Melanurus/Hoeven's Wrasse safe with corals?

[Rob Minion]

So I was considering a 6-line because, in my opinion, for the cost, you can't beat those blues and stripes in a reef safe wrasse. However, as I have heard a millions times... They are evil and I'd be asking for trouble in my harmonious tank.

So just for kicks and grins, I looked at some non-reef safe wrasse's and I really like the Hoeven's Wrasse. It is listed on Live Aquaria as easy and peaceful, but not reef safe. No other details are given. Reading posts online, I haven't seen anyone really talk about it being a coral risk.

Does anyone have any insight on this fish?

 

[Wurst]

So I was considering a 6-line because, in my opinion, for the cost, you can't beat those blues and stripes in a reef safe wrasse. However, as I have heard a millions times... They are evil and I'd be asking for trouble in my harmonious tank.

So just for kicks and grins, I looked at some non-reef safe wrasse's and I really like the Hoeven's Wrasse. It is listed on Live Aquaria as easy and peaceful, but not reef safe. No other details are given. Reading posts online, I haven't seen anyone really talk about it being a coral risk.

Does anyone have any insight on this fish?

When they get big they may eat little shrimp. They do need frequent feedings though. My 6-line is terrible - he now just patrols my frag tank.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Melanurus wrasses are completely coral safe. They may eat shrimp, crabs, and snails as they mature.

 

[Rob Minion]

Melanurus wrasses are completely coral safe. They may eat shrimp, crabs, and snails as they mature.

Such a colorful fish, that's a risk that seems worth the reward. Most of my inverts are fairly large, anyway. Not sure he could manage my 2" scarlet hermits or giant trochus snails.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Most of the melanurus wrasses I had ignored inverts.

 

[rob safron]

Mine is just fine so far. One of my best looking fish. I actually got him as I had some red flatworms, can’t say I see him eating them but they are not growing in population anyway.

 

[OrionN]

They will ignore larger invertebrates but all the tiny ones are fare game. They are efficient hunters, like Sixline wrasse but bigger. They will hunt all day long for fauna in the tank. Mine is still small, only 2.5 inches, does not bother peppermint shrimp, cleaner shrimp or my three anemone shrimp. Small snails like stomatella snails are fine but they did eliminated all my baby stomatella and strombus snails so I will not get a continue population of them. That is OK so I just get the full grown snails from my sump and QT and put them in DT. I also have a breeding population of Turbo snails. They will no longer able to breed because all the baby snails are eaten by my wrasses. Not just the Melanurus, but also Potter Leopars, Biocellatus, China Wrasses, all are very good fauna hunters.

 

[Rob Minion]

I guess the other question is, would he decimate a healthy pod population to the point of outcompeting a mandarin?

I definitely want a mandarin down the line, but I have decided to populate my tank with pods for 6 months first. I have a 125G tank with refugium.

Should I be able to breed enough pods to supply both a wrasse and a mandarin?

 

[mamedina]

I have a melanurus that is awesome. Him and the yellow tang are best buds. Also leaves inverts alone as long as I add them when he is in the sand.

 

[OrionN]

I guess the other question is, would he decimate a healthy pod population to the point of outcompeting a mandarin?

I definitely want a mandarin down the line, but I have decided to populate my tank with pods for 6 months first. I have a 125G tank with refugium.

Should I be able to breed enough pods to supply both a wrasse and a mandarin?

IMP, Mandarin go for smaller preys. You can hardly see the preys Mandarin scoop up. In my 320, I have a Flame angel pair, two Regal angels (hopefully a pair) and all the wrasses that are fauna hunters. With these, my Mandarin pair is doing very well.

In the remote past, 15 years ago, I have a Sixline pair and Mandarin pair in a 420. These are food competitor because Sixline go for smaller preys than the larger wrasses and angels I named above. All four fish (Sixline and Mandarin) coexisted for at least 1 year, and were spawning regularly in my tank. One day the Sixline pair attacked the female Mandarin. The attack last about 15 second and happened right in front of my eyes. Over so quickly that I cannot do anything about it. The wrasse took one pass each, one go for the R eye and the other one go for the L eye of the Female Mandarin. After that they completely ignored the blinded Mandarin, and her mate. She starved and become emaciated. There was no hope of recovery, I euthanized her after 2 weeks. I was lucky enough to caught the two Sixline and traded them in for another female Mandarin.

It is all instinct, but it seem to be instinct from Satan-Spawned fish for me. I vowed never put another Sixline wrasse into my tank again, even for free.

 

[YellowFinsReef]

Sixlines are big bullies in my experience. The part that sucks the most is because they are so tiny and they can fit into every hole of pukani rocks, I had to take down and take out everything to get the sixline wrasse out.

My melanurus was a model citizen. I had it as a female and it transitioned into a male. It was so tame I could feed it straight from my hand and when it was in my coral tank, it would swim up and inspect each new coral I put into the tank. I did lose him during a move.

