Yellow wrasse are cleaner shrimp

[ryanwong21]

I’m looking for some opinions on keeping yellow corks/canary wrasses and you guys’s opinion on keeping them with skunk cleaner shrimp? I recently added a young cleaner shrimp to my tank, and it was fine for 2 days, then my yellow coris wrasse snatched it and sucked it up, literally. I was heartbroken, as I had done weeks, maybe months of research and haven’t found any accounts of yellow coris wrasses going for shrimp, much less cleaners. Any thoughts and experiences on this? If I would want to try it again? What should I do to ensure the shrimps best chance at survival?

 

[homer1475]

I have a fully grown adult yellow, and a baby red coris wrasse in my tank along with 2 cleaner shrimps. Neither bother the shrimp unless they want to be cleaned.

 

[Bars]

I've had a fairly large canary wrasse and it never bothered my cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp or hermits. Are you sure it wasn't a mold?

 

[ryanwong21]

I’m quite sure it wasn’t a molt, as I saw it’s tail, sticking out of my 3-inch wrasse’s mouth. I want a cleaner shrimp really badly, but I don’t want to see another die. Is there anything I can do to increase its survival chance? A larger shrimp? A quarantine net?

 

[ItalCanadaReefer]

This is not uncommon. Wrasses of the halichoeres family can certainly prey on inverts. Your best beat would have been to add the cleaner shrimp first and the wrasse second. The size of the shrimp is also helpful; bigger is better. It also comes down to individual... just like us, they are all different in behaviour.

 

[S.Pepper]

You never know. I had a peppermint shrimp with a yellow & melanurus wrasse. Neither bothered the shrimp. However, the Melanurus had a taste for hermit crabs. Keep them well fed and that will eliminate some of the issue. GL

 

[fluked]

I have 2 halichoeres wrasses and wouldn't risk any expensive shrimp, they are still young but pick at hermits occassionally already, havent ate any yet, but still, wouldnt trust them with a shrimp snack.

 

[ryanwong21]

Based on the replies, if I wanna save my feelings and money, I shouldn’t get another cleaner shrimp. I can’t handle another death :’D. Thanks for the input guys

 

[Greg P]

For about 6 years I had a Yellow Coris, and always with cleaners and fire shrimp. Even with peppermint shrimp. But, my yellow started off about 1" and was used to the shrimp in the environment so probably never thought of them as food. Even when he was 4" I could still add new small shrimp with no problems.
Now my Melanurus, when I added a small peppermint - GULP

What size is your Canary, and is it a true Halichoeres chrysus ?

 

[ryanwong21]

My canary wrasse is, at most, three inches. And I firmly believe he/she is a Halichoeres chrysus, as he/she has the markings on its face, along with the subsequent spots that disappear as they get older. I’m quite sure mine isn’t that old as it still has 2/4 spots remaining. That being said, I was not only heartbroken but generally confused, as my weeks of research on Halichoeres chrysus and reading several 10s of accounts on this fish all have said that they had no issues of it with shrimp, other inverts or coral, so I just felt really like aksnwnsjsh when this happened

 

[Greg P]

If you want to try another shrimp, all I can suggest is you overfeed your wrasse the afternoon of the pending addition, or for many days before, then add the shrimp an hour or 2 after the fish goes to sleep - preferably in the sand bed so it has less chance of seeing you add the shrimp "in the dark"

 

[ryanwong21]

@Greg P thanks for your reply and suggestion! However, would you also recommend putting the shrimp into an acclimation box in the tank to ensure its safety while the wrasse has been overfed and sleeping? Or should I put the shrimp straight into the tank while the wrasse is fat and sleeping

 

[ScottR]

I have a fully grown Halichoeres chrysus and it has never bothered a shrimp, with that said, each fish is different. But it’s always possible that the shrimp died or was killed by something else. Then the wrasse was just getting what is fair game.

 

[Super Fly]

I’m looking for some opinions on keeping yellow corks/canary wrasses and you guys’s opinion on keeping them with skunk cleaner shrimp? I recently added a young cleaner shrimp to my tank, and it was fine for 2 days, then my yellow coris wrasse snatched it and sucked it up, literally. I was heartbroken, as I had done weeks, maybe months of research and haven’t found any accounts of yellow coris wrasses going for shrimp, much less cleaners. Any thoughts and experiences on this? If I would want to try it again? What should I do to ensure the shrimps best chance at survival?

do u have any pix of wrasse, r u sure it's a yellow wrasse and not a silver belly? Silver belly wrasse (aka yellow & purple) are commonly mistaken for yellow wrasse and they'll eat shrimp. Inappropriate reefer did... Jump to 5:04 mark

 

[Uncle99]

Yellow is supposed to be the least risk wrasse with cleaner of good size...
But the potential is there.

 

[ryanwong21]

Well here are some pictures of my wrasse and I’m still quite sure it’s the yellow coris. As you can see he’s a rather enthusiastic swimmer

 

[Uncle99]

Beautiful fish.

 

[ryanwong21]

@Uncle99 thank you

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I have a red coris with cleaner and fire shrimp but no experience with the yellow. But fwiw livaqaria states that they may eat worms, feather dusters, and small shrimp....