The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

ingtar_shinowa · Dec 18, 2013

Eienna said:
Nicewrasse here on the forums.

aandfsoccr04 said:
Yeah Brett is still open. He is in the process of moving right now and should be back up and running after the first of the year. High quality stuff for sure and great prices. You can find him on facebook as well.

mnat said:
He is in the process of moving so he shut everything down. Should be back up and running around January.

I got a potter wrasse as well as a flame, lineatus, and ornate from him and they are doing great. You know how touchy a potters can be.

demonspeedn · Dec 19, 2013

I have a Melanarus wrasse that I've had for about 2 years. I believe it fully transformed into a male and I wondering if I could put a small female in now. Would they pair up or just fight? It's a 90 gal with 80lbs of LR.
Thanks,
Joe

evolved · Dec 19, 2013

Aquaph8 said:
NY aquatics
Pacific Island aquatics

+1
Those and DD are the only online vendors I personally use.

demonspeedn said:
I have a Melanarus wrasse that I've had for about 2 years. I believe it fully transformed into a male and I wondering if I could put a small female in now. Would they pair up or just fight? It's a 90 gal with 80lbs of LR.
Thanks,
Joe

So long as the female is actually a female, you should be fine. Using an acclimation box can be helpful.

evolved · Dec 19, 2013

evanjah said:
OK quick wrasse question...had a female Solon wrasse..ordered a male...they sent another female...had them together for about 5 months..now got a male...and he is getting picked on by the bigger female..any tips?

When you say "picked on", what exactly does that mean? Occasionally chasing is fine. Unless the picking is resulting in nipped fins or one being forced into hiding, it may not be anything to worry about.

I also question if you might not have two unique species, and not a m/f pair.

evanjah · Dec 19, 2013

Yah males in hiding.... look just like live aquarias pic of Solon wrasses

evanjah · Dec 19, 2013

I see him a bit still but not swimming...hiding...its only been 3 days tho

evolved · Dec 19, 2013

In that instance, things tend not to improve and have already degrade to a low.

I'd start working on trapping the bully; sorry.

m88a2 · Dec 19, 2013

Do you guys think I could add a female lubbock's to a tank if I already have had a male for years or would the male just harass it to death. I do have a specimen box and pvc I could keep the female in if that would help.

casey187 · Dec 19, 2013

wanting to add some more wrasses to my 300DD. currently have a mystery and mccoskers. I want to add lineatus, rhomboid, labouts, and naoki. can i add a pair of each or should i add only one of some and maybe 3 of another?

TheGrimmReefer · Dec 19, 2013

casey187 said:
wanting to add some more wrasses to my 300DD. currently have a mystery and mccoskers. I want to add lineatus, rhomboid, labouts, and naoki. can i add a pair of each or should i add only one of some and maybe 3 of another?

May have to get rid of the mystery first.. from what I've heard, they don't play well with new wrasses.

casey187 · Dec 19, 2013

TheGrimmReefer said:
May have to get rid of the mystery first.. from what I've heard, they don't play well with new wrasses.

he is in my frag tank so i can add him last. I could not pass on him for $20. impulse buy.

ingtar_shinowa · Dec 19, 2013

Mystery Wrasse can get mean for sure. A good tip is to add juvies of the pricier wrasse, since even in pairs they have the tendancy that eventually you end up with 2 males anyway. A bonus I like in this is that you can be pretty sure you will have the fish around a lot longer because a terminal male you never know its age. Plus I like to see the transition.

TonapahNorth · Dec 20, 2013

So the pretty red tail that I showed in my earlier picture this month that my wife got me for a Christmas present has taken to carpet diving. He didn't do this at all for the first week or so. I'm happy to say that I was there for both attempts and I quickly put him back in the tank. After the first time, I kept the lid on full time. The second time, he hit the lid with such force that he moved the lid and still made it out. Since the second time, I've weighted the lid and it's worked. I've seen him on two occasions try to jump out but been repelled by the lid being secured.

The problem now is that he's gone into hiding. He won't come out of his sleeping hole except an occasional swim and at feeding time. I'm not home 24/7 so I'm not sure of his out time. But there are no bullies in the tank and he's not being harassed by anything. That's certain. I think he's sulking about not getting out. Maybe he's embarrassed by his failure to escape. But I'm not a wrasse whisperer.

Any thoughts on what I should do? Will he eventually come back out and be social again?

Eienna · Dec 20, 2013

TonapahNorth said:
So the pretty red tail that I showed in my earlier picture this month that my wife got me for a Christmas present has taken to carpet diving. He didn't do this at all for the first week or so. I'm happy to say that I was there for both attempts and I quickly put him back in the tank. After the first time, I kept the lid on full time. The second time, he hit the lid with such force that he moved the lid and still made it out. Since the second time, I've weighted the lid and it's worked. I've seen him on two occasions try to jump out but been repelled by the lid being secured.

