Your experience with six line wrasse aggression?

[cdnco2004]

I have had six line wrasses in dozens of aquariums over the last 20 years. They have always behaved perfectly. I would never start a reef without one. It's so interesting to me, that they are considered problematic. Clownfish on the other hand...

Right!!! Clowns are the WORST. But I love them. I have had more fish killed by my clowns than by any other type of fish combined.

 

[Crabby48]

You can't say "All" nor even "1 in a million". The one in my 40 is over a year and half old and I have a friend who has a massive chonker of a 6 line (5+ years old) who does not bother any fish for him either.

Oh my bad. I never kept one and new but had guppies for 3 years.

 

[kevgib67]

I’ve had one in most of my 18 years of reefing. I was really surprised by all the hate dumped on them. It was a must have when I started my new tank over 2 years ago. It was the 4th out of six fish added, never a problem.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I tried a six line for about three days in an acclimation box. He and my McCoskers had swore to mortal combat. I pulled him and am now trying a Yellow Coris Wrasse with my McCoskers. Not great at first so I put the McCoskers in a time out box for three days and let him act like a jerk in there. This is the first night with both free swimming. Seems to be much smoother this time.

 

[Slocke]

I’m going to post this article by the biggest wrasse nerd out there in the hope it answers some questions and fixes some misconceptions I saw reading through this thread.

All About Reef Safe Wrasses in Aquaria

Introduction My name is Hunter and I am a wrasse addict. Admitting such is the first step to buying another wrasse, I think. Wrasses are not only my passion, but my niche in this hobby since 2010. My tank is full of them, and unfortunately...

www.reef2reef.com

The main one being that wrasse are hard to mix. They are actually one of the easiest fish to mix if you are careful and know the basic rules.

When it comes to six lines and their relatives in the pseudocheilinus genus it is not that they are impossible to mix with other fish. Just that they are harder and have been known to suddenly go murderous. I won’t have one because there are so many less risky alternatives. Halichoeres wrasse and of course the peaceful cousin of the six line the pink streak, Pseudocheilinops ataenia being the closest. (Closest in terms of behavior and use in a tank. Actually the closest relative of lined wrasse (after the pink streak) are fairy wrasse of the genus Cirrhilabrus)

 

[Crabby48]

I’m going to post this article by the biggest wrasse nerd out there in the hope it answers some questions and fixes some misconceptions I saw reading through this thread.

All About Reef Safe Wrasses in Aquaria

Introduction My name is Hunter and I am a wrasse addict. Admitting such is the first step to buying another wrasse, I think. Wrasses are not only my passion, but my niche in this hobby since 2010. My tank is full of them, and unfortunately...

www.reef2reef.com

The main one being that wrasse are hard to mix. They are actually one of the easiest fish to mix if you are careful and know the basic rules.

When it comes to six lines and their relatives in the pseudocheilinus genus it is not that they are impossible to mix with other fish. Just that they are harder and have been known to suddenly go murderous. I won’t have one because there are so many less risky alternatives. Halichoeres wrasse and of course the peaceful cousin of the six line the pink streak, Pseudocheilinops ataenia being the closest. (Closest in terms of behavior and use in a tank. Actually the closest relative of lined wrasse (after the pink streak) are fairy wrasse of the genus Cirrhilabrus)

Nicely done!

 

[areefer01]

You can't say "All" nor even "1 in a million". The one in my 40 is over a year and half old and I have a friend who has a massive chonker of a 6 line (5+ years old) who does not bother any fish for him either.

You missed their point.

OP I guess my question is are you really looking at various articles, posts, forums, and threads for education or are you here to shop for the answer you want? I do not mean for my reply to be disrespectful but I think it is important to know the intent. They are a tricky first for many reasons all of which are masked in their 3" foot print. As you can already tell the replies will vary with them being great, a burden, peaceful to aggression, and more. Who is right, who is wrong? Just goes to show how two hobbyist with the same animal have two different experiences. Heck I had one back in 2000 and it was amazing. Ask me if I own one today - no, I don't.

