All About Reef Safe Wrasses in Aquaria

eatbreakfast · Mar 7, 2018

Makers Marc said:
All,

Just curious if any of your LFS are bringing in any Potters Leopard Wrasses, Red/Yellow tail Tamarin, or Royal Pencil Wrasses in the past 3 months?

I get the Hawaii net size ban, but im curious if other hobbyists have observed any coming in for sale.

Ive been scouring online and locally for 3 months and havent seen any. Wonder if its the new normal.

They aren't as regularly available as they were, but they are still coming in.

Makers Marc · Mar 7, 2018

eatbreakfast said:
They aren't as regularly available as they were, but they are still coming in.

Do you see them online anywhere? Will your LFS be interested in shipping?

eatbreakfast · Mar 7, 2018

My LFS doesn't ship, but I know that a potter's was on the quality marine list. So I would recommend being in contact with your LFS and have them keep an eye out from the various suppliers.

HairyGary · Mar 7, 2018

Makers Marc said:
Do you see them online anywhere? Will your LFS be interested in shipping?

My LFS was holding a small redtail tamerin for me two weeks ago but some employee left open the top the night before after feeding. Needless to say, it was dry when we found her the next day. She gets them periodically but not as usual as before. i thought I say a yellow tale on the NY Aquatics site this week.

Makers Marc · Mar 7, 2018

HairyGary said:
My LFS was holding a small redtail tamerin for me two weeks ago but some employee left open the top the night before after feeding. Needless to say, it was dry when we found her the next day. She gets them periodically but not as usual as before. i thought I say a yellow tale on the NY Aquatics site this week.

There is a yellow tail for really cheap as well. Im considering getting it, although the potters and red tail are my preference at this point, as im not a huge fan of how a male yellowtail looks.

HairyGary · Mar 7, 2018

Makers Marc said:
There is a yellow tail for really cheap as well. Im considering getting it, although the potters and red tail are my preference at this point, as im not a huge fan of how a male yellowtail looks.

Yeah I get that. MY LFS can pretty much get anything so I don't buy online. They don't ship to my knowledge though. Yeah I would have your LFS keep an eye out for them

evolved · Mar 19, 2018

Fringe09 said:
From page 1 by @evolved

Not sure now.

I tend to error on the side of caution, hence that note with rubrisquammis. Usually, they're feisty but you can mix other Cirrhilabrus if you choose right. However, when things go bad with them they can be an outright murder.

don_chuwish said:
The clownfish spawn every 2-3 weeks lately. Is there any worry that Cirrhilabrus will go after the eggs and get in trouble?

FWIW, I have had a pair of clowns for years which spawn on regular occasion. No issue with wrasses; they learn the clowns territory and stay away.

Adam Puryear said:
Hunter, what are some of the more rare wrasses that are of interest to you? I know you mentioned this in your article. I saw a presentation you did at one of the MACNA events on youtube that seemed very similar to your article here, at least I believe it was you as far as I can remember .

Really, just about any of them which are not collected in a regular fashion. A high price tag comes along with many of those, but not all.

eatbreakfast said:
I know that Hunter had a C. clairei, C. johnsoni, P. bellae and an Anampses femininus, among others in his "collection".

Those are some fair picks, but I will say that bellae did not impress me when I kept one. I won't pay the price tag on them again - there are much better flashers out there for <$100.

Radman73 · Mar 20, 2018

2 H. Chrysus together in a 220? I'm assuming no but figured it doesn't hurt to ask.

eatbreakfast · Mar 20, 2018

H. chrysus is probably one of the few Halichoeres wrasses that it can be done for awhile. But there will likely be problems when they are both male.

Radman73 · Mar 20, 2018

eatbreakfast said:
H. chrysus is probably one of the few Halichoeres wrasses that it can be done for awhile. But there will likely be problems when they are both male.

Thanks, what I figured and it isn't fair to the fish to cause those kinds of problems down the road.

evolved · Mar 20, 2018

eatbreakfast said:
H. chrysus is probably one of the few Halichoeres wrasses that it can be done for awhile. But there will likely be problems when they are both male.

Agree. It is the one species of Halichoeres I've seen kept in an aggregate of 4-5 and seems to do okay.

Radman73 said:
Thanks, what I figured and it isn't fair to the fish to cause those kinds of problems down the road.

In a 220, it is one of the few species of Halichoeres I would be willing to try with. If you're vigilant, you can always act down the road if need be.

Radman73 · Mar 20, 2018

evolved said:
Agree. It is the one species of Halichoeres I've seen kept in an aggregate of 4-5 and seems to do okay.

In a 220, it is one of the few species of Halichoeres I would be willing to try with. If you're vigilant, you can always act down the road if need be.

I do have a 60 cube that I could always move one too. Now you have me thinking again lol!

Thanks guys.

nwkennard · Mar 23, 2018

So I might have made a mistake with some new wrasse purchases and want to get some feedback on what I can expect going forward.

I have a 93 gal cube with the following fish; Kole Tang, Flame-Back Angel, Clown, Valentini Puffer, Blue Dot Jawfish, C. solorensis, C. lubboki, and C. cyanopleura (blue sided).

I had credit with LA and a pretty large gift certificate that was about to expire and noticed that a Scott's from Fiji and an Exquisite from Maldives had just come in. So I ordered them.

Of course in my impulsiveness I totally forgot that Scott's fairys are generally aggressive towards other fairys. Should I attempt to acclimate them and see how it goes? Also, the Scott's is listed as a juvinile/female. Will it help that it's not coming in as a male at first?

And lastly, If all 5 fairys do work out, should I see color fading from certain ones? Given the fact I'll have 5 males together will that stop any future color loss? And if some will lose color, which ones can I expect it from.

@eatbreakfast or @evolved if you have any opinions I would greatly appreciate it.

evolved · Mar 23, 2018

nwkennard said:
C. solorensis, C. lubboki, and C. cyanopleura (blue sided)

Solorensis and cyanopluera are pretty closely related, and a 93 cube doesn't offer them much space to avoid another. Could be an issue.

nwkennard said:
Scott's ... from Maldives had just come in. So I ordered them.

Uh oh...

nwkennard said:
Should I attempt to acclimate them and see how it goes?

Personally, I wouldn't. Exquisitus is fine though.

nwkennard said:
Also, the Scott's is listed as a juvinile/female. Will it help that it's not coming in as a male at first?

There's a chance it could for now, but given that it will transition to male anyway and simply get larger, it would only be for a limited time.

nwkennard said:
should I see color fading from certain ones?

No, and if you do, it's a sign of it being excessively bullied.

nwkennard said:
And if some will lose color, which ones can I expect it from.

Scottorum always fades in captivity anyway; no real known way to avoid it.

eatbreakfast · Mar 23, 2018

^agreed on just about all fronts. Sometimes female scotts can be pretty aggressive too.

nwkennard · Mar 23, 2018

Well it's already been shipped out, i'm in the middle of a tank transfer so I have all the fish in the 93 while the other tank goes fallow. I'll leave them in there for the 76 days, I'll monitor aggression and if I see anything serious I'll remove the Scott's. With regards to the C. cyanpleura and the solorensis, they get along pretty well and are fully transitioned males. Is there any chance they can work out not becoming aggressive towards each other? Likewise, is it 100% sure the Scott's will become aggressive if left in there or is there a possibility of co-habitation.

evolved · Mar 23, 2018

nwkennard said:
With regards to the C. cyanpleura and the solorensis, they get along pretty well and are fully transitioned males. Is there any chance they can work out not becoming aggressive towards each other?

There's a chance they could work together; I'd venture 40-50% likelihood. Something to always keep an eye on though.