How do I keep a tamarin wrasse successfully?

[Perpetual Novice]

So I jumped the gun on this one, I’ll admit. I just purchased a black back/china wrasse from my lfs and now I’m playing catch up.

Not an excuse but I’ve never seen any store have one of these in stock before. Let alone a 5 inch specimen like I brought home. And it was only $45 so I really couldn’t help myself.

I’m not completely out of my depth dealing with fragile/picky wrasses. Leopard wrasses are my favorite and I have kept one happily for a long time. But I now understand that what I just brought home is a variety of tamarin wrasse. I’ve heard tamarins are the top tier of difficulty in keeping wrasses so I want to know what I’m in for and how to best approach this upcoming week or two window that I feel I have to make this fish accept my tank or starve.

I just moved and rather than transporting my 30 and 75 gal reef tanks I broke them down and combined them in a 180 gallon build instead. I used 10 gallons of my old sand and all my old rock and I added a bunch more dry rock. That’s where the china wrasse is now.

No quarantine. I couldn’t risk the stress and I have a long time relationship with this lfs and even know their supplier and their quarantine practices. Please don’t crucify me.

So knowing that this will be a challenge I’ve come up with the best plan I can think of. I bought some live tigger pods at the lfs and Added them to the tank and sump to jumpstart the population. I have experience getting my harlequin filefish and leopard wrasse to eat by soaking spirulina brine in vita-chem and selcon and hoping whatever they crave is included in the mix. Now I’m browsing for more options of live pods online so I can possibly supplement the china wrasse on live pods and give it a longer window to learn prepared foods.

Since the wrasse went in today it has been
Shy but never buried. It has been swimming all around the tank picking Exclusively at the rocks which came live from my old tanks. I’m hoping that’s a sign that it isn’t overly stressed and is investigating its food options.

But that’s as far as I’ve gotten. Does anyone have advice? How do I train it to eat? What improves my lfs of success? And what other concerns should I look out for?

 

[Peace River]

Let's see if we can get some answers...

@evolved #reefsquad

 

[Perpetual Novice]

PS:
I’m not adding fish now because I’m impatient. I’m adding the wrasses which are easily bullied and can’t be heavily medicated in quarantine. And im adding the tangs I plan to have so that the ones I already own don’t become to established and refuse to accept new tangs. It’s a tricky situation adding so much to a relatively new tank so I’m being very diligent about testing and replacing my water in the coming weeks.

 

[mattzang]

I failed with one of those awhile back. It’d eat a bit here and there but just never enough. Live blackworms were by far the best. Mass tick also was hit or miss. But it never really wanted to eat mysis. Sucks as it was eating pellets at the lfs but never ate pellets for me

I believe evolved recently mentioned tamarins need to eat a lot multiple times a day so if yours eats well I’d feed it a lot

internal parasites also seem to be a common issue for themso u could try doing Prazipro as it’s reef safe

 

[Perpetual Novice]

Ok blackworms. I’ve never tried those but I’ll add them to the list. So far I’ve ordered a whole gamut of different copepod and amphiros species as well as brine shrimp eggs. My plan is to hatch the eggs the way I’ve seen done for baby seahorses on the side. The I will add a mix of pods and brine shrimp to the tank simultaneously with the food. I figure the pods can tie the wrasses over till the next meal. And maybe the live brine mixed with the prepared food will help connect the idea that the both are edible. Adding blackworms to the list now. How should I feed them?

I failed with one of those awhile back. It’d eat a bit here and there but just never enough. Live blackworms were by far the best. Mass tick also was hit or miss. But it never really wanted to eat mysis. Sucks as it was eating pellets at the lfs but never ate pellets for me

I believe evolved recently mentioned tamarins need to eat a lot multiple times a day so if yours eats well I’d feed it a lot

internal parasites also seem to be a common issue for themso u could try doing Prazipro as it’s reef safe

 

[Alaeriel]

Make sure you have enough phyto to feed all those pods! Best of luck, and I'd love to see a photo :3

 

[mattzang]

@OrionN actually has a pair of them so he might be able to offer some better tips since his actually live lol

 

[OrionN]

