Thoughts on Banana Wrasse?

[SCH14]

I have a 7inch Banana Wrasse I added to my 310g tank. Pretty sure hes nipping at my hammer colony, I see little polyps floating around every so often and him picking them once a day or so.

Checking to see what peoples thoughts are in a reef tank? Anyone have one that nips at coral?
Tank will be populated with larger tangs eventually.

 

[i cant think]

I have a 7inch Banana Wrasse I added to my 310g tank. Pretty sure hes nipping at my hammer colony, I see little polyps floating around every so often and him picking them once a day or so.

Checking to see what peoples thoughts are in a reef tank? Anyone have one that nips at coral?
Tank will be populated with larger tangs eventually.

To me this sounds more like another species is nipping them off and the banana is just playing with them.

The other thing is, be careful with these guys and aggression. They are nasty, especially when large.

 

[sc50964]

To me this sounds more like another species is nipping them off and the banana is just playing with them.

The other thing is, be careful with these guys and aggression. They are nasty, especially when large.

How is its aggression compared to a PBT or Sohal?

 

[SaltyT]

I have a 7inch Banana Wrasse I added to my 310g tank. Pretty sure hes nipping at my hammer colony, I see little polyps floating around every so often and him picking them once a day or so.

Checking to see what peoples thoughts are in a reef tank? Anyone have one that nips at coral?
Tank will be populated with larger tangs eventually.

I learned the hard way that they can be destructive in reef tanks when I had one years ago. Mine would root through my frogspawn and hammer colonies looking for critters to eat causing damage like you're describing. Mine also liked knocking frags off racks and sometimes knocked the racks off the glass. This wrasse just isn't reef tank friendly.

 

[sc50964]

How are they in FOWLR tanks? Last fish?

 

[Paul B]

Is it these? I had no problem with them and they even spawned.

 

[sc50964]

Is it these? I had no problem with them and they even spawned.

Banana Wrasse: Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums

 

[SaltyT]

How are they in FOWLR tanks? Last fish?

They do great in FOWLR setups. It can be the last fish introduced ... or sooner it just depends on the tank mates.

 

[i cant think]

Is it these? I had no problem with them and they even spawned.

These are I believe Scoliopsis (although when I try to find that genus it comes up with scoliosis).

 

[sc50964]

They do great in FOWLR setups. It can be the last fish introduced ... or sooner it just depends on the tank mates.

I have a 560G and hope to add a big wrasse or two. Already got some fish like tangs and angels with bad attitude.

 

[SaltyT]

These are I believe Scoliopsis (although when I try to find that genus it comes up with scoliosis).

They are pentapodus nemurus aka banana fish

 

[SaltyT]

I have a 560G and hope to add a big wrasse or two. Already got some fish like tangs and angels with bad attitude.

A banana wrasse would probably do just fine. A buddy of mine has one with a cuban hogfish in his 400g fowlr. Cuban hogs are another large wrasse you could consider, they have pretty unique coloration IMHO.

 

[sc50964]

A banana wrasse would probably do just fine. A buddy of mine has one with a cuban hogfish in his 400g fowlr. Cuban hogs are another large wrasse you could consider, they have pretty unique coloration IMHO.

Can a Cuban hog and a male banana wrasse co-exist but need to be added at the same time?

 

[SaltyT]

Can a Cuban hog and a male banana wrasse co-exist but need to be added at the same time?

Yep, they can co-exist especially in a tank of your size. If you can add them at the same time it would be ideal, if not I would add the banana wrasse first. Hogfish are more territorial.

 

[Reeferbadness]

I had 2 ( male and female ) and they were fine with corals but a terror with inverts - snails, hermit crabs and shrimp. The male died at one point and I still have the female. It makes keeping hair algae in check a challenge - but I now have 5 urchins in my 200g mixed reef tank and they do fine and no one messes with them

 

[SCH14]

I learned the hard way that they can be destructive in reef tanks when I had one years ago. Mine would root through my frogspawn and hammer colonies looking for critters to eat causing damage like you're describing. Mine also liked knocking frags off racks and sometimes knocked the racks off the glass. This wrasse just isn't reef tank friendly.

Pretty sure that’s what’s happening. He’s only in the 310g with 4 Chromis. Hasn’t bothered them at all. Trying to find a way to get him out. Fish trap tomorrow. Very picky eater so we’ll see

 

[sc50964]

Pretty sure that’s what’s happening. He’s only in the 310g with 4 Chromis. Hasn’t bothered them at all. Trying to find a way to get him out. Fish trap tomorrow. Very picky eater so we’ll see

That won’t be fun….,

 

[Jesterrace]

Came over to this thread from Facebook. Some knucklehead posted a picture of the Yellow Halichoeres Wrasse, when it's pretty clear what we are talking about in this thread is the Thalassoma Lutescens. Two totally different fish in terms of size and temperament.

 

[Troylee]

Can somebody explain this? I’m even confused haha!

 

[sc50964]

Can somebody explain this? I’m even confused haha!

The confusion by hobbyists and even fish stores between female banana wrasse & yellow coris wrasse is more common than I thought. The following is just a quick research from the internet and there are already quite a few places that prominently display yellow coris as female banana wrasse yet have the right scientific name, Thalassoma lutescens.

The pic from liveaquaria is the right one. The one from tankfacts.com is not factual as the dots on the dorsal fins are clear indication of yellow coris. MarineFishEz gives two pix where one is right and the other is wrong.