 

[Rob Minion]

Thanks for all the info, guys. I think I'm sold on a melanurus and I'm not going to risk a 6 line.

 

[maroun.c]

I have a mated pair of melanrus 2-3 years old and at max size for the male I believe, shrimps are fine so far.

 

[jd371]

I have both a Cleaner and Fire shrimp and my Melanurus ignores both of them and all the snails as well. He did eat some Peppermint shrimp that I added to the tank for some Aptasia and a crab hitchhiker that was on a frag, but I assume their small size is the reason they became snacks.

 

[doughboy]

my experience with melanurus is not that good. It's a nice looking fish, but what good is it if it is under the sand most of the time. Mine only comes out maybe 5 hours a day, only to eat. And if it is out, it quickly buries itself as soon as I am within 10 ft of the tank. I can only see it via webcam. So it has little to no value in my tank. In other reefers' tank that has melanurus, they were always nowhere to be found when the owner wanted to show it.
6 line, I had better experience and never bothered other fish and always out and about. That's the kind of fish I like. Those fish that comes up to you when you get to the tank, not those that runs away to hide. And yes, I've had the melanurus for 8 months now, so it is not a new fish in the tank.
and regarding wrasse being pest eaters, I don't see how melanurus wrasse can be effective if it is under the sand at night when all the pests are out. as far as 6 line, when I lost one (due to jumping out) and did not replace it, the pod population exploded and it did not end well for my tank. now I make sure I have a 6 line to keep pod population in check.

 

[jda]

Even though they are a risk, I have found Melanurus to be good reef citizens even with shrimp and stuff. I do keep them well fed. They are a bit over-hyped as pest eaters since I have had red planaria before that they would not really eat all that well... and I was not comfortable starving it since since I did not want to risk it turning rogue on some other invert.

 

[eatbreakfast]

my experience with melanurus is not that good. It's a nice looking fish, but what good is it if it is under the sand most of the time. Mine only comes out maybe 5 hours a day, only to eat. And if it is out, it quickly buries itself as soon as I am within 10 ft of the tank. I can only see it via webcam. So it has little to no value in my tank. In other reefers' tank that has melanurus, they were always nowhere to be found when the owner wanted to show it.
6 line, I had better experience and never bothered other fish and always out and about. That's the kind of fish I like. Those fish that comes up to you when you get to the tank, not those that runs away to hide. And yes, I've had the melanurus for 8 months now, so it is not a new fish in the tank.
and regarding wrasse being pest eaters, I don't see how melanurus wrasse can be effective if it is under the sand at night when all the pests are out. as far as 6 line, when I lost one (due to jumping out) and did not replace it, the pod population exploded and it did not end well for my tank. now I make sure I have a 6 line to keep pod population in check.

That is unusual for a melanurus. Usually they are very outgoing and personable and is a fish that quickly begs for food when they see their main feeder enter the room.

If it is still timid after 8 months, that speaks to a bully.

Even though they are a risk, I have found Melanurus to be good reef citizens even with shrimp and stuff. I do keep them well fed. They are a bit over-hyped as pest eaters since I have had red planaria before that they would not really eat all that well... and I was not comfortable starving it since since I did not want to risk it turning rogue on some other invert.

Planaria are a signof overfeeding, so if the wrasse is being well fed no wonder he didn't put a dent in them.

 

[Oshengems]

I had one but as many have stated they do go after small inverst but only small ones like hermits and some crabs, my emerald crab is huge we would not bother neither my pair of cleaner shrimps or blood shrimps I also had a Maxima clam which he never touched but my hermits and snails was a completely different story he was on the prowl for those, as for corals themselves no interest at all, I had Acans, lobos which I feel looked meaty for him to try but he ignored them

 

[doughboy]

That is unusual for a melanurus. Usually they are very outgoing and personable and is a fish that quickly begs for food when they see their main feeder enter the room.

If it is still timid after 8 months, that speaks to a bully.

I only speak of my own experience with the specific melanurus wrasse I have.
No tank bully. It swims out and about, and as soon as I walk into the room, it dives into the sand.

 

[Oshengems]

I only speak of my own experience with the specific melanurus wrasse I have.
No tank bully. It swims out and about, and as soon as I walk into the room, it dives into the sand.

As we all know all fishes are not collected and handled the same I feel this alone attributes to their personality as well as other things, mine had a real outgoing personality after it settled in a month or so he was my most ferocious eater and def would come over as soon as I stepped in the room waiting for that froze snack he would also eat from my hand. My leopard wrasse on the other hand is a ----- compare to my fellow refeers his it’s always out and about my just hates the attention smh.

He was up roaming 1 hour before lights came on and would disappear exactly at 11:20 10mins before lights would go off but that took several months of course he was on a reverse schedule when I first got him