Wrasse questions?

[Fish_Kid99]

I want to get a wrasse but I'm not sure if it will fit with the fish I am getting. I have a 20 gallon upgrading to a 55 gallon with soft corals.
I am getting:
Black nox dwarf angel
Engineer goby
Royal gramma basslet
Fire fish x2
1spot fox face
Marine beta
+ orange chromis and yellow stiped maroon clown from 20 gallon.

I have a 1.5-2 inch sand substrate and I was going to take the fire fish off the list if it means I can have a mated pair of wrasse (wrasses?) Any suggestions on a peaceful reef safe wrasse that do good in pairs?

 

[Ambition]

Even without the firefish you have a decent sized bioload, especially if you want a marine beta or onespot foxface (both of which I think should be left for larger tanks).

Most wrasses in the genus cirrhilabrus and paracheilinus will do well in pairs, though you won't really have a proven mated pair of wrasses until they spawn in your tank (not likely in a 55). I personally can only recommend the paracheilinus species, save the octotaenia due to their slightly larger size and activity. IMO, your best bet is to just get a male of one species and keep it as the only wrasse in your tank. Females have the tendency to turn into males at some point...

 

[Cubbies]

Just a word of advice as well. . . I would not put a Betta or Foxface in a 55 to start with. The basslet might be a bit of a problem for a wrasse. They are a little more aggresive and most likely will chase your wrasse till it surfs. Take those three fish out of the equation and I don't see why you couldn't get a couple of flashers in there since the rest of the fish are not big fish. Again just some advice.

 

[FishAddict87]

I believe the royal gramma will be fine with the wrasse. I have had one in the past and it left my wrasses alone just as long as they stayed away from the gramma's cave. I would wait until you get the 55 up and running and cycled before you add anymore livestock

 

[RayL]

The betta should not even be considered for that small of a tank or with such small tank mates

 

[small alien]

Haven't we been down this road already?

 

[Fish_Kid99]

The betta should not even be considered for that small of a tank or with such small tank mates

The minimum tank size is 50 gallons and I was going to add this last when the fish are bigger and this will be the smallest fish in the tank.

 

[moonyrat]

Both of my firefish went carpet surfing within half a yr

 

[small alien]

Why didn't you add a good lid after the first one?

 

[triggreef]

I have a couple yellow wrasses that seem very peaceful together. and they are very inexpensive. Plus they eat a lot of nuisance pests and only get to 5"

 

[nikon187]

The minimum tank size is 50 gallons and I was going to add this last when the fish are bigger and this will be the smallest fish in the tank.

Minium tank sizes are without other fish and minimal live rock. 55 is too small for a marine betta and certainly a foxface ( gets the size of a football)

 

[small alien]

I would have to respectfully disagree. Minimum tank sizes are much more nuanced than that. They are generally species specific, not quantity or tankmate specific.

 

[small alien]

But agreed on the foxface and comet.

 

[SushiGirl]

How has the maroon clown been in the 20? Those things get huge & are mean as all get out LOL.

I have 4 fish in my 55, but it also has 80 lbs of rock in it (light rock too, so it's packed). I have a yellow coris wrasse and we recently added a female Melanurus wrasse in January. They get along so far. The Orbic cardinal is the only one that makes runs at the 2 wrasses, everyone leaves the orange-spotted goby alone. The Melanurus likes to swim around all the other fish & annoy them, the yellow coris hides in the back 98% of the time only the right 3/4s of the tank (due to the Orbic) so he's not very bold. I'd recommend flashers (1 male) for something active to watch unless you're looking for specific pest control.

Not sure how well the clown will get along with everyone, especially with 8 other fish in there...a 55 isn't very roomy back to front so not much room to dodge for larger fish and it could get nasty if there's not enough hiding places for everyone.

I'd skip the foxface and the betta in a 55 too. The betta gets 8 inches and the tank is only 12 inches from front to back. Not much maneuvering room with rock & corals in there. If it was a FOWLR with minimum rock and only a couple other large fish, maybe then.

 

[Fish_Kid99]

How has the maroon clown been in the 20? Those things get huge & are mean as all get out LOL. \QUOTE]

The clown is only about 1 1/2 inches long and its suprisingly not very agressive. I know this could change in a second but it seems good for the moment. When i first bought the 20 from a guy at the lfs it had a Bristletooth Tomini, a wrasse of some sorts and the two fish mentioned earlier. At the time I didnt know this was bad.

About six months later the tang got stuck between the filter intake and a rock and died. About 2 moths after that i had a power outage (12 hours) which led to my wrasse dieing (possible seizure?), my anemone dieing and a plauge of cyanobacteria. Now everything has bounced back to normal and i am waitng for my live rock to cure so i can add the fish.