I bought three China Wrasse, two the first time and one more after a year from Petco in Corpus Christi.
It is my standard practice to place my hard to keep fish initially in my 40 gallon QT system. This is a full reef with DSB and a lot of Macro Algae, and a lot of junk corals thus a lot of fauna thriving in this system. I normally have some dither fish (a pair of A. percula clown a this time) in this system to help entice new fish to eat.
The fish fed a variety of food included pellets, flakes and frozen Mysis, along with hunting the number of Pods and bristle worms in the system. I did not have any problem with the China Wrasse. After a few weeks, they attack any food I place into the tank aggressively. Once this happened, I capture and move them into my DT.
One of the two wrasse I initially bought had mouth injury. Once healed, the mouth was deformed and she cannot open the mouth wide and can only eat tiny pieces of food. Because of this reason, she never did well and died emaciated after 1 year. I was not able to help her. Because I want a pair of this species, I bought another, also from Petco. Both are doing great, and fat. All three were less than 2 inches when I bought them. My largest turn Male recently, while the smaller one is still a female. The male courts the female regularly but so far I have not observed any egg or sperm release.
This species is very beautiful with a lot of supple, pastel coloration that cannot be capture well by my camera. Very happy with my pair.

Male and Female

Male in nuptial coloration

Female

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I have one of these, they're great fish. Actually this is the first I've heard of them being difficult to keep.... I had the lfs feed it and it ate so I bought it. My tank is very established and full of pods so I'm sure that helps. I feed it the same homemade blend of seafood my other fish eat (shrimp, squid, octopus, scallops, clams, ect) and it has always ate fine. Good luck!

 

[evolved]

Not an excuse but I’ve never seen any store have one of these in stock before. Let alone a 5 inch specimen like I brought home. And it was only $45 so I really couldn’t help myself.

If it was eating at the LFS, you're already off to a good start. And a bigger one can sometimes be easier.

I’m not completely out of my depth dealing with fragile/picky wrasses. Leopard wrasses are my favorite and I have kept one happily for a long time.

It's just one level ratcheted up past that, so you are already on your way.

Shy but never buried. It has been swimming all around the tank picking Exclusively at the rocks which came live from my old tanks. I’m hoping that’s a sign that it isn’t overly stressed and is investigating its food options.

It is - that's the most promising sign you could have. If you've got enough pods for it to graze on at it's own pace, then you'll be just fine.

How do I train it to eat?

You've clearly got the experience you need - I wouldn't take any extraordinary measures. Doing what you've done for the more challenging species in the past is probably enough for this one.

I believe evolved recently mentioned tamarins need to eat a lot multiple times a day so if yours eats well I’d feed it a lot

They do, but those comments were geared towards QT. If it's in an established tank with pods it can graze on, that's a situation which is far more forgiving.

 

[Perpetual Novice]

If it was eating at the LFS, you're already off to a good start. And a bigger one can sometimes be easier.

It's just one level ratcheted up past that, so you are already on your way.

It is - that's the most promising sign you could have. If you've got enough pods for it to graze on at it's own pace, then you'll be just fine.

You've clearly got the experience you need - I wouldn't take any extraordinary measures. Doing what you've done for the more challenging species in the past is probably enough for this one.

They do, but those comments were geared towards QT. If it's in an established tank with pods it can graze on, that's a situation which is far more forgiving.

A lot of posts I’ve found have mentioned that mouth injuries are common. How can I tell if that has happened to mine?

 

[OrionN]

All wrasse are different. China wrasse have puffy lips. Looks as my pictures above. You can see if she have problem eating, look on the internet for pictures or take a clear picture of the mouth. Those of us who have experiences with China wrasse can help if you can take a clear picture.
China wrasse hunts a lot and make loud noise when they peck at the fauna on the rock. I read that this is the characteristic of all Tamarin wrasse.

 

[Perpetual Novice]

I’m hoping this china wrasse was eating in store. I didn’t get a chance to see because it was in a small tank and buried every time they added frozen food. The female harlequin filefish and blue star leopard I picked up the same day are all eating prepared food this morning. No sign of the china wrasse yet.

 

[Perpetual Novice]

I know that store’s main supplier is quality marine. I’ve spoken with that wholesalers head marine biologist and he explained his procedure for teaching tricky fish to eat. Apparently it is his personal pet peeve that no fish be offered for sale until it is eating some form of prepared food. I know they supply the leopard wrasses and harlequin filefish that come to my lfs So I’m hoping the china wrasse came from that same supplier as well.

