Multiple wrasses - How to make them get along?

[Tek]

Advice on keeping more than one wrasse in a tank? I currently have a Christmas wrasse and a Coris wrasse in a 10G QT. Both are healthy but the Christmas wrasse is absolutely dominating the Coris and chasing it into the tub of sand. It stays in the sand most of the day and misses the feeding times. Will this behavior stop once in the DT?

 

[_Alex_]

Being in a 10g im.not surprised. And it will depend on how big the dt is and other fish. But most likely will continue for some time till one dies sadly

 

[Mike&Terry]

If it were me, I would add a divider in the QT tank to separate them.

Here's one I use in my QT:

1/2" egg crate, 1/4" clear mesh screening, zip ties and a piece of vinyl tubing split down once side.

 

[evolved]

Agree on adding a divider for now. You can't force them to get along, I'm afraid.

When you say "Coris", what species do you mean?

 

[Tek]

I will make a divider out of eggcrate.

Yellow & Purple Wrasse (Halichoeres leucoxanthus)
Christmas Wrasse (Halichoeres claudia )

I did my research on these 2 and they were supposed to be compatible and peaceful. Both were swimming together the first week in QT with no issues or the slightest aggression. It seems as if the aggression is food related more than territory as they sleep in the same sand tub. The Christmas wrasse is a pig.

 

[Tek]

If it were me, I would add a divider in the QT tank to separate them.

Here's one I use in my QT:



1/2" egg crate, 1/4" clear mesh screening, zip ties and a piece of vinyl tubing split down once side.

Where did you get the clear mesh? I need to make a new fish cover since the eggcrate blocks too much light.

 

[evolved]

I will make a divider out of eggcrate.

Yellow & Purple Wrasse (Halichoeres leucoxanthus)
Christmas Wrasse (Halichoeres claudia )

I did my research on these 2 and they were supposed to be compatible and peaceful. Both were swimming together the first week in QT with no issues or the slightest aggression. It seems as if the aggression is food related more than territory as they sleep in the same sand tub. The Christmas wrasse is a pig.

Ah, much better. Thank you. Sidenote: "Coris" is a seperate genus entirely. It's unfortunately and commonly a misnomer for Halichoeres wrasses to be labeled as a Coris. These are not equivalent and imply greatly different things.

Yes, those two should be fine together, but a 10g with a limited food supply will make the worst behaviors come out. How often are you feeding? If you can manage to maintain parameters, feeding more or more often would help for now.

Where did you get the clear mesh? I need to make a new fish cover since the eggcrate blocks too much light.

Bulk Reef Supply sells it.

 

[Tek]

I have an auto feeder set to drop flakes 2X a day to keep from fouling the water. The Christmas wrasses never seems full no matter how much I feed.

 

[evolved]

That's probably your issue right there. Flakes don't offer much sustenance on their own. If you switch to manually feeding a meaty, frozen food 2x a day, you'd see a big improvement in health a behavior.

 

[zemuss]

put the divider in and hopefully the QT is almost done. But how big is this display tank?

 

[Tek]

This is week 2 of QT and the divider is in place. I just started to feed NLS pellets.
Tank is 90G. I have had a yellow wrasse in each tank in the past but this is my first attempt at keeping more than one together.

 

[Triggreef]

I would bet they'll be fine in the display. I notice the xmas seems to be more aggressive than most. I have an xmas, 2 yellows, melanurus, a timor, and a green in my 200 and they are fine, but the xmas goes after the yellows for some reason. Not too bad anymore, but it did get bad for some reason over the summer for a week or so, then back to normal.

 

[Tek]

I feed heavy in my DT so hopefully they will be better behaved.

Thank you everyone for all the help!

 

[Tek]

Being in a 10g im.not surprised. And it will depend on how big the dt is and other fish. But most likely will continue for some time till one dies sadly

This looks like what is going to happen. I setup the net and the Halichoeres claudia is still trying to be a terror even with feeding until its stomach is round. The Halichoeres leucoxanthus has been able to eat since my last post and is a very friendly fish just like my last one. I will just pick one for the DT and at this time and it looks like the Halichoeres leucoxanthus. I would like another wrasse later but will probably go with a Macropharyngodon bipartitus to keep the species different.

 

[rworegon]

I keep a large fairy wrasse, a yellow fin flasher, a yellow coris, and a leopard all in my 90 gal. The fairy,m being the oldest and largest seems to chase the yellowfin flasher around at times, but not to the point of a problem. They are all out and about all day and all disappear at night into the sane or rocks to sleep.

 

[JMSKI333]

I would say try adding the coris wrasse to the display tank first and let it get settled before adding the Christmas wrasse. That should do the trick if anything will. It is hard to tell if the aggression will transfer since the qt is so small.

 

[Tek]

I would say try adding the coris wrasse to the display tank first and let it get settled before adding the Christmas wrasse. That should do the trick if anything will. It is hard to tell if the aggression will transfer since the qt is so small.

That was my plan also, but my feeder drops food 4x a day and I am afraid if the aggression continues the yellow will hide in the sand and miss all the feedings. Based on the Christmas wrasse's personality right now I don't want to risk it. I will be placing it in my nephews FOWLR for now to see how it plays with the others.

 

[Tek]

Strangest thing happened yesterday. I was doing a water change and must have nudged the net and caused a gap. This morning I could not find the Christmas wrasse and thought it had jumped out. It was actually on the other side in the tub of sand. Both wrasses are now together with no sign of aggression. Looks like they became frenemies. :amen: