Wrasse (paracheilinus) drama

[Jstn]

So a bit of background I have had my blue flasher male for 2 years, added a Mc Coskers a year ago that was small that some how became male. And 6 months ago added a filamented female. So as time went on, the blue was the dominate male at 3" and kept the Mc and the filamented in line passively.

As time went on further the MC became male, showing color and finally has grown to 4"; larger than the blue. Recently the blue and the MC have been fighting, and it was established that the Mc was the dominate one, around this time my filamented went missing (jumped, not sure) even though she was the female never shown any signs of abuse.

Now I am down to the blue and the MC, the Mc chases the blue but not that aggressive, now the blue spends most of his time in the corner hiding and I feel bad for him. This is in a 40 breeder tank, i am in the process of setting up a 90 gallon reef which should help diffuse the situation but I am looking for advice for my next steps.

Options A.

Move both wrasse over and deal with it.

Option B.

Add more flashers hopefully females and dilute the behavior.

Option C.

Remove of of the two, this is the hardest cause I have grown quite fond of both of them.


I appreciate any feed back, hopefully I can figure out the best case solution.

 

[evolved]

A) will probably solve the problem on it's own. Being a "new" environment will help too.

B) could potentially help as well, but I wouldn't bother with females. One, it's hard to find females which are actually female, and two they are destined to become males regardless. Go with single males of other
species instead.

Lastly, there's the implication your tank is not covered. You absolutely need a cover; 1/4" clear mesh works well. You will continue to lose flashers without one.

 

[Jstn]

A) will probably solve the problem on it's own. Being a "new" environment will help too.

B) could potentially help as well, but I wouldn't bother with females. One, it's hard to find females which are actually female, and two they are destined to become males regardless. Go with single males of other
species instead.

Lastly, there's the implication your tank is not covered. You absolutely need a cover; 1/4" clear mesh works well. You will continue to lose flashers without one.

Thank you, single male of other species with in the paracheillnus family should be fine? I wouldn't mind a few other flashers to be honest. I also am planning on adding a leopard down the road too.

My tank has always been covered, that is the mystery, I can find her and my nutrients havent gone up. So I am assuming she jumped?

Here is the netting on my 90, same as on my 40b

 

[Fallling]

If it's not going to be too long for the 90 to be setup and ready for fish, I'd focus on getting them moved over and use a social acclimation box for the aggressive one so the less dominate one can get settled in first. If you can catch one, you could also try the social acclimation box for a few days in the current tank to see if that will help diffuse the situation. I'm not sure if I'd add any more wrasses in the current setup, but I'm sure you'll some better input on that option from some other folks.

 

[evolved]

Thank you, single male of other species with in the paracheillnus family should be fine? I wouldn't mind a few other flashers to be honest.

Correct.

My tank has always been covered, that is the mystery, I can find her and my nutrients havent gone up. So I am assuming she jumped?

I don't see a chance one jumped out with a top like that (looks good, btw). A small dead fish wouldn't create a nutrient spike you'd be able to measure.

If it's not going to be too long for the 90 to be setup and ready for fish, I'd focus on getting them moved over and use a social acclimation box for the aggressive one so the less dominate one can get settled in first. If you can catch one, you could also try the social acclimation box for a few days in the current tank to see if that will help diffuse the situation. I'm not sure if I'd add any more wrasses in the current setup, but I'm sure you'll some better input on that option from some other folks.

Agree, and when I mentioned option B I was thinking this would done post-upgrade, but when re-reading I see that may not have been the case.

 

[Jstn]

Thanks for the input!

I have about 2 months till the 90 is running, I am taking my time. In the meantime the blue looks healthy and is eating, just a bit timid hiding. For the meantime I do not plan on adding other fish but I do plan on running both tanks for a little while, perhaps moving the blue over first and maybe getting another male, then introducing the MC into the tank might be the best options.