All About Reef Safe Wrasses in Aquaria

[bayoukid89]

Any problem would be between the Rhomboid and Lineatus as they are in the same complex. Rhomboids are very demure. I wouldn't do it but again will defer to evolved's expertise.

Thank you soo if it was your choose which of the wrasse would you chose of those two? Rhomboid or lineatus?

 

[saltyhog]

Oh man, they are both beautiful. It just depends on what appeals to YOUR eye. (I have a lineatus )

 

[esther]

Thank you soo if it was your choose which of the wrasse would you chose of those two? Rhomboid or lineatus?

I’m in the same boat. Will be adding a golden rhomboid to a tank witH a lineatus already in it. My lineatus is fairly docile, so I'm hoping for the best.

Oh man, they are both beautiful. It just depends on what appeals to YOUR eye. (I have a lineatus )

They're such beautiful fish.

 

[Traian]

The C. rubrisquamis would be my concern. They are usually pretty aggressive. Of course in a huge tank like yours there is a lot of room to disperse that aggression. Interested to see what evolved thinks about this.

Definitely interested in hearing from @evolved about this!

 

[Krully]

I just got a false leopard wrasse from my LFS. He was in pretty bad shape last week but they kept him and he seems to have recovered. They told me my sand was okay for him but I’m a bit concerned, it’s not crushed coral but it’s not fine sand either, it’s about 2-3mm grains I’d say? Can he still bury?
Last night he tried to bury because I saw plenty of dirt in suspension in the tank. I didn’t see him this morning and figured he was burrowed and now he’s swimming in the tank. Do I need to add finer sand ASAP? Do I keep monitoring him? He doesn’t seem stressed at all, tank mates are very very chill, he’s just exploring the tank.
I joined a bad morning picture, sorry for the dirty glass.

 

[OrionN]

I have a little problem call something as false.
That look like a Potter Leopard wrasse instead of Ornate Leopard. False Leopard seem to be a very strange name.
They do like finer sand but will make do with the coarse substrate that you have. IME, this is one of the harder Leopard wrasse to care for and get adapted to captivity. If you get him as a "False Leopard" you must have got him for a cheaper price. Something that is labeled as "false" (deserving or not) can't be as good as the true thing.

 

[Krully]

There is a big misunderstanding. I'm french and bought it at a local LFS, it's anOrnatus according to them. I said "false leopard" only because when trying to find more informations this is the name I saw and tried to be as clear as possible so it's more of a "lost in translation" issue. Good to know he/she can adapt to my substrate but I'm willing to shake things up if needed, he seems to be adapting well to my tank, grazing on pods and chilling with my Tomini.

Edit : I checked, it's a macropharyngodon ornatus for sure

 

[OrionN]

Certainly you are in the best position to tell which species. The picture posted is not the best for ID. Often scientific name is clearest, or common names that is part of the scientific name is good also.
Hope he will be well for you. I really like my Leopard wrasses. Good luck.

 

[saltyhog]

Yeah, it should be fine. I have Caribsea Special Grade sand which is up to 2 mm in size. My Potter's wrasse and all of my Halichoeres wrasses bury in it just fine. The Potter's has been in the tank for 6 years.

 

[Taki]

Besides the Six-line, which of the reef safe wrasses work?

 

[Noam]

Excellent article.
How would you characterize the thalassoma?
Thanks

 

[canadianeh]

@evolved I have a royal flasher and melanarus wrasse in 3ft 55 gallons tank. Will I have issue adding a super male golden rhomboid OR a lineatus wrasse?

 

[evolved]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/let-me-id-your-wrasse.97755/post-4607281

there we go i found evolved's post

Yeah, that.

Based on that post, it looks like this might be an H. Claudia despite the way it’s listed? So confusing!

It's definitely not melanurus.
If it's from Tonga, then it would be claudia.

If I’m reading this correctly, I may be able to add a canary wrasse in with my fintail fairy wrssse if using acclimation box?

Yes - shouldn't be a problem.

I have a 65g with a six line/flame angel and 2 clowns can I had another wrasse?

The sixline makes adding another other wrasses safely impossible, I'm afraid.

Thinking about adding 2 wrasses to my 93g, a red headed Solon and yellow flanked fairy - would those 2 work together or not because they’re in the same subgroup? Thanks!

I would pick two species spaced further apart. Those are both big species, and the tank isn't that large.

I am glad to find this thread as there are very knowledgeable wrasse experts here. I wanted to add 2 wrasse to a 300g tank with other fish that I know are compatible. However, I have a Yellow Candy Hogfish which is shown to be compatible with reefsafe wrasse based on a compatibility chart. However, I have read in places where they are not compatible because of the possible similar body shape. Can someone provide some insight as to which I should go with as I would love to add two beautiful wrasse to the tank?

In general, bodianus = jerk
It's risky - I personally wouldn't try it. The hogfish would have to go before I put wrasses in the tank.

In my 180 reef tank I currently have a red head Ruby fairy wrasse, a pink margin fairy wrasse, a carpenter flasher and yellow fin flasher. All males. What would be a beautiful female wrasse I could add that would be compatible with these four?

