Bare bottom and wrasses?

Bacon505 · Feb 12, 2020

My current 160g system is bare bottom. I decided that i want to have some wrasses in the system to help with unwanted hitch hiker. My plan is to add a pile of sandbed in the back corner of the tank for the wrasses. The only sand i have is the black sand. Would it be more difficult for the wrasses to find with black sand or would it be best to get white sand.

Slawman · Feb 12, 2020

I have no sand and a wrasse (for the last three years). No problems so far, it tucks itself under rockwork and seem to be fine. Jumping is the main problem with my fellow and I need to cover most of what I was hoping to be an open top....

reef lover · Feb 12, 2020

So wrasses bury some hide in a mucus coccoon...if yours is one who likes to bury then you must have sand...can even use Tupperware Dishes full and hide them in the back. All leopards,melanarus,corris, emeralds and im sure many others require sand.

CindyKz · Feb 12, 2020

Research the type of wrasse you want. Some are better for pests than others, while some bury and some wrap in a cocoon in the rock work.

I've had good luck with Heliocheres sp. wrasses to control flatworms, and they require a sand bed to bury in. My pink streaked wrasse (Pseudocheilinops ataenia) also seems to eat flatworms, but he's tiny so I don't think he would be good against anything larger. He makes a cocoon at night (although he goes so deeply into the rockwork that I've never seen the cocoon). My fairy wrasses (Cirrhilabrus species) don't seem to eat pests at all. I don't have experience with any others.

This link will get you started https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/all-about-reef-safe-wrasses-in-aquaria.259894/

Daniel@R2R · Feb 12, 2020

CindyKz said:
Research the type of wrasse you want. Some are better for pests than others, while some bury and some wrap in a cocoon in the rock work.

I've had good luck with Heliocheres sp. wrasses to control flatworms, and they require a sand bed to bury in. My pink streaked wrasse (Pseudocheilinops ataenia) also seems to eat flatworms, but he's tiny so I don't think he would be good against anything larger. He makes a cocoon at night (although he goes so deeply into the rockwork that I've never seen the cocoon). My fairy wrasses (Cirrhilabrus species) don't seem to eat pests at all. I don't have experience with any others.

This link will get you started https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/all-about-reef-safe-wrasses-in-aquaria.259894/

The linked article is an excellent resource. I agree that whether or not you'll need sand depends on the type of wrasses you get. I kept tamarin and leopard wrasses in black sand without any issue, so sand color doesn't seem to matter. I also agree with the recommendation above that if you're going bb except for one spot in the tank where you'll have sand, it's best to get some kind of dish or wrasse bed for the sand to go in rather than just piling it (the pile will eventually spread and scatter on your tank bottom). There are some wrasse beds that are made to look like live rock (I've seen a few around from different vendors), or the simpler solution would be to use a small Tupperware and put rocks or corals around it.