Best Bare Bottom Wrasse

ReeferReefer · Jul 3, 2019

I have a IM Nuvo 30L and I am trying to plan the stocking for it. My current stocking plans are 2 clowns, 1 royal gramma, 1 tailspot blenny and a wrasse.

I am having trouble deciding on a wrasse. From my research I am limited to fairy and flasher wrasses due the running a bare bottom tank. Ideally the wrasse would have good color to compliment the orange, yellow and purple in the other fish.

I have kept a Solar Fairy before and liked him alot. Good color too.

Any advice on what to stock?

nereefpat · Jul 3, 2019

3' tank, right?

The best looking small fairy wrasse I've seen is the pintail (C. isosceles)

Silver14SS · Jul 3, 2019

Would a pink streaked or a possum wrasse work?

stefanm · Jul 3, 2019

Flasher wrasses are probably your best bet, fairy wrasses can get bullied, I had a lubbocks fairy wrasse that got a little harassed and dived into a BTA, never reappeared, my yellow flasher is by far my favourite, doesn't let himself get bullied and his presence has got the clowns to wander a bit further and be out in the open more, along with all the other tank mates.

Reef_A_Lot · Jul 3, 2019

I’ve used a 6 line wrasse in a bare bottom tank before with no problems. Not sure how one would do with your tank mates in a 30L

nereefpat · Jul 3, 2019

Yes,

pink streak, any of the possum, or sixline wrasses would all be an option. The six line does have the obvious potential aggression issues.

ReeferReefer · Jul 3, 2019

nereefpat said:
3' tank, right?

The best looking small fairy wrasse I've seen is the pintail (C. isosceles)

Yes. It is 3 feet long.

ReeferReefer · Jul 3, 2019

Pink streak seems like one of the stand outs so far.

I've always like sixlines but I worry about their behavior.

Silver14SS · Jul 3, 2019

I had a PSW in a Reefer 170 a while ago, much brighter colors in person than in pictures. It stayed hidden at first. After a couple weeks it would come out, but hide if I came near the tank. After a couple months it was fine and would swim around the whole tank.

To me it had the positive characteristics of a 6 line without the aggression.

ReeferReefer · Jul 9, 2019

Is my tank too small for any flasher or fairy wrasses?

saltyhog · Jul 9, 2019

It's really a little small but not for the pink streaked which is your best bet. A pintail or a lubbocks might be ok but my pintail uses every inch of my 6' tank.

mattzang · Jul 9, 2019

i don't think i'd add a sixline with a royal gramma. i had that combo and the gramma got progressively more timid and i think the sixline was bullying it when i wasn't looking.

possum wrasses and pink streaked are probably the best fit.

have you considered more basslets? i believe you can do assessors and the non gramma basslets like the swales or swissguard. i think an all basslets tank would be pretty cool since they're kinda timid and harder to see in larger tanks

ReeferReefer · Jul 10, 2019

mattzang said:
i don't think i'd add a sixline with a royal gramma. i had that combo and the gramma got progressively more timid and i think the sixline was bullying it when i wasn't looking.

possum wrasses and pink streaked are probably the best fit.

have you considered more basslets? i believe you can do assessors and the non gramma basslets like the swales or swissguard. i think an all basslets tank would be pretty cool since they're kinda timid and harder to see in larger tanks

I had not considered that at all. I will have to take a look at some others. I always thought they couldn't be kept together.

Yellow Assessors seem pretty cool.

mattzang · Jul 10, 2019

ReeferReefer said:
I had not considered that at all. I will have to take a look at some others. I always thought they couldn't be kept together.

Yellow Assessors seem pretty cool.

yeah i was wanting to do a nano tank and i ran it by eatbreakfast and he said you basically can't do a royal gramma and purplecap in a smaller tank, one or the other. then you can do a liopopoma, but not multiple, and then assessors are social so you can do however many of those. those seem hard to find / expensive, though

Jesterrace · Jul 10, 2019

For that tank the Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse would be my number 1 choice:

scardall · Jul 10, 2019

6 line wrasse works

bhuyett · Jul 10, 2019

Yeah.. 6 line wont work, small tank they get very territorial the older they get and will bully and kill other fish when trying to introduce them. Ask myself and others how we know.

You will be regretting the purchase and even more so trying to get him out of your tank when that day comes. Just save yourself the headache and leave them in the LFS.

ReeferReefer · Jul 11, 2019

Jesterrace said:
For that tank the Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse would be my number 1 choice:

What a beautiful fish. Fairy wrasses are amazing.

sfin52 · Jul 11, 2019

mattzang said:
i don't think i'd add a sixline with a royal gramma. i had that combo and the gramma got progressively more timid and i think the sixline was bullying it when i wasn't looking.

possum wrasses and pink streaked are probably the best fit.

have you considered more basslets? i believe you can do assessors and the non gramma basslets like the swales or swissguard. i think an all basslets tank would be pretty cool since they're kinda timid and harder to see in larger tanks

My chalk bass gets harassed BT my royal gramma. With a basslest may be aggressive toward each other.