The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

[ascheff]

@eatbreakfast has more experience than I with pencils, but I would say that it would be unlikely for a female pencil to transition in your tank. The transitional males can be prone to reverting even if at all dominated by other wrasses. They really do best as the only wrasses in the tank, or alongside only a few other very peaceful species.

Thanks Hunter. I read in your wrasse article that the males are prone to reverting back, which is one reason I don't want to spend double on a male, only for him to turn into a female anyway.

While I have no real aggressive fish, there are quite a few very active busy bodies and a definite hierarchy, with some more dominant than others. Since I don't have much space left, I might rather pass for something more suitable.

 

[eatbreakfast]

@eatbreakfast has more experience than I with pencils, but I would say that it would be unlikely for a female pencil to transition in your tank. The transitional males can be prone to reverting even if at all dominated by other wrasses. They really do best as the only wrasses in the tank, or alongside only a few other very peaceful species.

Exactly as Hunter said, they are very prone to reverting back, especially if kept with other sand burying species (such as marginatus).

 

[ascheff]

Thank you for confirming. My marginatus is probably my most dominant fish, so that settles it.

I am after the blue coloration in the male xanthomos, so I'll keep looking elsewhere.

This was off a list from Mauritius a local store made available for special orders. The list also has P. piscelineatus, which unfortunately cost a bit more than I'm comfortable paying, as well as C. sanguineus, of which the price isn't even listed. I guess if I have to ask, I can't afford it.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Thank you for confirming. My marginatus is probably my most dominant fish, so that settles it.

I am after the blue coloration in the male xanthomos, so I'll keep looking elsewhere.

This was off a list from Mauritius a local store made available for special orders. The list also has P. piscelineatus, which unfortunately cost a bit more than I'm comfortable paying, as well as C. sanguineus, of which the price isn't even listed. I guess if I have to ask, I can't afford it.

The C. sanguinensis doesn't have a price because they haven't caught it yet, and when it does, the first few specimens will go to Japan well before the U.S. market gets a chance.

 

[UffnerReef]

Hi everyone. I recently fell in love with wrasses. Now all I want is a huge tank full of wrasses But I digress... I bought an orange back not too long ago and at first he was doing great. Never quite as fat as I wanted, but now I'm afraid he is losing even more weight. During feeding he is always out, but is not an aggressive/efficient/fast eater. Lately he has been hiding... nearly all the time minus feeding time. His tail is also a bit frayed. I'm not sure who the bully is- I'm trying to figure that out. I'm also not sure what came first- a bully that made my fish not the healthiest or my fish wasn't in best health to start and for that reason is being bullied (orange back did fine when I had him in my QT and only recently had his tail nipped). In these situations, do you find it best to remove the fish being bullied and put in QT to gain weight/strength or does that add more stress and do more harm than good? I'm trying to figure out who is harassing him and remove the bully (the orange back is my favorite) but so far, I can't tell. Every day I'm more afraid I'll loose him :-/ I can tell he's "not right" but I can't put my finger on why that is. Thanks!

 

[Maritimer]

If you feel that someone's gotta be removed for the health of the orange-back (and I can understand him being your favorite; I love mine too!), and you don't know who the aggressor is, that kinda limits your choice of who to move . . .

Putting the orange-back in QT would also let you treat if you find that he's got some illness going on, whether it's the cause of his trouble or only triggered by the stress of being harassed.

~Bruce, not really a pro . . . but hoping to help.

 

[Paul87]

He likes to show off, but only when I don't have the camera in my hand...

 

[Jstn]

Hey experts, any reef safe ways to deworm wrasse ?

 

[ascheff]

He likes to show off, but only when I don't have the camera in my hand...

Even with a camera in hand, patiently sitting in front of my tank, the best I could muster is a load of photos of my McCosker’s that are either blurred, or with just a tail fin in frame. It's not easy.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Hi everyone. I recently fell in love with wrasses. Now all I want is a huge tank full of wrasses But I digress... I bought an orange back not too long ago and at first he was doing great. Never quite as fat as I wanted, but now I'm afraid he is losing even more weight. During feeding he is always out, but is not an aggressive/efficient/fast eater. Lately he has been hiding... nearly all the time minus feeding time. His tail is also a bit frayed. I'm not sure who the bully is- I'm trying to figure that out. I'm also not sure what came first- a bully that made my fish not the healthiest or my fish wasn't in best health to start and for that reason is being bullied (orange back did fine when I had him in my QT and only recently had his tail nipped). In these situations, do you find it best to remove the fish being bullied and put in QT to gain weight/strength or does that add more stress and do more harm than good? I'm trying to figure out who is harassing him and remove the bully (the orange back is my favorite) but so far, I can't tell. Every day I'm more afraid I'll loose him :-/ I can tell he's "not right" but I can't put my finger on why that is. Thanks!

