wrasse behavior question

[reeferaddiction]

hey guys i have had a large about 10" male sunset wrasse or Thalassoma lutescens from tonga for about a year and for the last few months he has been in a friends care due to him being a absolute terror to his tank mates. he was in my tank for several month with no problems and then overnight became a killer. i made the mistake of not introducing him last to the tank and his tank mates were a 3.5" picaso trig, dejardini tang 4", unicorn tang 5", and volitan lion 6", he was fine with these guys until i introduced a few damsels and then it hit the fan, not only did he kill the damsels he then started going after the others, so i took him out and took him to a friend who has held him for a while so i could finish stocking the tank with hopes of putting him back in. well while at the friends lfs he killed a 8" strawberry grouper, 2 yellow tangs, and has tore up several others. well i really love this fish and wanted to try him back in my tank to see if it would work out but within minutes of being back he was going after everyone and not just normal aggressive behavior he was out for blood, so obviously he has been removed and is now for sale, so here is my question is there any tricks to introducing a fish this aggressive or will he just have to be with fish that are alot bigger than him. any experience, or thoughts are appreciated

 

[stdreb27]

with those aggressive wrasses, your experience is not unrare. I've know someone with a lunar in a several thousand gallon tank who loved yellow tangs eyeballs. Enough so they finally took the killer out. So you may just be sol. Probably have to try a different fish. They do have personalities some are just meaner I guess.

 

[Lion359]

many wrasses are very aggressive as they grow larger, especially the lunar and sunset, I would try to pawn him off at the lfs for some credit, or find someone with a tank full of very large aggressive fish that would keep him in check, a 20" queen trigger would probably do the trick.:lol:

 

[mattsilvester]

Re: wrassehole behavior question

Re: wrassehole behavior question

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11828894#post11828894 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reeferaddiction
is there any tricks to introducing a fish this aggressive

If you want to keep this fish, the best solution is to probably get rid of the rest ..... LOL..... serisouly though, there are no tricks, and terror wrasse literalyl are the devil incarnate! They are uber-quick, very smart, and their cigar body shape means that only the smallest of fish could ever escape into rock work retreats.

It is my view that the majority of Thalasoma wrasse whould be kept in tanks with other "terminators" only....... read that as passer angels / clown triggers / sohal tangs / etc. And even then they should be teh last addition, and should be added much smaller. The basic rule would be add them last to tanks that contain only fish which are bigger AND equally or more aggressive...... that will punch back and teach the wrasse a healthy respect...... and even then, in my view, these fish are a wild card.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news........

If it makes you feel any better, my favourite fish are:
Lunare wrasse (thalasoma lunare)
Clown trigger
Passer angel
Sohal Tang
....... I do not have any of them, because of their "wild card" nature..... you just never know, and when "it hits it"..... well lets just saying nothing good happens fast!

 

[reeferaddiction]

thanks for the response guys i didnt think there was any hope i just figured i would try, because this is one of the most beautiful fish i have ever seen. he is currently at a friends lfs for sale but only to the right home, i dont think this fish was ever meant to be a tank fish he is an absolute killer, the only fish he could be kept with at the lfs was a assasi trigger that is about 14" long and the wrasse still beats him up

 

[mattsilvester]

Try him with a lunare wrasse..... that would be interesting..... coz I think the lunare would be worse (certainly has a reputation for it anyway)...... I am of course joking.....

For me, the lunare is more beautiful..... especially super males.... seen loads of them diving..... they are just simply gorgeous..... and saucy little buggers.....

 

[stdreb27]

Now that being said, I have a lunar wrasse that I added early on in the tank. And have since then successfully added all my other fish. He only took out my lawnmower. After about 6 months. So it depends on the fish.

 

[reeferaddiction]

i agree that personality makes some differance but what size is your lunar, and his temperment my change with time if the wrasse has only been in for 6mos you may have not seen his true colors.

well i guess i will have to wait until i have a tank with room for huge fish then i will attempt another one, its just a shame i have to let go such an amazing fish.

 

[reeferaddiction]

oh i forgot to ask on the last post but would it be possible to start out with a juvi wrasse or are they just as aggressive when small?

 

[mattsilvester]

no, they are like people, and get bigger, fatter, more greedy, and cranky with age........ except they get better looking - we don't!

Juv. should be fine, for a while...... if introduced as an underdog, it may well grow to be a relatively peaceful tank mate......

But as you discovered, you will be walking teh fine line of balance - i.e. introducing damsels disrupted that balance and started a chain reaction.......

I had that some time back with different fish....... I introduced a small maculosus angel - it tripped a fuse with my regal (hippo) tang which was about 6-8"....... who then went on a rampage, which in turn sent everything into a spin, and I ended up getting rid of everything because they never re-settled...... disaster..... I don't have alot of luck that way - which is why you will consistently see me urging people to err on the side of caution

 

[reeferaddiction]

you deffinately hit the description of people right on the head, lol. thanks for sharing your wisdom it has been a great help, and there is nothing wrong with being conservative when it comes to fish because most of the time it is the proper way to do things, instead of hoping things will work out. thanks again

 

[stdreb27]

I've had him for a year and a half now. I believe in mutually assured destruction. All my fish, can stand their own against this guy. Except maybe the dwarf angels. So if they wanted war, no one would win.

 

[mattsilvester]

what fish you got again stdreb27? I;ve read it before, recently, somehwere, I'm sure......

 

[mattsilvester]

by the way stdreb27 ....... if your going to do it, then the "mutual assured destruction" route is one of the best...... did you ever see the thread I started before "do they come tougher than this for a 240"....... nearly did it, but chicken out in the end..... sort of regret it now.....

 

[stdreb27]

Matt,
I have in order of addition. (this is my first sw tank. So yeah) 2 damsels, Dog face, Lunar wrasse, lawnmower (death by lawnmower) Coral Beauty - (death by roommate overfeeding), a tomato clown, then after a while, within the last 6 months. a sailfin, at the same time, another coral beauty and flame angel, and finally an imperator. I want to add a power blue and a aussy harlequin tusk and I'll be done. But that is on hold for the next could of months, because I might have to move again.
I"ve got a photography thread around here in the photo section, that I posted a few weeks ago.

 

[stdreb27]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11845222#post11845222 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mattsilvester
by the way stdreb27 ....... if your going to do it, then the "mutual assured destruction" route is one of the best...... did you ever see the thread I started before "do they come tougher than this for a 240"....... nearly did it, but chicken out in the end..... sort of regret it now.....

I have been fortunate to not have any serious aggression problems. Although the damsels get the snot beat out of them. I've got one in the soon to be sump. and if I can catch the other one ever. The dogface is now about 8 inches long, the wrasse is 6 or 7. The sailfin is about 5 or 6. Both the damsels are full sized, the tomato clown is 3 inches, the angels are still all juviniles.
The wrasse is the mean one, but if he goes after the sailfin, he gets sliced, and the puffer has this huge beak. Which the lunar will try to steal food from.
I chalk that up to if they decide to fight, they will both not make it. That and they have 180 gallons of tank with LOTS of hiding places and swimming room.