And that’s where Halichoeres comes in. These do the same job… with a LOT less aggression.
I assume you want a heavy wrasse tank? If so then here’s what I can say about the wrasses, narrowing it down is up to you.
Radiant Wrasse - Halichoeres iridis
These wrasses are peaceful but will stand up for being bullied. It’s often hard to get them past the shipping phase but once you get them past that phase its a rather easy fish to have. These are great for pest eating and will happily peck at the rocks all day. They remain on the small side so don’t really go for shrimp.
I loved mine as a female but the male is just as stunning (Still wish I had the female colours). The photo below is my own specimen as a male, if I had a photo of him as a female I’d add it for a comparison but I unfortunately don’t.
Red Lined Wrasse - Halichoeres biocellatus
This wrasse is just as peaceful as the Radiant and does stand up for itself when an aggressors going at them. These are a great wrasse to own when it comes to pest eating, they graze on the rocks almost constantly. As for shrimp, these are also on the smaller side and are less likely to go after shrimp. Colours on these are stunning as females but as males they’re even more beautiful. This is one species I’d love to currently own.
Yellow Wrasse - Halichoeres chrysus
These are one of the best wrasses for pest eating and aren't aggressive. They do get a bit bigger than the two above but are similar in terms of how active they are. Colours are great with these guys and they really are the cheaper “Yellow Tang” IMHO.
Melanurus Wrasse - Halichoeres melanurus
These are a slightly more aggressive wrasse compared to the ones above. They also get quite large compared to the rest. These are more likely to go after the larger shrimp such as cleaners where as the smaller guys are more likely to go after smaller shrimp such as sexy shrimp.
RedFin Fairy Wrasse - Cirrhilabrus rubripinnis
These are a slightly more aggressive species of fairy wrasse but aren’t close to the Scottorum Group in terms of aggression. These don’t touch shrimp at all, these are planktonic feeders instead of “pest” eaters. These are a larger species of fairy wrasse compared to some of the others so you may want to watch out for that. This also applies to the Whip Fin Fairy, Cirrhilabrus filamentosus.
Ruby Longfin Fairy Wrasse - Cirrhilabrus rubeus
These are a more aggressive species, but again aren’t close to the scottorum group in terms of aggression. These also do not go after shrimp and are planktonic feeders. These are a smaller species of fairy wrasse unlike the larger species.
Hooded Fairy Wrasse - Cirrhilabrus bathyphilus
This species is a moderately sized wrasse and isn’t too aggressive. But it can dent the bank. These aren’t as aggressive as the other species mentioned above so will fare better with other wrasses. Again, these are planktonic feeders so should avoid most shrimp.
Paracheilinus spp.
These guys NEED 4’ tanks as when they flash they use everything and in small tanks they crash into objects. I definitely understand the love for these guys but anything less than 4’ and I personally wouldn’t do it. This is my guy but it’s almost impossible to get a good photo of him this early in the morning.
P.S. the dots were to tick off the ones I had done already so ignore the .’s on the list.