Oftentimes, a fairy or flasher wrasse can jump and injury itself from hitting a hard object. This can give them a spinal injury or make them a bit 'punch-drunk', which can make them susceptible to bullying and not competing for food well.

Another case could be internal parasites if they were not treated in qt.

Plain 'ol bullying is another option. What are the other tankmates and size of the tank?

Hey experts, any reef safe ways to deworm wrasse ?

Prazipro can be dosed in a reef. It is reef sage, except for decorative worms.

 

[UffnerReef]

Oftentimes, a fairy or flasher wrasse can jump and injury itself from hitting a hard object. This can give them a spinal injury or make them a bit 'punch-drunk', which can make them susceptible to bullying and not competing for food well.

Another case could be internal parasites if they were not treated in qt.

Plain 'ol bullying is another option. What are the other tankmates and size of the tank?


Prazipro can be dosed in a reef. It is reef sage, except for decorative worms.

Oh- I never thought of a spinal injury. I do have a cover, but there are hard things he could have hit... now that you mention that, I did notice he mostly swims with his pec fins and dorsal fin.... I don't really ever see his tail move (maybe that's normal for this species).

I treated him with two doses of Prazipro in QT. It's still possible I didn't treat for something he has.

I watched him again closely last night and still didn't see anyone picking on him... but his fins say otherwise. Other tank mates are: tailspot blenny; midas blenny; yellow watchman; diamond goby; small purple tang (just due to the nature of this fish, this is my top suspect- I am upgrading tanks next year and I think I may have made the wrong decision in accepting this fish into my current tank); koi fairy wrasse; ORA white spotted pygmy filefish, few hermits (I think they are called red-legged). Tank is mixed reef and has been running for a little over a year. I don't see anyone else that is underweight or being picked on. The orange back is pretty good size- maybe 2.5" or so. During feeding, he is around everyone and no one is (visibly) chasing him, he just is almost in "la-la land" and eats some, but other times I'll put food right in front of him and it's almost like he doesn't notice and keeps swimming.

 

[ascheff]

he mostly swims with his pec fins and dorsal fin.... I don't really ever see his tail move

This is a wrasse thing. My Halichoeres lecoxanthus actually pinches his tail fin together and flaps around the tank. They use mainly their pectoral fins for propulsion.

koi fairy wrasse

If you mean Cirrhilabrus solorensis, aka Red Headed Salon Wrasse / Solor Wrasse, he could be a prime candidate. They are closely related, and mine was even aggro with my flasher wrasse, to the point that I had to remove him.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Oh- I never thought of a spinal injury. I do have a cover, but there are hard things he could have hit... now that you mention that, I did notice he mostly swims with his pec fins and dorsal fin.... I don't really ever see his tail move (maybe that's normal for this species).

I treated him with two doses of Prazipro in QT. It's still possible I didn't treat for something he has.

I watched him again closely last night and still didn't see anyone picking on him... but his fins say otherwise. Other tank mates are: tailspot blenny; midas blenny; yellow watchman; diamond goby; small purple tang (just due to the nature of this fish, this is my top suspect- I am upgrading tanks next year and I think I may have made the wrong decision in accepting this fish into my current tank); koi fairy wrasse; ORA white spotted pygmy filefish, few hermits (I think they are called red-legged). Tank is mixed reef and has been running for a little over a year. I don't see anyone else that is underweight or being picked on. The orange back is pretty good size- maybe 2.5" or so. During feeding, he is around everyone and no one is (visibly) chasing him, he just is almost in "la-la land" and eats some, but other times I'll put food right in front of him and it's almost like he doesn't notice and keeps swimming.

Koi fairy wrasse, C. adornatus, would be my prime suspect, they are a pretty aggressive fairy toward other fairy and flashers, followed by the midas blenny. Most midas blennies are fine, but there are exceptions.

 

[ascheff]

Ah, adornatus is the Koi Fairy Wrasse? Over here every store give solorensis a different name, Koi Wrasse being one of them.

 

[UffnerReef]

Koi fairy wrasse, C. adornatus, would be my prime suspect, they are a pretty aggressive fairy toward other fairy and flashers, followed by the midas blenny. Most midas blennies are fine, but there are exceptions.

Oh man, I didn't suspect the other wrasse... he's so mellow from what I observe and the Koi and Orange Back were in QT together and even slept "cuddled" I don't think I'll ever catch that one... :-/

My midas is kind of in the middle. He def stands his ground, but I haven't seen him chase anyone. I also don't think I could ever catch him.

