Pick Me A Wrasse

I'm looking for a Wrasse to be the "main feature" of my tank. That has been my plan all along and I have been trying to figure out which one was the right one for awhile now. First, here is what's in my tank.
55 Gal FOWLR...Although I do have a couple small Ricordea.
2 Tomato Clowns
2 Four Stripe Damsels
2 Yellow Tail Damsels
1 Coral Beauty
1 Yellow Tang
2 Fire Shrimp

I'm worried about over stocking a little bit...I have gotten 1 fire shrimp, the tang and coral beauty for free!!! Couldn't turn it down.

I know a lot of the Wrasse's will be aggressive towards smaller fish, but my fish are well established in my tank and I'm hoping bringing in the Wrasse last will help lessen that aggression. Most importantly, I want to make sure he doesn't touch my Fire Shrimp.

I'm up for thoughts and suggestions. Appreciate it.

 

Seems overstocked already to me.

 

Yeah... I agree. I was leaning towards taking the 4 damsels to the lfs.

 

55 is too small for a tang IMO as well. If you take out the damsels and tang you could get a nice wrasse and perhaps another couple smaller fish and have a nice selection.

 

I agree between the tang, the tomato clowns (which get to ~5") and the coral beauty you have some pretty hefty fish in there and once they grow out you will probably be overstocked. Those damsels (including the clowns) can get aggressive too.
If you want a wrasse that won't eat your shrimp I think you might need to rethink your current stock list and go with more passive fish like fairy and flasher wrasses (as long as you have a cover for the tank).

 

christmas tree wrasse are hardy and mine has not bothered any reef inhabitants

 

A Christmas wrasse would be a good addition until it gets 7" long that is.

I do agree that the tank is already overstocked. If you got rid of those damsels, then you might be OK for a smaller wrasse. The YT is another point of contention, but that has been covered already. FWIW, most wrasses are not aggressive at all. 6 line wrasses are typically, but other than that most would rather run than fight.

 

im in agreement with whats been said regarding being overstocked. but if you take care of that , then my personal opinion is to go with a flasher wrasse. iv3e got a soft spot for them. a mccoskers or carpenters flasher are very nicely colored , especially when flashing. or you could get a "mutt" quite often you will get a wrasse of 2 different species. they seem to have no problem intermingling. ive got a combo mccocksers-carpenters. when flashing , the top fin is metallic looking. good luck with it all

guy

 

I would recommend a Melanurus wrasse to anyone..i absolutely love mine..and if you plan on having a reef in the future it won't bother anything.

 

I would say a melanurus would be OK until it gets full size. They get over 6" long, and when mature, can be bullies.


I would recommend a smaller halichoeres wrasse for their flatworm eating skills. A yellow halichoeres (often called a yellow coris), or a green halichoeres would be a good addition.

it is hard to say anything bad about flasher wrasses, besides that they don't eat flatworms, but beyond that, they are beautiful, and neat active fish.