The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

[jkcoral]

4. If I can locate one, would it be possible to add another Pink Streaked Wrasse to my current one? I know that some people keep them in pairs/groups, but I also saw that wrasse don't "pair".

I have two pink streaks. I had the original of the two for ~1.5 years and was pretty confident he was a male. Anyways, I saw a tiny emaciated pink streak at my LFS and it looked like a female to me, or at least a tiny juvenile. I told them I’d buy the tank I was looking at if they gave it to me.

I added the little one at night, and by the morning he had already found the small one. Here’s a pic from the next morning where I saw he’d found her.

They've been inseparable since, if you see one, the other is somewhere nearby. So I think you have a decent chance of success if you can get a small one. Especially in a larger tank where they have their own space given (as someone else noted) they might tolerate the other more if they don’t bond with eachother.

 

[i cant think]

I have two pink streaks. I had the original of the two for ~1.5 years and was pretty confident he was a male. Anyways, I saw a tiny emaciated pink streak at my LFS and it looked like a female to me, or at least a tiny juvenile. I told them I’d buy the tank I was looking at if they gave it to me.

I added the little one at night, and by the morning he had already found the small one. Here’s a pic from the next morning where I saw he’d found her.

They've been inseparable since, if you see one, the other is somewhere nearby. So I think you have a decent chance of success if you can get a small one. Especially in a larger tank where they have their own space given (as someone else noted) they might tolerate the other more if they don’t bond with eachother.

In that bottom photo you can really see the male vs the female, they’re stunning!
Just look how blue that male is in comparison.

 

[Slocke]

She’s armed and dangerous and so dang cute!!

 

[JoJosReef]

She’s armed and dangerous and so dang cute!!

Lol! Looks like fishy equivalent of a prison shank.

 

[Slocke]

Lol! Looks like fishy equivalent of a prison shank.

Well its a silversides spine so that would be an extra scary shank

 

[i cant think]

She’s armed and dangerous and so dang cute!!

I love how she stopped and stared at the Butterfly and Angel as if to say ‘I will hit you if you come closer’

 

[SaltyT]

I love how she stopped and stared at the Butterfly and Angel as if to say ‘I will shank you if you come closer’

Fixed it for you

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

How many fish does a cleaner usually need to clean a day to stay alive? For some reason that's about the cheapest and nicest looking wrasse on the market... but I don't want to put it into an understocked tank.

 

[i cant think]

How many fish does a cleaner usually need to clean a day to stay alive? For some reason that's about the cheapest and nicest looking wrasse on the market... but I don't want to put it into an understocked tank.

Honestly, mine is in a tank with 17 other fish and it cleans 5-6 of them a day generally. Although I find it’s not the amount but instead the body of them.

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

Honestly, mine is in a tank with 17 other fish and it cleans 5-6 of them a day generally. Although I find it’s not the amount but instead the body of them.

Oh dang, guess I just can’t keep one alive in my 80 gal then. That’s a lot of fish it need to clean per day.

 

[Slocke]

How many fish does a cleaner usually need to clean a day to stay alive? For some reason that's about the cheapest and nicest looking wrasse on the market... but I don't want to put it into an understocked tank.

In the wild they clean hundreds a day. They really need to be trained onto tank food or captive bred to do well.

 

[i cant think]

Oh dang, guess I just can’t keep one alive in my 80 gal then. That’s a lot of fish it need to clean per day.

My tank is about 90G - 4’x2’x18”. I tend to round it up so it’s in feet so my tank seems larger than it is.
And my stock… I still need to write them all out but it’s around 17-18 fish.

 

[i cant think]

Updated my fish stock;
I’ve used the size I’ve found them to max out personally and not the max size listed (especially with the angels - it’s rare a regal with go from 3” to a 1’ beast).

Now… names for them;
Ikea is taken by the regal but that’s the only one currently.

 

[Angelbethany]

Oh dang, guess I just can’t keep one alive in my 80 gal then. That’s a lot of fish it need to clean per day.

As an alternative you could try some cleaner gobies? (I know, they’re not wrasses, but still cool imo)

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

As an alternative you could try some cleaner gobies? (I know, they’re not wrasses, but still cool imo)

Gonna get eaten quickly… stock plans involve soldierfishes and eels. I’m not letting in anything smaller than my dascyllus.

 

[Slocke]

Gonna get eaten quickly… stock plans involve soldierfishes and eels. I’m not letting in anything smaller than my dascyllus.

A biota cleaner wrasse will work just a lot more expensive

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

My tank is about 90G - 4’x2’x18”. I tend to round it up so it’s in feet so my tank seems larger than it is.
And my stock… I still need to write them all out but it’s around 17-18 fish.

Sheesh, that’s more than twice my planned fish population lol
An extra 10 gallons does a lot to a tank…

 

[Alpha_and_Gec]

A biota cleaner wrasse will work just a lot more expensive

Biota shipping makes the effective cost far higher. Part of their appeal is the low price tag. Preferably they’d come from blue zoo or dr. reef… but those are about the only vendors I’ve looked hard at because I’ve never had any animal shipped before.

 

[jkcoral]

The last cleaner wrasse I had was in 2010. There wasn’t enough fish for him to clean, and he was aggressively going after fish to clean them. He hurt two fish, and he would harrass the tangs until they got sick. He did eat mysis sometimes, so I think that stopped him from getting even worse.

After 6 months or so the panther grouper got sick of it and just ate him haha. Never again

 

[Tcook]

Sheesh, that’s more than twice my planned fish population lol
An extra 10 gallons does a lot to a tank…

He’s got lots of circular swimming room in that tank.