All About Reef Safe Wrasses

I would consider building a mesh top instead of the glass tops. I had a Carpenter jump into a glass top and broke his head or something. From then on he hid in a rock for weeks at a time and eventually starved to death.

 

ouch!

Hunter: best place to get Aussie Harlequin tusk... DD?

 

Its a 3ft tank, 36x15 or so (bowfront) The Blue Hippo was a must have for the wife, shes already aware that around 5-6inches he will have to be moved out. Now she wants a bigger tank

 

Yes, or PIA. He gets them on occasion too.

 

Excellent write up. Thanks for pointing me here.

Couple questions if you don't mind...
What is your recommended quarantine procedures for fairy's? Obviously we want to QT, but some folks like to proactively treat with meds (prazipro, etc...). Some are overly sensitive to copper as I understand? Is that correct?
I guess my question is, what do you do when your prized wrasse arrives? Freshwater dip, qt with meds, etc...? I'd be curious to hear your procedure?

Also, I was surprised to see that you consider the h. ornatissimus invert friendly. I enjoy feather dusters, so they're not an option for me, but I thought they were generally difficult on the CUC. I guess I was mistaken. The melanarus, I know can be hit or miss (mostly miss) with inverts, but I always thought that the ornatissimus was not really invert friendly.

Thanks for all the time you put into this thread. Very informative and helpful.

 

Been doing an incredible amount of research on wrasses over the last several months so not sure if I read it here or not, but... It's been said that an aquarist can only expect their wrasse's to live apx 6 years? That's a bummer if true.

Also, what do you feed your wrasses? I currently feed PE mysis, Rods Food, and a bit of Cyclopeeze. Some of the PE can be big for them so they crush it up against the rocks to break it down. Been considering switching to the smaller Hikari mysis.

 

Thank you, and you're very welcome.

On your first question, regarding QT: I'll share my thoughts although this is a topic I often stay quiet on.

I've never QT'd any of my wrasses. However, I only buy from a handful of sources, and I know how they treat their fish and what their standard protocal is for all fish before they go up for sale. Each of them does their own QT and most even proactively treat with various meds all the time. If I was to buy a wrasse from another source, I likely would QT, and for that I'd primarily be concerned with internal parasites (worms and flukes). I'd proactively treat accordingly. Ich wouldn't be a concern of mine, and I'd avoid copper meds.

As for the H. ornatissimus mention, that really should have said H. claudia. Fixed now; thanks for bringing that to my attention. You're correct in H. ornatissimus being much harder on inverts once they mature (and become large). However, with any Halichoeres and inverts, we can only use words like "usually" and "sometimes"; there's no absolute in how they will or will not go after inverts, only trends with certain species. It's still a YMMV with any given speciman.

Life span of any species is hard question to really get an answer on. Some say 5-6 years, others say 10-12. Most people have something else "happen" before then, making that a difficult number to put a finger on. I suspect 8-10 years is on par.

I almost exclusively feed PE mysis. My little guys don't have much problem with the size; they pick the small pieces and if they happen to grab a larger piece before someone else does, they'll go hide with it until they can get it eaten. Rods is another favorite of mine, and I'll occasionally purchase some too.

 

I'm slow to admit as well (do as I say, not as I do lol ) that I do not qt my wrasses. I'm very diligent with all other fish, but not so much for wrasses. The stress of the qt and the multiple tank moves might not be worth the risk considering they're fairly resilient to the common issues. That's not an excuse to skip qt (for those that are reading along. Hehe).
I, too, typically only get my "higher end" wrasses from PIA or DD. I also have a local vendor that I highly trust as well. I'm still nervous about skipping the QT process, but glad to see I'm not the only one.

Anyway, thanks again for the info. This thread was a great read.

 

I've been able to move some fish out of my 65 gallon to make room for flashers. Yesterday I obtained a beautiful male Carpenter's flasher that's around 2 1/2 inches. The only other fish in the tank now are an Ocellaris clown and a flame hawk. The wrasse seems quite comfortable and already feeding and swimming in the open.

I would like to add a male from another species in the genus. Would I have room to add males from 2 different species? I'm thinking having 3 might make it most stimulating for flashing and at the same time reduce the chance for one on one aggression but I have no idea if 3 could be housed in a 65 gallon tank. What's the prevailing opinion on space for 3 males? If not 3 is 2 o.k. at this size?

Also interested in what species might go best with a Carpenter's? McCoskers is very appealing though so similar. Should the size be similar or try to stagger it?

Thanks in advance for more advice!

 

Yes, adding two more males of different species should be possible. Any you're correct in your thinking of having 3 as opposed to 2 to help spread any potential aggression around.
As far as which other species, any other two should really be okay. I would avoid an Eightline flasher however, if that was at all one you were considering. McCoskers, Yellow-fin, Filamented, Line-Spot, Blue, etc; pick any two.