The problem now is that he's gone into hiding. He won't come out of his sleeping hole except an occasional swim and at feeding time. I'm not home 24/7 so I'm not sure of his out time. But there are no bullies in the tank and he's not being harassed by anything. That's certain. I think he's sulking about not getting out. Maybe he's embarrassed by his failure to escape. But I'm not a wrasse whisperer.

Any thoughts on what I should do? Will he eventually come back out and be social again?

It sounds like he's uncomfortable being in your tank. I wouldn't know why, though. :/

evolved · Dec 20, 2013

m88a2 said:
Do you guys think I could add a female lubbock's to a tank if I already have had a male for years or would the male just harass it to death. I do have a specimen box and pvc I could keep the female in if that would help.

It could be done in the manner you describe. The problem you'll likely face is finding a female, however.

casey187 said:
he is in my frag tank so i can add him last. I could not pass on him for $20. impulse buy.

A 300 is pretty big, but I still wouldn't but the mystery in there if you plan to have other wrasses. It wouldn't be worth the risk and potential grief to me.

TonapahNorth said:
So the pretty red tail that I showed in my earlier picture this month that my wife got me for a Christmas present has taken to carpet diving. He didn't do this at all for the first week or so. I'm happy to say that I was there for both attempts and I quickly put him back in the tank. After the first time, I kept the lid on full time. The second time, he hit the lid with such force that he moved the lid and still made it out. Since the second time, I've weighted the lid and it's worked. I've seen him on two occasions try to jump out but been repelled by the lid being secured.

The problem now is that he's gone into hiding. He won't come out of his sleeping hole except an occasional swim and at feeding time. I'm not home 24/7 so I'm not sure of his out time. But there are no bullies in the tank and he's not being harassed by anything. That's certain. I think he's sulking about not getting out. Maybe he's embarrassed by his failure to escape. But I'm not a wrasse whisperer.

Any thoughts on what I should do? Will he eventually come back out and be social again?

Everything in your description, except the contrary statement, indicates another tankmate is bullying the fish. Are you absolutely certain? A lot of aggression can happen in 10 seconds of time when you're not looking. It might be worth your while to sit in front of the tank for an hour or two and simply observe things.

TonapahNorth · Dec 20, 2013

evolved said:
Everything in your description, except the contrary statement, indicates another tankmate is bullying the fish. Are you absolutely certain? A lot of aggression can happen in 10 seconds of time when you're not looking. It might be worth your while to sit in front of the tank for an hour or two and simply observe things.

The only fish in the tank are two picasso clowns, a gold assessor basslet, a juvenile midas blenny, a helfrichi firefish, and the wrasse. They are all peaceful. The blenny seems to be the most motivated to eat but otherwise he's friendly. The clowns and the firefish sleep together. The basslet and the blenny sleep in the same cave even though there are plenty of other holes. The wrasse dug his hole right under the blenny and basslet cave. I had a purple dottyback that was in the tank during the wrasse's first few days but he started nipping the basslet so I got rid of him. He's no longer in the tank for the last five days. I don't know what he could be stressed about tbh. I will keep an eye on it more than I have and try to report back soon. Thank you.

eatbreakfast · Dec 20, 2013

TonapahNorth said:
So the pretty red tail that I showed in my earlier picture this month that my wife got me for a Christmas present has taken to carpet diving. He didn't do this at all for the first week or so. I'm happy to say that I was there for both attempts and I quickly put him back in the tank. After the first time, I kept the lid on full time. The second time, he hit the lid with such force that he moved the lid and still made it out. Since the second time, I've weighted the lid and it's worked. I've seen him on two occasions try to jump out but been repelled by the lid being secured.

The problem now is that he's gone into hiding. He won't come out of his sleeping hole except an occasional swim and at feeding time. I'm not home 24/7 so I'm not sure of his out time. But there are no bullies in the tank and he's not being harassed by anything. That's certain. I think he's sulking about not getting out. Maybe he's embarrassed by his failure to escape. But I'm not a wrasse whisperer.

Any thoughts on what I should do? Will he eventually come back out and be social again?

Aggression would be first guess, but other things that cant be ruled out is regarding tank placement. Is it in a room with a lot of noise and disruption, things like small kids, tv, sound system, sudden changes in lighting. These are all things that can cause jumping and hiding.

m88a2 · Dec 20, 2013

I remember seeing somewhere that the female lubbocks are the ones subdued in color and have black dots arranged in a line on their backs. can anyone confirm? i'll try to take a pic of what the store is claiming to be a female lubbocks

TonapahNorth · Dec 20, 2013

eatbreakfast said:
Aggression would be first guess, but other things that cant be ruled out is regarding tank placement. Is it in a room with a lot of noise and disruption, things like small kids, tv, sound system, sudden changes in lighting. These are all things that can cause jumping and hiding.

It's in my living room so it can get a little loud at times as I like the television's volume up as I get a bit older

However, lighting is regular and no children that molest the tank. I'll definitely take this into consideration.