sea grass wrasse

[jakleen]

hi:
i just bought a sea grass wrasse . obviously he is the color of grass(light green). the store i purchased it from had another one in the next tank that was dark brown/black . can some one let me know what is the difference. are the colors difference because one is adult or juvenile? is it base on the sex of the fish?or it is under stress?
are they safe with porcelain crab?? i hope so. thanks. jakleen

 

[rholguin]

I had one in my tank. When I bought it the wrasse was bright green once introduced to the tank it turned into dark green. Its been a couple of months and its still dark green. As far as behavior very peaceful fish very interactive fish well atleast mine. He would always eat off my hand. I took him out cause he is a very strong fish he would turn over rocks and especially my priced scolys looking for pods so make sure everything is secure. Good luck.

 

[jakleen]

yes, he is a good eater he eats from my hand too and is not scared of anything. he loves the hikari carnivore pellets.he takes the food in his mouth and tries to smash it in small pieces by hitting it to the aquarium glass and the other decorations.when i introduced my orange spot blenny to the tank ,he started harassing him . i shut off the lights and let the blenny settle in the tank. all was well the next day.
i am just wondering why he turns dark? did you have halimeda or caulerpa in your tank.i have halimeda in his tank and he is always swims around that ; i wonder if that will keep him from turning darker because he likes to blend to the halimeda's color??? at the shop the one that was darker did not have any halimeda plant in it's tank.thanks. jakleen

 

[5h3rW1N]

is it a green coris wrasse??

 

[jakleen]

it was labeled as sea grass wrasse. i was able to find some info. under that name.
Novaculichthys macrolepidotus "Seagrass Wrasse".
thanks.

 

[Beaun]

Its also known as the green dragon wrasse (same genus) They can be found in a whole host of colors from light green to dark green to brown. Juveniles vary from brown to green. I suspect that it may depend on what its surroundings are, it attempts to look like a floating piece of seaweed, so it may change color depending on its environment.

 

[jakleen]

sea grass wrasse

thanks. i thought it might be the situation of trying to blend in. jakleen

 

[rholguin]

I have no idea why it changed colors. When I put him in he was the only fish in the tank and stayed liked that for a couple of months. I thought he was just blending in to the surrondings since the sand in my tank is black. Hope your stays green. Good luck.

 

[iamwrasseman]

Baeun has it dead on and they will flip over whatever they can in an attempt to find food on the underside of anything that is not nailed to the floor . great looking fish though but should really be in a fish only tank as they are very boisterous with corals and even any rock that they can flip .

 

[jakleen]

thanks. yes, i hope he stays green too. i really like him.from what i know he is one of reef safe wrasses, and you are right mine is very boisterous too .i have halimeda plant on live rock with him and he constantly moves them around. i am planning to put him in a fowler tank anyway, i worry if i put him in my reef tank my niger and picaso trigger will kill him,yes i know the 2 triggers are not reef safe,but i do not care, i am more of a fish person.
thanks again.jakleen

 

[iamwrasseman]

they are a very interestingly entertaining fish to have i might add .

 

[Korrine]

photos when you can

 

[jakleen]

i will try ,but i am technologically challenged. thanks again

 

[jakleen]

sunday march 14 my sea grass has jumped up and i found him dead,i am very upset.i do not know how ,the tank is covered . my sister saw him swimming around last night .he ate yesterday morning .
this morning i woke up and could not find the fish. looked all over the tank,in the filters.looked around the tank and could not find him. i found him 3 feet away on the side of my 90 gal reef chiller . it is a mystery how he got out. i took its dead pic. i will ask my sister to post it when she can. thanks for all you help and support. i am really really upset. i loved that fish.jakleen

 

[iamwrasseman]

well they are escape artists as most wrasses are notorious for being jumpers . what did you have your tank covered with ?my tanks are completely covered by canopy style lighting and they have even gotten through the fans once ,good thing i was there to pick him off the floor and put him back in the tank or he would have been a goner . when you fish retailer sells such a fish they should advise/warn you of this if there intentions are good .

 

[jakleen]

i have glass canopy and a lite on it. i knew they are good jumpers. the only gap that was there was the between the aqua clear filter and the glass canopy, but it was so small, maybe the width of 3-4 thin paper. i can not imagine how he can get out of it.anyway he is out .i am upset ,i will try to find another one in future. the other one in store is still available but he is dark. thanks for all your support. jakleen

 

[iamwrasseman]

im very sorry for your loss ,hope you find another and have better luck

 

[jakleen]

thanks everyone. jakleen

 

[mattinlasvegas]

I love my little "cucumber" sea-grass wrasse. He has so much personality - and it is true that he is not afraid of anything - several times I have been close to sucking him into the gravel vacuum because he is so curious. Something else which is really funny is his hoarding behavior. Any sea shell, empty conc or anything thing else that can be moved he moves to one corner of the tank. I spread it around once in a while and he starts over again. He also has a tendency to get giddy when you approach the tank - he wiggles and squirms and shows off; I guess he expects to get fed ;-) It is true too that they like to dig and burrow; he'll do it several times a day - all the crushed coral in the front of my tank is aerated several times a day - sometimes he even looks all confused after a big dig; he will resurface and cough out a couple of mouthfuls of sand and then go about his business, leaving a plume of sand swirling around the tank ;-) Normally he is very docile, but I have noticed that he does take a round or two with my Niger Trigger once in a while, but they don't bite or fight for real.

 

[mattinlasvegas]

i have glass canopy and a lite on it. i knew they are good jumpers. the only gap that was there was the between the aqua clear filter and the glass canopy, but it was so small, maybe the width of 3-4 thin paper. i can not imagine how he can get out of it.anyway he is out .i am upset ,i will try to find another one in future. the other one in store is still available but he is dark. thanks for all your support. jakleen

Oh yes - they are jumpers - I couldn't find him the other day and after a few minutes I looked up and saw the stupid fish in the overflow box looking all "can you please help me out - I got in here myself, but I can't really find my way out on my own!" ;-)