Things to consider:
Tank size
Amount of rock work
Animals that compete for similar food(s)
Tank maturity
Constant foraging & hunting
Other wrasses
Other fish
Sleeping requirement
Jump protection

I noted above having one many years ago. That display was 100 gallons full of live rock back when we could get it from Fiji. It would roam the whole display foraging for critters to eat. Lights on to lights off it was always moving about the reef structure. Eyes moving. Pause. Look. Dart in, grab the food, and repeat. I did not see it chase other fish nor did it pick at corals. Then again I had no other wrasses in my display for this very reason. In fact no fish was in the system that would forage for pods / critters like it did.

Maybe that is why I never had issues with it? I can't say one way or the other to be honest. I just had a lot of rocks, no fish to compete with its foraging food, and no other wrasses. Me personally I would not put one in a display of that size regardless if an upgrade was in the future. They can be difficult to remove to both fish and hobbyist. No wrasse police here just sharing why I wouldn't. I don't have one in my current 210...

Anyway they are a pretty fish. Hardy. Active. Small enough to get lost in the display yet active enough to see them daily. The history behind them is there for a reason. The onus is on the hobbyist to provide a proper environment for them to thrive.

All the best.

 

[taylormaximus]

Well, personally I would add the watchman goby since he’s a bottom fish but I think that you will have to decide if you want a firefish or a sixline because both of them won't do it ( from my perspective at least). They’re both swimming and hiding in the same places and the firefish is too shy and that's where you'll get aggression. Of course it might work but I hate fish aggression and I don’t want to deal with it , so again, it's my take on this. Also for a 35 g it will be crowed after these additions so take your time because it's probably the last fish you'll add to your tank.

Yeah I was worried in general with how the firefish would do with the more confident fish that I have. I actually had one as the first fish in this tank but it got ich almost immediately (before I had a QT system set up), but I've been interested in trying one again, but I'm worried it's too late anyway with some of the fish I have already.

With six lines though I had the impression they were more active swimmers than firefish and spent time around the rockwork but not necessarily in it like firefish do? I wonder if the six line would be more respectful if the firefish already had established territory before adding it.

 

[taylormaximus]

You missed their point.

OP I guess my question is are you really looking at various articles, posts, forums, and threads for education or are you here to shop for the answer you want? I do not mean for my reply to be disrespectful but I think it is important to know the intent. They are a tricky first for many reasons all of which are masked in their 3" foot print. As you can already tell the replies will vary with them being great, a burden, peaceful to aggression, and more. Who is right, who is wrong? Just goes to show how two hobbyist with the same animal have two different experiences. Heck I had one back in 2000 and it was amazing. Ask me if I own one today - no, I don't.

Things to consider:
Tank size
Amount of rock work
Animals that compete for similar food(s)
Tank maturity
Constant foraging & hunting
Other wrasses
Other fish
Sleeping requirement
Jump protection

I noted above having one many years ago. That display was 100 gallons full of live rock back when we could get it from Fiji. It would roam the whole display foraging for critters to eat. Lights on to lights off it was always moving about the reef structure. Eyes moving. Pause. Look. Dart in, grab the food, and repeat. I did not see it chase other fish nor did it pick at corals. Then again I had no other wrasses in my display for this very reason. In fact no fish was in the system that would forage for pods / critters like it did.

Maybe that is why I never had issues with it? I can't say one way or the other to be honest. I just had a lot of rocks, no fish to compete with its foraging food, and no other wrasses. Me personally I would not put one in a display of that size regardless if an upgrade was in the future. They can be difficult to remove to both fish and hobbyist. No wrasse police here just sharing why I wouldn't. I don't have one in my current 210...

Anyway they are a pretty fish. Hardy. Active. Small enough to get lost in the display yet active enough to see them daily. The history behind them is there for a reason. The onus is on the hobbyist to provide a proper environment for them to thrive.

All the best.

You actually kind of hit the nail on the head for my reason for posting this topic: I've been doing tons of internet research on six lines and found VERY polarizing experiences from people, and I was wondering if there were certain factors that were contributing to those results (differences in tank size, stocking list and order) or if it's more boiling down to individual personalities and tempers of each fish.