I have a male McCoskers and a red velvet fairy female in my 60 FOWLR tank and they were sleeping next to each other in the same crevice the first night

Any particular reason to want a female? Almost any female you add will likely transition to male. The most likely exception would be a leopard wrasse. I think many of the leopard species actually are more attractive as females.

With a relatively large tank as you have you could add several more wrasses in the Cirrhilabrus, Paracheilinus or Halichoeres genera.

+1

Not true in my experience. You do not want to try and keep a male and female of any Halichoeres, Paracheilinus or Cirrhilabrus species. In aquaria the female will almost always transition to male.

The best strategy to promote lots of colorful displays is to keep males of multiple species of flasher or fairy wrasse.

Agree!

@evolved
So lately, I always find my outside tank is riddled with drips of dried saltwater in the morning. I noticed at night that my Royal Flasher Wrasse (RFW) tried to jump out and caused splashes. I do have lid on my tank. He is splashing like crazy only when the lights are out at night. Doesn’t do this during the day.

I don't understand why this just started now. This only happens overnight when lights are out. I don't see aggression at all in the tank. Is it the flow? or something else? I actually lowered the wavemakers by 5% and not higher.

It is pain in the butt to keep wiping off the mess in the morning and I would like to understand why he is doing this. Otherwise, he is fine and eating.

Tank mates:
-Two orange clownfish
-Molly miller blenny
-Yellow watchman goby
-Lined dartfish
-Yellow tang
-Melanarus wrasse
-tuxedo urchin
-Bubble tip anemone

That's definitely strange - something is spooking it. Watch with a red flashlight after lights out for a while?

I’m thinking about purchasing a female flame wrasse. I currently have a pintail and a carpenters flasher, to latter of whom is a bully. Would introducing a female that is similarly colored to the carpenters be an issue? And is it a guarantee that she will turn into a male (what I want)? Just wondering how/why I always see them being sold as male/female pairs..

It could be okay, but this is why using an acclimation box is important! The female would be very likely to end up male, in time.

Morning everyone! I currently have the following wrasse's in our tank:
- Loubouti Wrasse
- Flame Wrasse
- Lineatus Fairy Wrasse

Looking to add:
- Orangeback Wrasse
- Golden Rhomboidalis Wrasse

Thoughts? OK to add them to the group? Thanks in advance!

Should be okay, with the size of your tank.

I currently have 4 wrasses in my DT: Bluestreak cleaner (Labroides dimidiatus), Carpenter's ( Paracheilinus carpenteri), Ruby Head Fairy (Cirrhilabrus cf cyanopleura), and a Solon (Cirrhilabrus solorensis). These last two get along just fine even if they're on the same complex (Cyanopleura).

I am considering adding the following all in one shot: Long fin Fairy ( Cirrhilabrus rubriventralis), female Vermiculate Leopard (Macropharyngodon bipartitus), Laboute's fairy ( Cirrhilabrus laboutei), Lineatus Fairy (Cirrhilabrus lineatus), Lubbock's fairy ( Cirrhilabrus lubbocki), purple velvet/yellow band (Cirrhilabrus luteovittatus), and a Red velvet (Cirrhilabrus rubrisquamis).

The tank is a 560 gallon reef. so although I am not concerned about space, I am trying to anticipate potential conflicts. I looked very carefully at Evolved's chart on the Cirrhilabrus complexes thread, and in my head I think that it should work (specially since the two on the Cyanopleura complex are already living peacefully together). However, I am no wrasse expert by any means, and I may have missed something while looking at the chart, so looking for input/advice.

A HUGE tank allows you to get away with a lot.
Just avoid the very aggressive species, and you can probably make any mix work.

So I’m new to the wrasse world but I’m looking yo add a golden rhomboid,lineatius, and flame wrasse my tank is a 105g 48x24x21 curious would I have any trouble

That's just not enough room for lineatus and rhomboidalis together, IMO.

I just got a false leopard wrasse from my LFS. He was in pretty bad shape last week but they kept him and he seems to have recovered. They told me my sand was okay for him but I’m a bit concerned, it’s not crushed coral but it’s not fine sand either, it’s about 2-3mm grains I’d say? Can he still bury?
Last night he tried to bury because I saw plenty of dirt in suspension in the tank. I didn’t see him this morning and figured he was burrowed and now he’s swimming in the tank. Do I need to add finer sand ASAP? Do I keep monitoring him? He doesn’t seem stressed at all, tank mates are very very chill, he’s just exploring the tank.
I joined a bad morning picture, sorry for the dirty glass.

You should be okay with that sand - it's getting a bit coarse, but still looks okay.

Excellent article.
How would you characterize the thalassoma?
Thanks

Thank you.
And not appropriate for a reef tank.

@evolved I have a royal flasher and melanarus wrasse in 3ft 55 gallons tank. Will I have issue adding a super male golden rhomboid OR a lineatus wrasse?

I would not put either species in a 55g tank.

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