

Thanks,

Chad

 

[Prozium]

well, I only have a cleaner wrasse at the moment so I cant really hep with your questions. what I can do is give you a little advise, if you do not already..... get a net/tight fitting canopy over your tank/overflow, wrasses are well known to jump.

"For some reason, I just found out how awesome some of the reef-safe wrasses look,..."
I totally agree, I plan to get some more wrasses for my tank(s)

 

[aquaph8]

Some are safer than others. Id research each fish seperately to be honest. I would be more concerned with my shrimp with most of them. I did have a Melanaris take out a clam once though. If you truly want to be safe I would steer more twords the fairys and flashers. In a 300 I wouldn't worry too much about your Mandarin. I dont know though some of them are probably worth a little comprimise on certain levels. Let us know what you pick and good luck.

 

[AquaticFins]

H. chrysus is a little unusual in how tolerant of conspecifics it is, from what I've seen. Even they aren't real fond of other males as adults. Halichoeres usually don't have too much trouble as pairs or small harems, but the females don't always want to stay female...and then they usually get killed. Groups of juvenile fish look great and do just fine together, but once they reach maturity...most tanks do not have enough territory for multiple males. I'm not sure even your 300 will be enough.

I would say that they are definitely more efficient pod-hunters than a mandarin, but a 300 gallon tank should support several Halichoeres and a mandarin fairly comfortably, so long as there's plenty of rockwork. The Halichoeres wrasses also generally size themselves out of being such heavy competitors with mandarins. They will eat lots of pods while small, but as 5-6 inch fish are usually looking for bigger prey.

Also, I wouldn't trust any member of the Halichoeres family with shrimp as adults. I had a full grown radiant wrasse go through about a dozen cleaner shrimp in very short order after figuring out they were edible.

I haven't had any experience with the Anampses wrasses in the past few years. Previously, they were nearly as fickle as leopard wrasses...a lot of them died shortly after being imported. Likely poor collection/handling. I don't know how much that has improved of late.

Those that became established were usually quite hardy. They did fine for me singly or in pairs. Trios often ended up with the least dominate female being bullied and kept away from food. I never tried putting two males together. Wasn't worth the risk, as they used to be even more expensive than they are now.

Hope that helps.

David

 

[gofor100]

H. chrysus is a little unusual in how tolerant of conspecifics it is, from what I've seen. Even they aren't real fond of other males as adults. Halichoeres usually don't have too much trouble as pairs or small harems, but the females don't always want to stay female...and then they usually get killed. Groups of juvenile fish look great and do just fine together, but once they reach maturity...most tanks do not have enough territory for multiple males. I'm not sure even your 300 will be enough.

I would say that they are definitely more efficient pod-hunters than a mandarin, but a 300 gallon tank should support several Halichoeres and a mandarin fairly comfortably, so long as there's plenty of rockwork. The Halichoeres wrasses also generally size themselves out of being such heavy competitors with mandarins. They will eat lots of pods while small, but as 5-6 inch fish are usually looking for bigger prey.

Also, I wouldn't trust any member of the Halichoeres family with shrimp as adults. I had a full grown radiant wrasse go through about a dozen cleaner shrimp in very short order after figuring out they were edible.

I haven't had any experience with the Anampses wrasses in the past few years. Previously, they were nearly as fickle as leopard wrasses...a lot of them died shortly after being imported. Likely poor collection/handling. I don't know how much that has improved of late.

Those that became established were usually quite hardy. They did fine for me singly or in pairs. Trios often ended up with the least dominate female being bullied and kept away from food. I never tried putting two males together. Wasn't worth the risk, as they used to be even more expensive than they are now.

Hope that helps.

David

VERY HELPFUL! Thanks...

So based on what you said, it sounds like getting a few of the same Halichoeres (i.e., getting 3 or 4 H. iridis) might not be the best idea "long-term", but what about getting one of each (i.e., getting one H. chrysus, one H. iridis, one, H. chrysotaenia, etc.)?

