Pest control wrasse reef safe for 85 gal?

[Andresnyc93]

They would definitely be fine together, but I’m not sure if wrasses eat bristle worms?

I keep seeing different things in different websites, some claim they do. The for sure one I keep seeing is the six line

 

[adittam]

I keep seeing different things in different websites, some claim they do. The for sure one I keep seeing is the six line

If they happen to find one, they'll eat it. That said, bristle worms mostly come out at night, and most wrasses sleep at night. No wrasse is going to eradicate your bristle worm population.

I love my melanurus, but be forewarned, they eat turbo snails like candy. If you want to see a photo of him, I've got a good one on page 2 (Jan 7th post) of my build thread.

 

[i cant think]

I like six lines myself.
Mystery wrasse is a good choice.
D

In the wrong tank you’d have a murderer is the issue, Mystery’s just like to kill anything anyway.

 

[blaxsun]

In the wrong tank you’d have a murderer is the issue, Mystery’s just like to kill anything anyway.

I like my six. He's an absolute workhorse!

 

[i cant think]

They would definitely be fine together, but I’m not sure if wrasses eat bristle worms?

I have found that the genus Halichoeres is split into 2. Some will eat bristleworms whereas others will eat the other pests such as red bugs. Obviously there’s the cross between the two with the Silver Belly and some others.

My Halichoeres iridis and Halichoeres chloropterus absolutely destroy worms (Tearing them apart and everything).

 

[i cant think]

I like my six. He's an absolute workhorse!

I liked mine but I also found out he didn’t want to be with other wrasses.
P.S. The dead CBB in the middle was a victim of a Scopas Tang after he decided he had enough of it.

And here’s my tank now - The sixline was in my old tank for 3-4 years. This was one of my best ideas (Not going for a six line) I’ve had as I could have several wrasses and not just one that I almost never saw.

Cirrhilabrus melanomarginatus

Halichoeres iridis

Cirrhilabrus lubbocki “Indonesian”

Halichoeres chloropterus

Cirrhilabrus lubbocki “Cebu”

My Sixline was affective however it wasn’t peaceful and I couldn’t have the peaceful fish you’d find hiding in a cave. Also the Chloropterus and Melanomarginatus need researching as they can be temperamental when they transition. With age comes aggression and dominance. My melanomarginatus is a wuss though so I manage to house him with other fairies.

What I did find out though is my whole wrasse gang defies the “law”.

 

[blaxsun]

I've got five wrassea in my tank right now: melanarus, sixline, cleaner, yellow coris and lubbock's

 

[i cant think]

I've got five wrasses in my tank right now: melanarus, sixline, cleaner, yellow coris and lubbock's

is your rock structure heavy with hiding spots? If so you'll have more chance of success

 

[blaxsun]

is your rock structure heavy with hiding spots? If so you'll have more chance of success

Massively heavy - it's a spelunker's paradise. I'm planning to add a leopard wrasse in a few weeks as well. On the plus side I found one of my small bicolor chromis hanging out in one of the barnacles. Not sure where the other one is...

 

[i cant think]

Massively heavy - it's a spelunker's paradise. I'm planning to add a leopard wrasse in a few weeks as well.

I'd still remain on the side of caution - leopards are much more likely to stress with aggression than halichoeres and cirrhilabrus. I have a blue star with 2 other wrasses in a growout nano because of my Jade and Melanomarginatus. Every small move you pull with your tank can set off a major change in the wrasse hierarchy. I was warned about this when I found out my Jade was a transitional male. Every small move and addition of wrasses can set off a giant fight in the hierarchy with aggressive wrasses.

 

[blaxsun]

I'd still remain on the side of caution - leopards are much more likely to stress with aggression than halichoeres and cirrhilabrus. I have a blue star with 2 other wrasses in a growout nano because of my Jade and Melanomarginatus. Every small move you pull with your tank can set off a major change in the wrasse hierarchy. I was warned about this when I found out my Jade was a transitional male. Every small move and addition of wrasses can set off a giant fight in the hierarchy with aggressive wrasses.

Yep - probably foremost in my mind. I'm planning to add some more small rock in the near future to creat a few more hiding spots.

 

[i cant think]

Yep - probably foremost in my mind. I'm planning to add some more small rock in the near future to creat a few more hiding spots.

I’d also personally add the leopard with another wrasse if I had room. My leopard is in the grow out tank with another wrasse also growing out so I plan on adding the two at the same time.

 

[JaaxReef]

Red Lined Wrasse (Halichoeres Biocellatus I believe). Stays a little smaller than Melanurus and more peaceful. I love mine. Great pest hunter.

Or if you have the experience and want to roll the dice you could try a Leopard Wrasse.

 

[i cant think]

Red Lined Wrasse (Halichoeres Biocellatus I believe). Stays a little smaller than Melanurus and more peaceful. I love mine. Great pest hunter.

Or if you have the experience and want to roll the dice you could try a Leopard Wrasse.

I put "Leopard Wrasse" in bold because some of them wont be great pest hunters and more ornamental (IMHO, I prefer them being ornamental as they have some really unique body shapes and patterns) but one that I know is an excellent pest hunter is Macropharyngodon negrosensis - the Black Leopard.

+1 to Halichoeres biocellatus, also they look beautiful no matter what sex they are! Same with Halichoeres iridis - Mine is a transitional male still so still shows some female colours but if I remember correctly somewhere on here has a male, I think OrionN has a mature male.