Educate My Ignorance...

[ccombs]

Ok, so it is obvious that a ton of people on the forum have a love affair with Wrasses. I have read up on them, including the very informative article by @evolved from 2016. I even looked into some smaller Wrasses for my 30 long because I want an active swimmer.

That being said, there seem to be several downsides to having a wrasse. I don't want a bully in my tank that eats my shrimp!

I understand that they are all different per their genus. However, I still see a lot of negatives of owning one in general. Why do so many people love them? I am not trying to discredit anyone, I am not sure that I 'get' why they are so popular. (I do think they look really, really cool though)

 

[ReeferBean]

Ok, so it is obvious that a ton of people on the forum have a love affair with Wrasses. I have read up on them, including the very informative article by @evolved from 2016. I even looked into some smaller Wrasses for my 30 long because I want an active swimmer.

That being said, there seem to be several downsides to having a wrasse. I don't want a bully in my tank that eats my shrimp!

I understand that they are all different per their genus. However, I still see a lot of negatives of owning one in general. Why do so many people love them? I am not trying to discredit anyone, I am not sure that I 'get' why they are so popular. (I do think they look really, really cool though)

Fairy and Flasher wrasses are your best bet. They won't bother your clean up crew. Some are more aggressive than others, but if your only getting one you pretty much can have the pick of the litter in my opinion.

 

[ccombs]

Fairy and Flasher wrasses are your best bet. They won't bother your clean up crew. Some are more aggressive than others, but if your only getting one you pretty much can have the pick of the litter in my opinion.

Thanks! Most of the fairy wrasses that I like need 55 gallons or more. That being said, I think Live Aquaria upped their requirements when people tried pushing the limits lol. They seemed to know that if they put minimum 30 gallons, people would try 20...etc. haha.

 

[evolved]

I even looked into some smaller Wrasses for my 30 long because I want an active swimmer.

That being said, there seem to be several downsides to having a wrasse. I don't want a bully in my tank that eats my shrimp!

The Pink Streak Wrasse is your answer then.

Sorry, that wasn't the question.

 

[ccombs]

The Pink Streak Wrasse is your answer then.

Sorry, that wasn't the question.

Ha! That is the only one that seemed to fit that won't eat my shrimp!

I will say, I would love a leopard wrasse at some point, I am just not addicted like you are lol.

 

[ccombs]

The Pink Streak Wrasse is your answer then.

Sorry, that wasn't the question.

Also, I meant to tell you this earlier, even though I am not Wrasse addicted like you are, I really love your article on them. I read the whole thing twice just to better understand them as a whole. Funny enough, seeing negatives pointed out actually made me start this thread lol.

 

[ScottR]

I love 6 line wrasses but I won’t put in my 40. Might not be a good fit. But when I used to go diving in Hawaii, I saw lots of saddle wrasses (I think that’s what they’re called). Beautiful fish. Never seen one for sale though.

 

[ccombs]

I love 6 line wrasses but I won’t put in my 40. Might not be a good fit. But when I used to go diving in Hawaii, I saw lots of saddle wrasses (I think that’s what they’re called). Beautiful fish. Never seen one for sale though.

I like the looks of most of the wrasses and think they are cool, especially when they dive in the sand. They just seem to have a cult like following that I do not get.

For example, I get why clowns are popular. Finding Nemo + Being Relatively Easy, Cheap, and Cute.

But Wrasses just seem to have a lot of downsides and I am surprised they are so popular in the hobby, not just popular with those who want a challenge.

Side note- I am much like a clown... Easy, Cheap, and Cute. lololololol.

 

[Hemmdog]

Leopards are always good. I had a solorensis for awhile to I really loved, didn’t bother any shrimp or fish. Such a shame he jumped

 

[KrisReef]

There is no explaining why folks like any marine fish: they only exist to provide processed nutrients for coral?
But in fact wrasses are special to coral because many of them eat coral pests which makes them a total keystone predator in the corals circle of life.
It’s all in how one looks at a creature that any value can be derived or discounted.

 

[ccombs]

There is no explaining why folks like any marine fish: they only exist to provide processed nutrients for coral?
But in fact wrasses are special to coral because many of them eat coral pests which makes them a total keystone predator in the corals circle of life.
It’s all in how one looks at a creature that any value can be derived or discounted.

Very well said sir!

 

[Peter Clark]

I loved the 6 line I had in my last tank. Not only did it look cool, I loved the way it maneuvered around the tank. Pinpoint maneuvering. Very cool to watch. Had an interesting personality as well. I was lucky and had a nice one that didn't pick on anything in the tank as far as I could tell, but I also was a novice and wouldn't have been able to spot everything.

