Wrasse stocking suggestions please! 250g

[Crabby48]

Thats interesting that you couldn't keep up with pods.
I personally am finding it easy, I have a RS max nano with 7/8 fish (2/3 wrasses, 4 gobies and a blenny). 6 of them will eat pods, those six include a Griessinger Goby, Blue Star Leopard Wrasse, Hector's Goby, Naoko's Fairy Wrasse, Pink Streak Wrasse?, Yasha Goby. Most weeks for the past year I have added pods but when we had a shortage for 2/3 months there was still a thriving population. This is extremely similar to my 4' tank. The thing that helped me to accomplish this in only a year was actually having rocks that were from my first ever reef tank 15-20 years ago.

IMHO, it shouldn't be too hard unless you have an immature tank to keep up on pods. but that is based on my experience with reef tanks.

I had a mandarin, pipefish, melagris, vivien and potters in a Red Sea 425. 100 total gallons with rock and equipment. Also had few other fairy’s. For a year I kept up with pods but lost pipefish in a powerhead and mandarin ended up dead. It was very fat and picked pods all day then 1 hour later dead. Idk why but I did get him full grown. If it starved from lack of pods it died fat lol.

 

[Crabby48]

I've never been a fan of refugiums, so that wasn't helping my pod population. I also didn't put alot of effort into supplementing pods as I never noticed a problem with just feeding pellets frequently. I've always found my fish take to them pretty quickly when it's a frequent food source.

Fuge helps but when I dosed live Phyto it helped a lot with keeping population

 

[JCM]

Fuge helps but when I dosed live Phyto it helped a lot with keeping population

Yeah my current tank has a better pod population. I have a "cryptic fuge" if you want to call it that (some live rock in my dark sump). And I've dosed phyto quite a bit, though not so much recently.

That old tank never got phyto though and I rarely saw a pod. I'm sure there were some, but no big population. I still consider 8+ years a success with a Leopard and believe frequent pellet and frozen feedings are sufficient to keep one healthy. Assuming they eat the pellets of course.

 

[Crabby48]

Yeah my current tank has a better pod population. I have a "cryptic fuge" if you want to call it that (some live rock in my dark sump). And I've dosed phyto quite a bit, though not so much recently.

That old tank never got phyto though and I rarely saw a pod. I'm sure there were some, but no big population. I still consider 8+ years a success with a Leopard and believe frequently pellet and frozen feedings are sufficient to keep one healthy. Assuming they eat the pellets of course.

My potters never hunted. Not once. He was grossly fat that I was concerned. All my wrasse eat frozen, pellets, nori they don’t seem to care. I never see my male choats hunt but he does go in the back of rocks where some gha grows and may pick pods there. The other 2 choats definitely eat pods during the day to stay fat.

 

[i cant think]

I've never been a fan or refugiums, so that wasn't helping my pod population. I also didn't put alot of effort into supplementing pods as I never noticed a problem with just feeding pellets frequently. I've always found my fish take to them pretty quickly when it's a frequent food source.

that's interesting to hear.

also, in reply to your old meleagris dying at 9 years, it seems the average lifespan of a meleagris is 10 years so it may well have been old age.

My potters never hunted. Not once. He was grossly fat that I was concerned. All my wrasse eat frozen, pellets, nori they don’t seem to care. I never see my male choats hunt but he does go in the back of rocks where some gha grows and may pick pods there. The other 2 choats definitely eat pods during the day to stay fat.

I think the better population will be behind the rocks in the GHA so I'd assume you are correct. Also, it's great to hear they're happy and fat!
Really excited in 5/10 years for when I feel like i've cared and gained enough experience in leopard wrasses to take the dive into a Choat's or maybe a pair.

 

[JCM]

My potters never hunted. Not once. He was grossly fat that I was concerned. All my wrasse eat frozen, pellets, nori they don’t seem to care. I never see my male choats hunt but he does go in the back of rocks where some gha grows and may pick pods there. The other 2 choats definitely eat pods during the day to stay fat.

That's been my experience as well, once established none of my wrasses have been picky about food at all. Here's my current female showing her O face after grabbing a pellet

Also, a trio of M. Choati?! Dream fish! I'd love to find one some day, I've never seen one for sale around here.

 

[i cant think]

That's been my experience as well, once established none of my wrasses have been picky about food at all. Here's my current female showing her O face after grabbing a pellet

Also, a trio of M. Choati?! Dream fish! I'd love to find one some day, I've never seen one for sale around here.

I wish I had wrasses like yours, last time i ever tried to feed pellets, the only fish to eat it was my clownfish, the rest just ignored it and went with the pods, algae and frozen.

 

[JCM]

I wish I had wrasses like yours, last time i ever tried to feed pellets, the only fish to eat it was my clownfish, the rest just ignored it and went with the pods, algae and frozen.