As for the radiant wrasse you had that cleaned out your shrimp, did you get it as a juvenile and raise it with the shrimp, or get it pretty much full grown? I only ask because I know this sometimes helps guard against aggression towards the shrimp.

As far as the Anampses wrasses, I might have to wait a couple more years until the prices become a little more reasonable if they are still pretty delicate, but definitely interested in what people have experienced out there with these beautiful fish.

Thank you so much for your insight... again, very helpful.

-Chad

 

[AquaticFins]

I never saw much of any aggression between the species, with the exception of some of the "christmas wrasses." Some of those look similar enough that they did not tolerate one another, even as relatively young juvies. I would expect your example to work out fine, especially in your size aquarium.

That H. iridis was introduced into the tank (happened to be a 6'x2'x2' 180G) as a 3 inch subadult and raised with the shrimp from there. No issues for ~18 months, but eventually he discovered the shrimp were tasty and devoured them within a matter of days. It took him about a year to reach his full ~7 inch size - he continued to ignore them for about six months as a full-grown adult. I hadn't introduced any other shrimp during this time, so I don't know what spurred the change in behaviour.

He may have hunted down a few peppermint shrimp as well, but I never saw him catch one. Some definitely continued to elude him - there were still a few in there when the tank had to be broken down a few years later - but he got all of the cleaner shrimp.

David

 

[gofor100]

I never saw much of any aggression between the species, with the exception of some of the "christmas wrasses." Some of those look similar enough that they did not tolerate one another, even as relatively young juvies. I would expect your example to work out fine, especially in your size aquarium.

That H. iridis was introduced into the tank (happened to be a 6'x2'x2' 180G) as a 3 inch subadult and raised with the shrimp from there. No issues for ~18 months, but eventually he discovered the shrimp were tasty and devoured them within a matter of days. It took him about a year to reach his full ~7 inch size - he continued to ignore them for about six months as a full-grown adult. I hadn't introduced any other shrimp during this time, so I don't know what spurred the change in behaviour.

He may have hunted down a few peppermint shrimp as well, but I never saw him catch one. Some definitely continued to elude him - there were still a few in there when the tank had to be broken down a few years later - but he got all of the cleaner shrimp.

David

Interesting... I'm pretty sure shrimp will end up being non-existent in my system anyways since some of the other fish I plan on keeping are known to be potential shrimp eaters (i.e., Harlequin Tusk fish- yet another beautiful member of the Wrasse family). Thanks again for sharing your first-hand experience... very helpful.

Does anyone else have input on or experiences with Halichoeres or Anampses wrasses?

Thanks,

Chad

 

[MCCOOL]

AquaticFins - do you have a picture of the H. iridis? I thought max size was like 5", that must be a beauty.

Gofor - I agree with what aquaticfins said, I doubt the shrimp will be around for very long. I keep a Melanurus and a leopard together without issue, so I'd assume the anampses would be the same. Anampses are tricky fish from what ive read, if I was going to buy one, I'd definitely want a Diver's den fish. There is a "tamarin wrasse" thread floating around somewhere here that is a good read.

 

[mwladdicted]

Correct me if I'm wrong but lenardi wrasses require a temperature a little lower than our reef tanks(high 60's to mid 70's) to thrive.
Cheers,
-Tom

 

[snorvich]

Correct me if I'm wrong but lenardi wrasses require a temperature a little lower than our reef tanks(high 60's to mid 70's) to thrive.
Cheers,
-Tom

That is correct.

 

[gofor100]

Correct me if I'm wrong but lenardi wrasses require a temperature a little lower than our reef tanks(high 60's to mid 70's) to thrive.
Cheers,
-Tom

I've heard they do well in waters that range from 68 to 76... although I think more people are keeping their reefs at temps between 75-77, so maybe not a problem.

Ask AgentSPS though... he seems to have some success with this fish.