That said, on my next build I do not plan on having a wrasse. I love them, but two main things will keep me from having them. First, they can be aggressive and I don't want to gamble on that. Second, they are amazing predators and can eat tons of pods quickly. I want to have a mandarin in that tank and maybe a pipefish or two (mandarin for sure, pipefish only if pod population stays high. And neither until tank is mature), so I would rather not have a wrasse compete with them. Sad though since I do love them.

 

[ccombs]

I loved the 6 line I had in my last tank. Not only did it look cool, I loved the way it maneuvered around the tank. Pinpoint maneuvering. Very cool to watch. Had an interesting personality as well. I was lucky and had a nice one that didn't pick on anything in the tank as far as I could tell, but I also was a novice and wouldn't have been able to spot everything.

That said, on my next build I do not plan on having a wrasse. I love them, but two main things will keep me from having them. First, they can be aggressive and I don't want to gamble on that. Second, they are amazing predators and can eat tons of pods quickly. I want to have a mandarin in that tank and maybe a pipefish or two (mandarin for sure, pipefish only if pod population stays high. And neither until tank is mature), so I would rather not have a wrasse compete with them. Sad though since I do love them.

I was actually just about to ask if a wrasse would outcompete a mandarin, so thanks for reading my mind!

 

[Kyl]

You really can't group all the wrasse together as one general statement, there are some rather huge variations in predatory behavior / diet between them.

 

[ccombs]

You really can't group all the wrasse together as one general statement, there are some rather huge variations in predatory behavior / diet between them.

My post wasn't TOO clear, I wasn't trying to group them all. It just seems like each category has enough negatives that they wouldn't be so popular. I personally like the fish, I am just trying to understand their popularity as a whole.

I do see how my post was confusing, I didn't pose the question well.

This is all for my general curiosity into the minds of other reefers than it is an actual question.

 

[Peter Clark]

My post wasn't TOO clear, I wasn't trying to group them all. It just seems like each category has enough negatives that they wouldn't be so popular. I personally like the fish, I am just trying to understand their popularity as a whole.

I do see how my post was confusing, I didn't pose the question well.

This is all for my general curiosity into the minds of other reefers than it is an actual question.

I'm the one who grouped their predatory skills together. I only had the one type so generalized. Plus if I got another I'm still drawn to that one type so that is what my decision is based on. But yeah I was the one generalizing too much.

 

[Kyl]

Personally the draw for me is wrasse typically available to our hobby, as a whole offer a lot of movement in a not so big package in many instances. That and some of the colouration contrasts and patterns are just unseen in other fish species / types. My absolute favorites are cirrhilabrus, but halichoeres and macropharyngodon have some nice little bundles of speed too. I think the main thing for those after cirrhilabrus is the fact you can have a number of them, provided they're of dis-similar genus, in the tank together and most of them will be able to mature into some portion of male transition colouring.

That doesn't really help with a smaller tank like a 30, but you won't be putting a tang or a foxface in there either. Ultimately the hobby is what you make of it, nothing wrong with liking a particular type of fish over another.

 

[Deltatail14]

Recently I have gotten into keeping wrasses and I have enjoyed keeping flasher and fairy wrasses. They are peaceful and eat out of the water column so my mandarin doesn’t have to compete with them. They have some of the coolest colors out of all marine fish too.

 

[mort]

Every fish family has its drawbacks, clowns can be mean as hell (well they are damsels), tangs are aggressive polluters that get big, even firefish will happily kill each other or hide from the big scary chromis if they don't jump out, so you need to pick the least problematic. I myself love wrasse for their colour and movement and because they are often by far the best choice for a reefsafe fish. There are dozens of species that pose no threat to coral, are actually beneficial to have, get on with most tankmates and are hardy once acclimated, try saying that about othe familes of fish.
Some of the stuff you read about them killing all the cuc is true but there are sometimes reasons behind that such as underfeeding, adding small tempting snack sized shrimp or just a general lack of understanding of the family. I've seen plenty of threads where tangs ate corals and it doesn't stop people adding them because they know it's not the norm.

Saying that 30g is very difficult for wrasse. Wetmorella are cool if you like more cryptic fish and the pink streak is nice but you don't have enough space for a real in your face stunner.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I agree that every group of fish has positives and drawbacks.

But some wrasses provide the best "bang for your buck" as far as hardiness, bright color, activity, and personality.