Wrasse Bullying Wrasse

[Isoprene]

As of right now in my tank I have only 2 fish and some inverts.

1 Leopard Wrasse (female)
1 Yellow Banded Possum Wrasse

They are both of similar size. The leopard is about .5cm longer and that's really the only difference. Both of the fish are eating and neither seems to be sick or have any physical deformities.

The leopard wrasse seems to be bullying my possum wrasse a bit but I can not tell if its normal or not. From all the research I have done to all the forums posts about leopard wrasses I have read nothing seems to indicate they are at ALL aggressive in the way mine has been acting. The leopard will basically chase the possum to the top parts of the tank and go back about his business of picking at rocks or in the sand. He never gets close enough to nip at him and will basically leave him alone when they are eating (i feed them mysid shrimp). I introduced the leopard about 1 month about and the possum about 2 weeks after...was this my mistake by not introducing them together? And does anyone know if this kind of behavior will stop eventually once they get more comfortable or is it normal fish behavior? Sorry im a bit new to the hobby, especially when it comes to fish, any opinions or info would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

First off, the size of the tank and the fish would be helpful.

Second off, I have bad news. I keep many wrasses, and have kept many different kinds. Wrasse aggression almost never gets better, and almost always gets worse.

Had a green wrasse recently and his behavior was almost always the same. It started just getting other wrasses out of his way by doing what you describe. Then he followed the fish harder and harder to the surface as time went on, eventually bitting etc.

All wrasses are to some extent mean fishes. Wrasses that inhabit the same niche in your aquarium will almost always come to blows. This aggression surprises me however, due to the fish being of different genera, coloration etc. That being said the behavior sounds like typical wrasse aggression.

 

[Isoprene]

The tank is a 55 gallon bow front and the leopard is about 3 inches long and the possum is almost exactly the same just a bit wider and a tad shorter. Im starting to think I dont have enough hiding places for the possum, more I read the more it seems they are extremely shy and like to post up inside rock crevasses (spelling?) although some people say they come out quite a bit if they don't feel threatened. Mine is out a lot now, not always at the top, only at the top when hes chased there. Do you think getting more live rock would help the aggression?

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

Cant hurt. Number one source of aggression in aquaria to me seems to be interspecific (I hate you because we look the same) - number two is not having enough places to go to sleep. Although your lepord should be sleeping under the sand, but if they are running into one another in the rock work enough the end result is the same.

 

[Isoprene]

alright, thanks one more question
If i add more fish (I plan to add about 3 more small guys), a black clown is on my list at the moment, and something that is bigger than the leopard will it affect how he is aggressive to the possum potentially....not being the "big man" in the tank anymore? Or is it a toss up depending on what I end up getting and its size ect...

 

[chort55]

Leopards are generally pretty laid back, mine (2 potters, and a regular) all shy away when bigger fish come around and are not aggressive towards other fish.... but I also have them in a 180. If they were "cramped" w/o alot of hiding places anything will get aggressive/ territorial which is what it sounds like your leopard is doing (being territorial). I know you said you added the possum 2 weeks ago, has the aggression been going on the entire time or is it newer chasing?

Can you post a pic of your tank maybe so we can see the layout and if maybe some more rock could ease the issue any.

 

[chris13115]

Wrasse compatibility is with caution, so there isn't a guerentee they will leave each other alone, I would recommend a refrigium or a "time out" tank. Those reduce aggression and rearrange all the rock work and decor, that would reduce territorial aggression

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

Make sure you remove the aggressor the established fish though. Removing the other will just start you over again when it returns.

 

[Isoprene]

 

[Isoprene]

The aggression has been going on the whole time although yesterday I saw them swimming together, which i HAVE NOT seen anything remotely like before. Im hoping this is a good sign...the possum does not seem stressed either, he is eating and swimming around in lower areas more readily. However I did see on the same day they swam together the leopard chasing him to the top once or twice. Im going to LFS today maybe pick up another rock for the back side, reintroduce the leopard if i can catch him. Ill post a new pick if and when i pick something up...and sorry for the pic quality budget has kept me from a nicer camera.

