Question about wrasses

sharis100

sharis100

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So, I am going to be moving my nano tank up over the next few weeks and wanted to know about adding wrasses to the bigger system- 70 gallons. Is there a best way to add these type of fish? Do you purchase all together and add at once to prevent territory issues? Do you only get one male? Can you add slowly one at a time overtime? Just looking for advice and best options for planning purposes.
Thanks
 
I think it depends on the types of wrasse that you're adding. If you're dead set on adding some from the Pseudocheilinus family consider adding them last. They tend to be the most territorial. Currently I only keep mostly pretty peaceful ones for utility from the Halichoeres family and even new additions are rarely harassed. When I used to collect wrasse I had 30 different types living together and of course I just added them as I found them... mostly fairy wrasse. I would print out photos of the primary aggressors and just tape the pics to the glass. This helped quite a bit... although now that I've been introduced to the mirror method I don't bother with print outs anymore. Even with that many wrasse I still stayed away from the Pseudocheilinus family though... They are great fish for pest control but man they are mean.
 
Just looking to add some fairy type- but did not know if I could do it over time. So, use mirrors?
 
Fairy wrasse do have aggression but its at a manageable level imo. They each have their own personalities... so some are more territorial than others. In general though, they aren't that bad. You'll have some aggression for a week or so but it's not to the point of death. After sometime they get along fine with the occasional skirmish. Every time you add a new one, tape those mirrors to the glass and they'll have more things to worry about than the newcomer that kind of looks like them. This gives the newcomer more breaks from aggression if nothing else. Take them down and move them around as well. Also keep them fat during the intro period and they'll be less territorial as well.
 
My $20 Petco mystery wrasse turned out to be a stunning Whip Fin Fairy (Cirrhilabrus filamentosus). He was a tremendous bully at first. He mellowed out a good bit when I got my big blonde Naso and yellow tangs. He really came into his own when I got a melenarus wrasse. After the initial adjustment period, they settled in pretty well, a bit snarky with each other from time to time but they seem to like to “play chase” with each other, weaving through the rocks, etc. The bonus was that once there was another wrasse in the tank, my fairy finally decided it was time to start flashing (red body, bright yellow top and bottom fins with an electric blue tail.)

He is still a brat and chases the chromis several times a day. I WOULD be very cautious about adding another slower, more peaceful fish at this point unless it was good a escaping into small crevices and caves like an engineer goby or a lawnmower blenny.
 
Nice score for 20 :). I picked up a mystery fish from petco a few months ago. Turns out is in the grouper family... and will get big and start eating everything. Gotta get it out! :)
 
I mean it was pretty... and I had never seen this type before so I gave it a try. Bad idea and I know better... but it was too interesting to pass up. Had to search online for quite sometime till I find what it was. Oh it's not a grouper its in the bass family.

https://reefapp.net/en/lex/details/paranthias-furcifer

It grows fast... it was 1.5 inches when I got it. It's up to 6 now in a few months.
 
“Mystery Fish” is when the 17yr old kid who sometimes helps out in the fish department is unexpectedly the one working when the shipment comes in and he may or may not have matched the fish with their correct labels. The actual “saltwater guy” (this is the better Petco in Duluth) is SO annoyed that this has happened AGAIN and he can’t figure out which juvenile wrasse is which, just gives it to you at the generic “wrasse” price of $20.
 
BTW, I take back everything I said earlier about my wrasses all getting along and being playful but not TOO aggressive. Just like when you brag about your kids or say “My child would never . . .” and then they totally make you a liar . . . Yeah, that’s what happened in fish world at my house today.

Apparently we had some sort of Game of Thrones stuff going on here today while I was out. Fairy was super agitated and aggressive towards everyone, including the big tangs. Both wrasses look a bit beat up, but the fairy wrasse has some nasty long gashes on his side (have a feeling he got the wrong end of one of the tangs.) I fed them all with a shovel then turned the lights down and sent everyone to bed. Worked like a charm, everyone’s tucked away, sleeping except for Freddy (my naso) who wants to know if he can have a THIRD clip of red seaweed.
 
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