 

[ca1ore]

Tried a pair on two occasions. First pair never ate, despite my breaking out the secret stash of nutramar ova, and both died. Second pair did much better and actually ate. Then one day one failed to come out of the sand. Second one followed a few weeks later. Won’t try again.

 

[PatW]

I have one. Sarah at my LFS recommended him. He ate at the store. i have had him 2 years and he eats everything that I toss into the tank: mysis, brine shrimp, and 4 kinds of pellets. They are supposed to be picky. But I guess he did not get the word.

If you get yours eating, it will probably be a great fish. Mine is active, peaceful, nobody picks on him (some fish seem to be born victims), and does not bother corals.

 

[evolved]

A lot of posts I’ve found have mentioned that mouth injuries are common. How can I tell if that has happened to mine?

Those injuries visually manifest as either exposed jaw bone (quite literally, bare bone visible) or as very red, swollen, "cauliflower" like lips (infected tissue).

I read that this is the characteristic of all Tamarin wrasse.

Indeed. All Anampses species "click" the jaws; it's actually their teeth mashing together.

 

[Perpetual Novice]

Here are some photos of her. She is always busy picking at the rocks. The tank gurgles a lot so I’m not sure if she’s making any noise feeding. I’ve fed the tank twice today and she seemed to get excited by the smell but I’m not sure I saw her eat a single piece. Just pick at the rocks even more frantically.

But her belly looks very well fed. So she’s probably getting food somewhere right? Any idea what it might be?

 

[evolved]

Looks in good shape to me!

 

[Perpetual Novice]

I bought three China Wrasse, two the first time and one more after a year from Petco in Corpus Christi.
It is my standard practice to place my hard to keep fish initially in my 40 gallon QT system. This is a full reef with DSB and a lot of Macro Algae, and a lot of junk corals thus a lot of fauna thriving in this system. I normally have some dither fish (a pair of A. percula clown a this time) in this system to help entice new fish to eat.
The fish fed a variety of food included pellets, flakes and frozen Mysis, along with hunting the number of Pods and bristle worms in the system. I did not have any problem with the China Wrasse. After a few weeks, they attack any food I place into the tank aggressively. Once this happened, I capture and move them into my DT.
One of the two wrasse I initially bought had mouth injury. Once healed, the mouth was deformed and she cannot open the mouth wide and can only eat tiny pieces of food. Because of this reason, she never did well and died emaciated after 1 year. I was not able to help her. Because I want a pair of this species, I bought another, also from Petco. Both are doing great, and fat. All three were less than 2 inches when I bought them. My largest turn Male recently, while the smaller one is still a female. The male courts the female regularly but so far I have not observed any egg or sperm release.
This species is very beautiful with a lot of supple, pastel coloration that cannot be capture well by my camera. Very happy with my pair.

Male and Female

Male in nuptial coloration

Female

I have one of these, they're great fish. Actually this is the first I've heard of them being difficult to keep.... I had the lfs feed it and it ate so I bought it. My tank is very established and full of pods so I'm sure that helps. I feed it the same homemade blend of seafood my other fish eat (shrimp, squid, octopus, scallops, clams, ect) and it has always ate fine. Good luck!

Tried a pair on two occasions. First pair never ate, despite my breaking out the secret stash of nutramar ova, and both died. Second pair did much better and actually ate. Then one day one failed to come out of the sand. Second one followed a few weeks later. Won’t try again.

I have one. Sarah at my LFS recommended him. He ate at the store. i have had him 2 years and he eats everything that I toss into the tank: mysis, brine shrimp, and 4 kinds of pellets. They are supposed to be picky. But I guess he did not get the word.

If you get yours eating, it will probably be a great fish. Mine is active, peaceful, nobody picks on him (some fish seem to be born victims), and does not bother corals.

Looks in good shape to me!

I got a decent video of the wrasse this morning. I added food but it didn’t grab any out of the water column. It’s hard to tell from it’s jerky swimming pattern if it was investigating them or not. I do think I saw it grab a couple pieces of prepared food that settled on the rock work. It definitely seems confident and has an appetite. Not sure how to convince it to accept my food though. Copepods and amphipods are in the mail and brine shrimp just hatched in a bowl by the tank.