The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

jaganshi066 · Mar 1, 2021

Guys I finished quarantining my mccoskers wrasse for two months in cupramine and he was well, i drop acclimated him for more than an hour and put him in my other tank but I haven’t seen him since. Thoughts?

Trouble1375 · Mar 1, 2021

jaganshi066 said:
Guys I finished quarantining my mccoskers wrasse for two months in cupramine and he was well, i drop acclimated him for more than an hour and put him in my other tank but I haven’t seen him since. Thoughts?

Wrasse are odd creatures. We moved some rock in our tank and our male melanurus hid under the sand for almost 2 weeks then came out like nothing was wrong. The female is new to our tank and we haven't seen her since the first day. The tank is "jump proofed" and the overflows are covered so we know she's in there somewhere - probably under the sand until she decides she's ready to try again. The male was checking her out quite aggressively - not attacking just following her every move - and we're sure she wanted a break from her suitor.

jaganshi066 · Mar 1, 2021

Trouble1375 said:
Wrasse are odd creatures. We moved some rock in our tank and our male melanurus hid under the sand for almost 2 weeks then came out like nothing was wrong. The female is new to our tank and we haven't seen her since the first day. The tank is "jump proofed" and the overflows are covered so we know she's in there somewhere - probably under the sand until she decides she's ready to try again. The male was checking her out quite aggressively - not attacking just following her every move - and we're sure she wanted a break from her suitor.

I’m worried cause this is my favorite wrasse and he was doing so well in quarantine so I would him to be ok in my reef tank. I really hope he’s just hiding

Tcook · Mar 1, 2021

My pintail hid for a week. If your tank is wrasse-proof, don't worry.

DarkReefer · Mar 1, 2021

My Naoko went missing on the first night after swimming around nicely for the day.
Panicked a little and then found it had hidden itself extremely well in the rockwork. Comes out all the time though, just at night he goes invisible.

Really worried about the jumping aspect because when he moves, he's like the Flash so I can understand that if he did that up to the surface, who knows how far he'd get. Might have to invest in some netting.

Tcook · Mar 1, 2021

DarkReefer said:
My Naoko went missing on the first night after swimming around nicely for the day.
Panicked a little and then found it had hidden itself extremely well in the rockwork. Comes out all the time though, just at night he goes invisible.

Really worried about the jumping aspect because when he moves, he's like the Flash so I can understand that if he did that up to the surface, who knows how far he'd get. Might have to invest in some netting.

You need to get a full-screen top with wrasses. He will jump. Even with the screen top they can jump while feeding and you may not notice.

jaganshi066 · Mar 1, 2021

Tcook said:
My pintail hid for a week. If your tank is wrasse-proof, don't worry.

I nx do have a tight lid, but it’s disheartening to see him do so well for more than a month in quarantine tgen suddenly disappear. He was breathing hard, maybe cause he was nervous due to the new environment then disappeared

Tcook · Mar 1, 2021

jaganshi066 said:
I nx do have a tight lid, but it’s disheartening to see him do so well for more than a month in quarantine tgen suddenly disappear. He was breathing hard, maybe cause he was nervous due to the new environment then disappeared

They can be sissies. Not like dropping a clown or tang in.

jaganshi066 · Mar 1, 2021

Tcook said:
They can be sissies. Not like dropping a clown or tang in.

I’m afraid he’s dead but I can’t see the body

Tcook · Mar 1, 2021

jaganshi066 said:
I’m afraid he’s dead but I can’t see the body

How long was he in the DT? All other fish are doing well? Take a peak in your overflows too. I lost a flame wrasse in mine for a week. Thought he was dead too.

jaganshi066 · Mar 1, 2021

Tcook said:
How long was he in the DT? All other fish are doing well? Take a peak in your overflows too. I lost a flame wrasse in mine for a week. Thought he was dead too.

It’s an all in one tank so he’s definitely not there, he’s only been there two days (today’s the 2nd day) and all my fish have been quarantined so no risk of getting sick

Ocean_dreamer89 · Mar 1, 2021

Just picked up my first wrasse yesterday! Poor guy can't figure out the sand bed is in the container 100% of the time

Crabby48 · Mar 1, 2021

jaganshi066 said:
It’s an all in one tank so he’s definitely not there, he’s only been there two days (today’s the 2nd day) and all my fish have been quarantined so no risk of getting sick

Don’t stress yet. Wrasse can keep you on edge. Had them go missing for 3 weeks. My number one will come out a couple day and some days I won’t see her. Been along 5-6 months

Crabby48 · Mar 1, 2021

Ocean_dreamer89 said:
Just picked up my first wrasse yesterday! Poor guy can't figure out the sand bed is in the container 100% of the time

He looks great. Reminds me of my dog when they lay and you think it can’t be comfy

jaganshi066 · Mar 1, 2021

Crabby48 said:
Don’t stress yet. Wrasse can keep you on edge. Had them go missing for 3 weeks. My number one will come out a couple day and some days I won’t see her. Been along 5-6 months

How is it possible not to see them haha I only have a 40 but a lot of rock

Crabby48 · Mar 1, 2021

jaganshi066 said:
How is it possible not to see them haha I only have a 40 but a lot of rock

My two are sand sleepers but if you have a lot of rock they will disappear.

One thing I learned is they want to hide from us more then fish a lot of times when new. I try and stay away from the tank and leave them be.

DarkReefer · Mar 1, 2021

Crabby48 said:
My two are sand sleepers but if you have a lot of rock they will disappear.

One thing I learned is they want to hide from us more then fish a lot of times when new. I try and stay away from the tank and leave them be.

Mine is the opposite.
Very friendly, comes up to the side of the tank when I'm near etc. Only a few days in

saltyhog · Mar 2, 2021

Trouble1375 said:
Wrasse are odd creatures. We moved some rock in our tank and our male melanurus hid under the sand for almost 2 weeks then came out like nothing was wrong. The female is new to our tank and we haven't seen her since the first day. The tank is "jump proofed" and the overflows are covered so we know she's in there somewhere - probably under the sand until she decides she's ready to try again. The male was checking her out quite aggressively - not attacking just following her every move - and we're sure she wanted a break from her suitor.

It's quite possible that "she" is transitioning to male and is being harassed by the mature male. It's generally not a good idea to try to pair wrasses. Wrasses don't pair in the wild. They live in harems with one mature male, several females and some smaller subordinate males. The majority of the time the female transitions to male in our aquaria. That usually results in all out war with the limited space for the subordinate male to escape.