Melanurus wrasse?

Discussion in 'Tropical Fish' started by gabbagabbawill, Apr 17, 2011.

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  1. gabbagabbawill

    gabbagabbawill Pajama Cardinal

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    So, I am thinking of adding a melanurus wrasse to my reef tank...

    I have a few concerns...

    First, do they eat shrimp?

    Are they ok with fairy wrasses?

    The guy at one of my LFS's swears by them, says he keeps them in all his reef tanks to keep them pest free....

    I may have an infestation of pyramid snails (will have positive ID later this week) and am considering one to mainly get rid of these...

    I don't care if he eats my peppermint shrimp, but I am concerned about it eating my cleaner and harlequin shrimp....

    thanks!

    Will
     
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  3. RedGambit

    RedGambit Giant Squid

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    They shouldn't harrass your fairy wrasse to much. They are great fish. I never had an issue with mine eating shrimp or inverts.
     
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  4. johnc101

    johnc101 Feather Duster

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    I just love mine, he is so active
     
  5. gabbagabbawill

    gabbagabbawill Pajama Cardinal

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    I'm leaning towards getting one... can't see any reason not to at this point...
     
  6. inwall75

    inwall75 Giant Squid

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    I've never really seen issues with shrimp. I've seen a few that will eat regular snails too.
     
  7. gabbagabbawill

    gabbagabbawill Pajama Cardinal

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    like astreas, stomatella, etc? oh my... well, I don't have a ton of snails, but I can't say I want my snail population wiped out... one or two here or there wouldn't be so bad though...
     
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  9. inwall75

    inwall75 Giant Squid

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    I know of one that actively hunted snails. The other one was just an opportunist and if a snail fell on it's back, it was a goner. With that said, at Planet Reef, I had them in the coral systems so that I didn't have issues with flatworms and other pests.
     
  10. gabbagabbawill

    gabbagabbawill Pajama Cardinal

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    Well, thanks for the reply. I think I may take my chances and get one.

    A local LFS has a nice one in their coral grow out tank for sale.
     
  11. Dingo

    Dingo Giant Squid

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    I have had multiple Mel wrasses... At least one in almost all of my tanks. They are probably my favorite fish and are almost always the best behaved :)
     
  12. gabbagabbawill

    gabbagabbawill Pajama Cardinal

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    Well, I'm excited... I picked one up today, and I got to pick from four different ones... this one had the best personality in all the tanks, and has very pretty blues... was probably the smallest one, too... either a female or a juvie. :)

    I'll post pics soon...

    (don't worry incognito, I'm going to capture those pyramid snails I'm sending you tonight before the mel has a chance to get to them...)