Mccoskers Wrasse Availability

Cincyreefer513 · Mar 15, 2022

I posted this in my build thread, but maybe this is a better place for this question.
Does anyone know why Mccoskers wrasse are so difficult to find? I have been unable to find any locally. The one lfs said they haven't seen any available in over a year. With the exception of one website, they are out of stock online too that I've seen. I'm curious if these are affected by a collection ban or what?

blaxsun · Mar 15, 2022

Depends on the LFS. Some will have access to more fish varieties than others. For example, my LFS can pretty much get any fish right now - it's just a question of getting all the various flights to line up.

Arego · Mar 15, 2022

Pruess pets by me (Michigan) has them in spades all the time. Maybe they'll ship? I don't know worth a try

LeftyReefer · Mar 15, 2022

Yeah, no shortage here in MI. My LFS has had several in the past year... I've also seen a few at some other out of town stores I visit, like Pruess Pets as mentioned above. Saw one at Fish Doctors recently too.

Both SWF and BZ say they have them in stock right now, as far as online sources.

Cincyreefer513 · Mar 15, 2022

Thanks for the replies everyone! It's pretty interesting. There are 12 local fish stores within an hour of me (actual small fish stores, not Petco). I have been to the majority of them and of the ones I have asked, replies have been, "I don't know", "nope, our supplier doesn't have them and we're going out of business soon", and "we haven't seen those available in over a year". The last one was shocked I found them supposedly in stock at Dr. Reef's Quarantined Fish.
Dr. Reef's was the only online store I could find in stock. I really prefer to do local to save on shipping if it's just one fish, but it sounds like for whatever reason, we don't get them here. Apparently Michigan been hoarding them lol

Cincyreefer513 · Mar 15, 2022

Actually, it's not fully true Dr. Reef's is the only online place. It's the only one that has a "conditioned" fish for a reasonable price. Their quarantined fish is $90 and a few other places have them for $90 as well. After shipping, I can't justify paying $140 for a single fish. I'll just wait around another couple months and see. I'm not in a huge hurry since I just added a couple fish last week. If all else fails, I might go with a Lubbocks wrasse instead.

nereefpat · Mar 15, 2022

I saw a male at a not-so-local fish store in Omaha last weekend. It was priced 69 or 79 bucks, I want to say.

Cincyreefer513 · Mar 27, 2022

I finally found one! Someone on here has one and I'll be picking it up in a few weeks

For the wrasse experts possibly reading this, would a Lubbock's and Mccosker's be compatible in a Flex 32.5 together? It's a 32 inch by 15 inch tank. I currently have one Royal Gramma and a pair of clowns. The Mccosker's will be added next. I plan to add one more, maybe just maybe 2 more fish after that. My wife wants a Mandarin. I realize this may or may not happen so just to keep my options open I'm curious if these 2 wrasses could live ok in this size tank if the Mandarin falls through.

dedragon · Mar 27, 2022

you might be fine with the 1 mccoskers, but they should really be housed in a larger aquarium of 50 gallons or more. They are pretty active fish

Cincyreefer513 · Mar 27, 2022

So just the one wrasse then. Ok thank you.

LeftyReefer · Mar 27, 2022

Glad you found one.

Another option would be Tankstop. They have them for $62 and only charge $40 for shipping, so $102 total. They also offer free shipping at $199, which isn't hard to hit if you want a few fish and inverts.

Cincyreefer513 · Mar 27, 2022

I think I got a great deal on mine. $50. Just have to drive 2hrs to get him.

LeftyReefer said:
Glad you found one.

Another option would be Tankstop. They have them for $62 and only charge $40 for shipping, so $102 total. They also offer free shipping at $199, which isn't hard to hit if you want a few fish and inverts.