Shoot, now I'm not sure what to do.

Ah, adornatus is the Koi Fairy Wrasse? Over here every store give solorensis a different name, Koi Wrasse being one of them.

Here is a stock image of what I have. I think TJ is correct and the name is C. adornatus. Unfortunately, when I bought this fish, I could find nearly zero literature on them (they are still hard to research). The little info I found did not mention aggression and I just took the word of the store that they would get along fine... then I found Hunter's thread and he states they are rather aggressive.

 

[ascheff]

I only realised after a Google that the Adorned Fairy Wrasse is also called Koi Fairy Wrasse. So I learned something new

I suppose that's the problem with the common names, they are used quite inconsistently. I also find some stores will sometimes just copy a name verbatim from a supplier list, which is often wrong, further adding to the confusion.

 

[evolved]

This was off a list from Mauritius a local store made available for special orders. The list also has P. piscelineatus, which unfortunately cost a bit more than I'm comfortable paying, as well as C. sanguineus, of which the price isn't even listed. I guess if I have to ask, I can't afford it.

I've been hassling the collectors down there for several years about collecting them, but +1 to what TJ said.

Hi everyone. I recently fell in love with wrasses. Now all I want is a huge tank full of wrasses But I digress... I bought an orange back not too long ago and at first he was doing great. Never quite as fat as I wanted, but now I'm afraid he is losing even more weight. During feeding he is always out, but is not an aggressive/efficient/fast eater. Lately he has been hiding... nearly all the time minus feeding time. His tail is also a bit frayed. I'm not sure who the bully is- I'm trying to figure that out. I'm also not sure what came first- a bully that made my fish not the healthiest or my fish wasn't in best health to start and for that reason is being bullied (orange back did fine when I had him in my QT and only recently had his tail nipped). In these situations, do you find it best to remove the fish being bullied and put in QT to gain weight/strength or does that add more stress and do more harm than good? I'm trying to figure out who is harassing him and remove the bully (the orange back is my favorite) but so far, I can't tell. Every day I'm more afraid I'll loose him :-/ I can tell he's "not right" but I can't put my finger on why that is. Thanks!

Well, prior to the mention later here that you QT'd with prazi, I would have been solely suspecting internal parasites. But continuing to read makes me suspect a possible spinal issue instead. It may even be a combination of both.

Putting the orange-back in QT would also let you treat if you find that he's got some illness going on, whether it's the cause of his trouble or only triggered by the stress of being harassed.

If you can, I would do such and treat with metro and prazi - it can't hurt at this point.

I don't really ever see his tail move (maybe that's normal for this species).

That does sound like a possible spinal issue to me too; zero tail movement is never normal for any wrasse.

koi fairy wrasse

Yeah, adornatus is going to be a problem...

I suppose that's the problem with the common names, they are used quite inconsistently.

I hate common names; little about them are common. They are very much regional. For this is the reason I almost always stick to Latin names. Yes, people will often whine about "I don't know what fish that Latin is", but I'd rather people Google the Latin and figure out what regional name they best know it by to ensure we're talking about the same thing!

 

[Howieumd]

 

[UffnerReef]

I've been hassling the collectors down there for several years about collecting them, but +1 to what TJ said.

Well, prior to the mention later here that you QT'd with prazi, I would have been solely suspecting internal parasites. But continuing to read makes me suspect a possible spinal issue instead. It may even be a combination of both.

If you can, I would do such and treat with metro and prazi - it can't hurt at this point.

That does sound like a possible spinal issue to me too; zero tail movement is never normal for any wrasse.

Yeah, adornatus is going to be a problem...

I hate common names; little about them are common. They are very much regional. For this is the reason I almost always stick to Latin names. Yes, people will often whine about "I don't know what fish that Latin is", but I'd rather people Google the Latin and figure out what regional name they best know it by to ensure we're talking about the same thing!

I will try to get the orange back out and treat with prazi and metro. If it is a spinal injury, is that something they can recover from over time in a QT by themselves? In the meantime, I will see if I can get the adornatus out... I'd really like to have more wrasses and don't want this to be an issue.

You're totally right about common names, which I think unfortunately was part of my downfall when purchasing the adornatus... then I read your reef safe wrasse post and thought "uh-oh."

I really appreciate everyone's help!

 

[evolved]

If it is a spinal injury, is that something they can recover from over time in a QT by themselves?

Maybe, maybe not. That's the thing with spinal injuries - sometimes they heal fine, other times they don't.