Spotlight - Earmuff Wrasse (Halichoeres Melasmapomus)

[lolmatt]

This totally depends on the tank and how it's introduced. I had a small 2-3" female melanurus that was rather peaceful try to destroy a juvenile h. biocellatus in a 40 breeder. Obviously too little space, but I was inexperienced. As @saltyhog mentioned with his 10 wrasse tank, I think dispersed aggression helps a lot, I have 9 wrasses in my tank as mentioned earlier (now a 180 rather than the 40), including h. melasmopomus, and things are "peaceful" (though very competitive) most of the time. If you're going to try, I would only do it with the help of an acclimation box. Eshopps makes one that's magnetic that I can highly recommend. Keep it high up in the tank to avoid the wrasse trying to burrow into the plastic.

Also worth saying, the 9 wrasses didn't make it. The boss (green wrasse) bullied them one by one until I caught him. A few disappeared, one or two got sucked into a mp40, others were caught and given away until I managed to catch the boss in a trap. He lived at my lfs for a week or two before he went carpet surfing and no tears were shed for the gray wrasse.

 

[ArtsyFish]

Love seeing this thread still getting hits years later. Not the guy you asked, but mine is still doing great. He ended up getting bullied pretty hard by a green wrasse in my 180, and I got lucky and caught the earmuff first (he was getting pretty thin). Gave him to my dad, so he's in a 75g now. Great fish and still not very aggressive. On par with a h. chrysus I'd say, both in terms of size and temperament. My tank that he grew up in and my dad's tank both have larger grain sand about 2" thick. He's got a small cryptic wrasse (pink streak wrasse) and the earmuff doesn't even look at it.

Overall great fish. Hope to get it back from my dad some day when I put up a new tank and rework my fish inhabitants.

Thanks for your reply. I have a 100 gallon tank with an irregular sand bed that varies from 1" to 2.5" depending on how my clown fish move the sand around. Is this too shallow for the ear muff wrasse. I have a yellow tang, a bellus angel, a mandarin, a purple dotty back, a Molly Miller blenny, a blue green chromis and 3 chalk bass and a pair of clowns. Any issues there? there is a lot of rock with open spaces and arches and a good amount of swimming space at the top. I read that the Ear Muff requires multiple feedings a day. I feed once a day in the morning, which carries daily between enriched frozen mysis shrimp, Brine shrimp and Masstick. I feed a piece of Nori daily to. Do ear Muff require more. How small an opening can these fish jump through. Would I need to modify the slits in my overflows.

 

[ArtsyFish]

Also worth saying, the 9 wrasses didn't make it. The boss (green wrasse) bullied them one by one until I caught him. A few disappeared, one or two got sucked into a mp40, others were caught and given away until I managed to catch the boss in a trap. He lived at my lfs for a week or two before he went carpet surfing and no tears were shed for the gray wrasse.

Thanks for your reply. I have a 100 gallon tank with an irregular sand bed that varies from 1" to 2.5" depending on how my clown fish move the sand around. Is this too shallow for the ear muff wrasse. I have a yellow tang, a bellus angel, a mandarin, a purple dotty back, a Molly Miller blenny, a blue green chromis and 3 chalk bass and a pair of clowns. Any issues there? there is a lot of rock with open spaces and arches and a good amount of swimming space at the top. I read that the Ear Muff requires multiple feedings a day. I feed once a day in the morning, which carries daily between enriched frozen mysis shrimp, Brine shrimp and Masstick. I feed a piece of Nori daily to. Do ear Muff require more. How small an opening can these fish jump through. Would I need to modify the slits in my overflows.

 

[lolmatt]

Thanks for your reply. I have a 100 gallon tank with an irregular sand bed that varies from 1" to 2.5" depending on how my clown fish move the sand around. Is this too shallow for the ear muff wrasse. I have a yellow tang, a bellus angel, a mandarin, a purple dotty back, a Molly Miller blenny, a blue green chromis and 3 chalk bass and a pair of clowns. Any issues there? there is a lot of rock with open spaces and arches and a good amount of swimming space at the top. I read that the Ear Muff requires multiple feedings a day. I feed once a day in the morning, which carries daily between enriched frozen mysis shrimp, Brine shrimp and Masstick. I feed a piece of Nori daily to. Do ear Muff require more. How small an opening can these fish jump through. Would I need to modify the slits in my overflows.

He'll be fine. If you get one that eats well. If not you might need to feed live for a few weeks to get him used to eating - black worms, grass shrimp, brine (in that order). You'll find he will even eat the nori after being in there a while. The tang and the angel will help him be a bit more bold by giving him some aggressive competition which is good.

He will likely flip snails and crabs as he gets bigger.

 

[ArtsyFish]

He'll be fine. If you get one that eats well. If not you might need to feed live for a few weeks to get him used to eating - black worms, grass shrimp, brine (in that order). You'll find he will even eat the nori after being in there a while. The tang and the angel will help him be a bit more bold by giving him some aggressive competition which is good.

He will likely flip snails and crabs as he gets bigger.

Thanks again for your input. I forgot about my red fire shrimp. Will I risk losing it?

 

[lolmatt]

Yes

 

[RMS18]

How deep is your sand bed. How are the fish doing now.

Hey, sand is 2-2.5 I had to re-home one as they both went male. And I lost the other male last spring during some unknown bacterial issue along with some other fish. They grew into large fish, before he died he was about 5-6 inches.

 

[ArtsyFish]

Hey, sand is 2-2.5 I had to re-home one as they both went male. And I lost the other male last spring during some unknown bacterial issue along with some other fish. They grew into large fish, before he died he was about 5-6 inches.

Thank you for your reply. Sorry you lost one and other fish due to disease. I have a Mandarin and am thinking that adding an ear muff now would not be good as the pod population may not sustain both. Better to wait until the Mandarin is not around anymore.

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

They should be fine. Halichoeres are sexually dichromatic so in the presence of another of the same species one may become dominant over the other and turn to male. This occurred with my leopard wrasses.

I believe this is a male.

is that one a earmuff? if not, what species or common name?

 

[lolmatt]

is that one a earmuff? if not, what species or common name?

That one is indeed an earmuff male (halichoeres melasmapomus/xanti). Very high contrast photo, in reality in a home aquarium the blue is more subdued and the body looks more pink/gray.

My experience with this fish has been extraordinary, very docile still despite being a fully grown halichoeres wrasse. More subdued than even a yellow wrasse h. chrysus. Anecdotal, though, as I've only had the 1. He does not chase my cryptic pink-streaked wrasse (p. ataenia) at all.