I started by putting frozen cubes in the feeding ring so they got used to going up there to eat, then mixed the pellets in. It only took her a day or two to start eating the pellets. Maybe I just got lucky?

 

[Crabby48]

Really excited in 5/10 years for when I feel like i've cared and gained enough experience in leopard wrasses to take the dive into a Choat's or maybe a pair.

I don’t think it’s much different between keeping leopards. If you get them eating and parasite free they will thrive.

That's been my experience as well, once established none of my wrasses have been picky about food at all. Here's my current female showing her O face after grabbing a pellet

Also, a trio of M. Choati?! Dream fish! I'd love to find one some day, I've never seen one for sale around here.

My wrasse will risk life for food. Favorite thing about wrasse is the O face and watching others chew.

Yes M Choati large is male. Medium female but anal fin is showing it wants to be a man and tiny the female may need to rehome large and find another tiny of medium transitions I hope not lol

 

[Crabby48]

@i cant think all you need is one fish to eat pellets and within a couple feeding they all will eat. Monkey see monkey do. The H. Pallidus was straight out of the ocean and he pounded pellets instantly in a tank alone. I was shocked

 

[JCM]

I don’t think it’s much different between keeping leopards. If you get them eating and parasite free they will thrive.


My wrasse will risk life for food. Favorite thing about wrasse is the O face and watching others chew.

Yes M Choati large is male. Medium female but anal fin is showing it wants to be a man and tiny the female may need to rehome large and find another tiny of medium transitions I hope not lol

Incredible, I'd love to find one eventually. Beautiful trio!

 

[Crabby48]

Incredible, I'd love to find one eventually. Beautiful trio!

Thank you. It’s been a couple years of planning out for a Choati and an upgrade. Spent over 2 years collecting wrasse for a 220 gallon.

 

[Pankney72]

@i cant think all you need is one fish to eat pellets and within a couple feeding they all will eat. Monkey see monkey do. The H. Pallidus was straight out of the ocean and he pounded pellets instantly in a tank alone. I was shocked

Thanks for chiming in with your expertise. I’ve read your stuff and I’m a fan . I won’t lie and tell you I snagged the wrasse compatibility chart from a thread on here that might have been yours… I do want some help with the fairy’s if you’re willing to give advice. It may be about a month before I’m there though.

all my current fish (anthias tangs mccosker and melanurus) love pellets along with the nori and LRS food I normally feed.

Unfortunately the melanurus was my first wrasse in the 125 (had flatworms and vermatids). I’m hoping the shift to the 250 will work to knock him off his throne temporarily. So I can get the other three in (2 melagris 1 H. iridis) without much fuss. If needed I’ll put the melanurus in what I call “jerk jail” for a bit.

If I end up with two male leopards from two juveniles… I’ll just have to deal with that bridge when I cross it, you know?

 

[Pankney72]

I do not call the acclimation box “jerk jail”… I call it something else but I guess you get auto censored for certain words… whoops. Sorry mods.

 

[Crabby48]

I do not call the acclimation box “jerk jail”… I call it something else but I guess you get auto censored for certain words… whoops. Sorry mods.

It’s all about have a backup plan. Sometimes it works sometimes it don’t. The wrassehole box is good to separate and introduce new ones. I think you will be good. That chart is good but not guarantee also all rules can be broken lol.

Your wrasse list as of now is some of my favorites. Love the choices.

Sorry for hijacking your thread

 

[Pankney72]

It’s all about have a backup plan. Sometimes it works sometimes it don’t. The wrassehole box is good to separate and introduce new ones. I think you will be good. That chart is good but not guarantee also all rules can be broken lol.

Your wrasse list as of now is some of my favorites. Love the choices.

Sorry for hijacking your thread

You kidding me?! I love the attention haha

 

[Crabby48]

You kidding me?! I love the attention haha

I vote to save up and wait for a Diamondtail. Little bigger flasher and total showstopper. I think I’m that big of a tank it will shine! They tend to be whomps from what 2 friends told me.

 

[Pankney72]

I vote to save up and wait for a Diamondtail. Little bigger flasher and total showstopper. I think I’m that big of a tank it will shine! They tend to be whomps from what 2 friends told me.

What is a “whomp”? I’m just a simple country doctor from Oklahoma… did you trick me into saying a wrasse slur?

 

[Crabby48]

What is a “whomp”? I’m just a simple country doctor from Oklahoma… did you trick me into saying a wrasse slur?

I can’t tell you what a whomp is. I was trying to say wimp.

 

[Pankney72]

I can’t tell you what a whomp is. I was trying to say wimp.

Ha! Gotcha! That might be good… my big tough, absolutely gorgeous specimen of a McCoskers spends his testosterone every evening furiously flashing at my confused purple firefish.

I’m afraid if the dingus actually got challenged his tiny primitive heart would just explode…