I'm predicting with my current set up I wouldnt have huge problems with one because all of my fish are confident and would definitely stand up for themselves, but then I don't think a want a "tense" atmosphere in my tank either so even then it might not be worth it, but man they're almost beautiful enough to be worth the risk. A pink streaked wrasse seems like a much safer option though.

 

[taylormaximus]

Instead, if you really want a wrasse, considering your tank size, you could add a pink streaked wrasse!

Do you know how pink streaked wrasses compare with 6 lines as far as behaviour? Not so much aggression, I know they're a lot more peaceful, but do they still have an active personality? I'm mainly looking for a colourful somewhat "centerpiece" fish, and options with my tank size are pretty limited.

 

[Crabby48]

Do you know how pink streaked wrasses compare with 6 lines as far as behaviour? Not so much aggression, I know they're a lot more peaceful, but do they still have an active personality? I'm mainly looking for a colourful somewhat "centerpiece" fish, and options with my tank size are pretty limited.

Pink streak are timid and like to stay closer to a cave. Sounds like your tank might be little fast pace to see one out as a center piece.
Think you have a 3’ tank?
That makes choices little tough for wrasse. For a lot of color and open water swimmer for a 3” tank I will suggest a pintail. Little pricey perhaps.

Here is a basic rule for fairy wrasse.if interested.

 

[vetteguy53081]

My 6 line has always been a model citizen.

 

[sfin52]

You can't say "All" nor even "1 in a million". The one in my 40 is over a year and half old and I have a friend who has a massive chonker of a 6 line (5+ years old) who does not bother any fish for him either.

Oh my bad. I never kept one and new but had guppies for 3 years.

Hes correct. I've seen his guppy tank It's amazing.

As far as wrasse go. Crabby is my go to wrasse guy. He's kept choats alive for more than a year. If Crabby doesn't know than @SaltyT would.

Let's go back to that wrasse. You and your buddy need to get lotto tickets.

 

[Reefer911]

I’ve had one. Had him maybe a month. I’ll never do that again. They’re not that pretty imo, especially when their eyes turn red when they get angry. Not for me

 

[blecki]

Sixline has always been one of my 'must have' fish. The only fish I've had aggression issues with are other sixlines. They are a lot like chihuahuas - lots of bark and bravado but because of their small size they quickly get subdued in big tanks with big fish. It only takes a few instances of them ******* around and finding out to learn to leave the other fish alone. I have one in my 20 gallon tank with a neon dottyback and two clowns and it's a model citizen even in that small space; IMO the secret for a small tank is keeping them with fish that won't take their ****. I wouldn't stick them in a small tank with docile fish. They need a much larger tank than their small size would suggest to mellow out.

All that said I have always had damsels and clownfish and chromis and aggressive tangs... when everyone is an ******* you don't notice the little sixline so much.

 

[Raph]

Do you know how pink streaked wrasses compare with 6 lines as far as behaviour? Not so much aggression, I know they're a lot more peaceful, but do they still have an active personality? I'm mainly looking for a colourful somewhat "centerpiece" fish, and options with my tank size are pretty limited.

Just like Crabby48 said. They’re cryptic i think. Look up the wrasseguy on google he’s the go to for wrasses. Oh and don’t forget, no need to rush this, take your time to choose the right fish for you as it’s probably the last one you’ll add! If it’s a six line it’ll be a six line and if it’s something else it’ll be something else!✌

 

[jarak200]

My 6 line after a couple of years with no problems all of a sudden attacked and killed my 2 large cleaner shrimp. I still don't know why , maybe he didn't like getting cleaned but it didn't seem to bother him up to that point.

 

[sfin52]

My 6 line after a couple of years with no problems all of a sudden attacked and killed my 2 large cleaner shrimp. I still don't know why , maybe he didn't like getting cleaned but it didn't seem to bother him up to that point.

Because they are psycho and just need that one little push to turn into a killer

 

[jstabile316]

I have a sixline in my 25 gallon lagoon with 2 clownfish, a cleaner shrimp, emerald crab, bunch of hermits and snails and he doesn’t bother any of them. They are deff one of my favorite fish.

 

[cdnco2004]

I like Mystery Wrasse as well