Lunare wrasse in a reef tank? Thoughts?

[Beefyreefy]

Like the title says, I’m curious if anyone’s kept a lunar wrasse is a reef tank. It’s listed as not being reef safe basically everywhere, but so are plenty of other fish that people still put in reef tanks. It is always a fish I’ve been fascinated with and I am kind of tempted to get one. They have such a neat personality IMO. My tank is 125 gallon long with total volume of 200gal with sump. It’s a mixed reef with a dwindling cleanup crew of various snails and a few hermits. Fish I currently own are: yellow tang, blue eyed tang, a pair of percula clowns, 4 yellow tail damsels, a pajama cardinal and a one spot fox fish. Is it going to be a total disaster if I add a lunar wrasse? Talk me out of it if you think I’m crazy, lol. I definitely have enough sense to ask an opinion here before I dump one in!

 

[Waters]

Like the title says, I’m curious if anyone’s kept a lunar wrasse is a reef tank. It’s listed as not being reef safe basically everywhere, but so are plenty of other fish that people still put in reef tanks. It is always a fish I’ve been fascinated with and I am kind of tempted to get one. They have such a neat personality IMO. My tank is 125 gallon long with total volume of 200gal with sump. It’s a mixed reef with a dwindling cleanup crew of various snails and a few hermits. Fish I currently own are: yellow tang, blue eyed tang, a pair of percula clowns, 4 yellow tail damsels, a pajama cardinal and a one spot fox fish. Is it going to be a total disaster if I add a lunar wrasse? Talk me out of it if you think I’m crazy, lol. I definitely have enough sense to ask an opinion here before I dump one in!

Yeah, I would avoid it if you want to keep any snails, crabs, etc. They can also be aggressive towards smaller fish....and larger fish if the tank is congested. That is pretty much true for all the Thalassoma wrasses unfortunately.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I love mine, but it’s a FOWLER, so I’m no help.

 

[Mareshow]

I have an opportunity to pick up a 6" ish one from a lady who had one in a reef tank with snails. She said her snails were never touched and she never lost any to the wrasse. I have hermits and emeralds and shrimp in my tank as well, but they hide all day, I know there is a risk, but is it worth it?

 

[JumboShrimp]

They are beautiful, very active fish; I had mine for about 4 years but he didn’t survive a recent tank upgrade. (A long story but I think it was a glass-impact injury.) He was a good 6”, like the one you are considering. I had him in a FOWLER, but he regularly ate cracked-open Mussels, so based on that and him always being on the ‘hunt’ I would guess you would probably lose your CUC at his size.

 

[JWD57NH]

I have had my lunar wrasse for over a year in a thriving reef tank with tons of snails all different kinds, star fish, urchins and all sps corals. Is peaceful with other fish he will protect his little sleeping corner but that's about all. He eats a frozen food blend I make and believe or not loves nori. He is a great pest hunter I have seen him devoure huge britle worms in my old tank( luckily my new tank doesn't have any) but leaves snails alone, but eats stomatellas I have like hundreds in my tank and the population was getting out of control so that's the reason I actually got him. Last night I went around with flash light and counted about 73 the most I ever counted in a night was 107. So in the last year my population has stayed under the 80 mark I believe because of my lunar wrasse.

 

[underwood]

Friend added one (~5") to a well-established reef tank and it almost immediately started going after small fish, so he gave it me (had a FOWLR at the time). Like many of the "reef safe, with caution" type fish, a lot of it will come down to the individual.

 

[bureau13]

I had one in the first incarnation of my 240, about ten years ago. Very cool fish, and when he was younger I never saw him attach any of my inverts (just snails and hermits, for the most part) but then one day I bought a cleaner shrimp and put him in the tank without thinking about it...it's a deep tank, and it was only shrimp parts all the way down. He hit that thing FAST. I ended up rehoming him. If I had a FOWLR I would get another one for sure.