 

[Rockadile]

Keep in mind your footprint of that tank is going to limit you on fish. Territory is going to be in short supply and could be the reason for this aggression.

 

[kingfisherfleshy]

+1 to the above. Another option however is adding another wrasse and trying to spread agression out.

 

[evolved]

What you've described to me sounds like hierarchical behavior, normal amongst multiple wrasses. So long as the dominant fish isn't causing any damage to the other(s) or forcing them into hiding, this behavior isn't something to be overly concerned about. Do keep a watchful eye on things to ensure the mild aggression doesn't turn into something more, however.

 

[chort55]

What you've described to me sounds like hierarchical behavior, normal amongst multiple wrasses. So long as the dominant fish isn't causing any damage to the other(s) or forcing them into hiding, this behavior isn't something to be overly concerned about. Do keep a watchful eye on things to ensure the mild aggression doesn't turn into something more, however.

+1

Also, a couple more rocks and do a small rescape would be ideal...... I do not suggest removing the leopard as they are delicate fish and don't take changes, and moves like that all to great.

 

[Reef Fixations]

Possum Wrasses are very cryptic and they like having alot of rock work to conceal themselves if needed. Most take a few days to a few weeks before they start exploring their new tank and start acting like it's "Home". To possibly increase your chances of success, if you're going to continue adding wrasses, I'd ad 2 or 3 at the same time, call it a day and not add any more fish depending on what your choices are. The possom will most likely never harrass anything but pods. The leopard really shouldn't either. If you go with Flashers or certain Fairy wrasses then you shouldn't have a conflict.

IME, adding 2 or 3 fish at the same time, lessens the bullying that one fish will endure and spread it out amonst 3 of them OR simply equate to exisiting fish not even picking on them because it seems like there are too many new fish to pick on so they don't. It's not a guarantee but when I add something to one of my tanks, I have greater success adding new fish in 2's or 3's for those reasons.

I've put in new fish and the first few got attacked by an 8inch Clown trigger and by the time I put the 4th fish in, the Clown Trigger went to hide and then I added 2 more and about 2 hours later when the CT came out, he was swimming around the tank like a well behaved model citizen and never picked on anyone again.

In another example, I had about 6 different triggers that I put into a small tank (that had about pounds of rock) because someone told me I couldn't acheive success with that same Clown Trigger, a 6 inch Durgeon Trigger, a 5" Niger, a 4" Humu, a 3" undulate and a 3" Pinktail. Instantaneously they all began to chase eachother and I started grabbing live rock out of the sump as quickly as possible and next thing you know, there was about 40-50 pounds of LR in there with lots of caves and as quickly as I blinked, they all began to swim around without any aggression whatsoever. So there is something to also be said for having sufficient live rock in a tank especially with certain species.

 

[Reef Fixations]

I don't know how to edit yet but ...it was supposed to say "that had about 15 pounds of live rock" and "amongst"

 

[Isoprene]

thanks for all the info guys...Im going to try adding another piece of live rock and do a mini re-scape. Also im not going to remove the leopard, my LFS strongly advised the same thing saying almost those exact words "that fish is delicate brother, dont touch him". I didnt realize just how difficult leopard wrasses are to keep and get to eat and sleep right in the sand. I got lucky mine is pretty solid eating mysis so hopefully the re-scape wont freak him out. Ill post pics as soon as i pick up a new piece.

 

[Isoprene]

Went to the LFS store and bought a 5lb rock. I put it in the back as you can see in the pic and the possum immediatley scoped it out. Lot of holes and places for him to hide, the leopard dose not seem at all interested in the rock or the possum...its only been 2 hours since i introduced it.

 

[chort55]

One single rock may or may not cut it, if it doesn't I would add atleast 2-3 more rocks and re-arrange a couple more but hopefully it will work out!

But yeah leopards are not good with moves (tank to tank, shipping, type moves), changing the rocks shouldn't be to much of a bother to it as long as u don't drop any on it. It may hide in the sand for a day or two if you get doing to much in there but it should be fine. Goodluck!

 

[Isoprene]

yeah its been a few more hours now and the bullying has started up again, its much much less now that the possum has sorta claimed that back spot. Im going to rearrange hopefully tomorrow.