All About Reef Safe Wrasses

Thanks. I switched them out this morning. Although I just looked at todays divers den, and the picture they have of a pintail female looks exactly like mine that i thought was male. Maybe that's why they appeared to get along, mine is actually female. My female/sub-male looks like this http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversde...ref=4282&subref=AI&cmpid=E-_-TR-_-DDN-_-PRDCT

And here is my actual super male. I need to clean the glass lol



Would a female and male be likely to get along for a while? I'm not sure how long it would generally take for a 1.5" female to change to male...

 

If the fins were translucent as such, then you did in fact have a female.

Yes, for a while.

But that's the kicker. Even with a male present, the odds are very high that the female would have transitioned eventually.

 

Thanks!

 

Awesome write-up and great that the feed is still active after more than 4 years. I really wish I found it sooner.

I have a 5 foot, 160 gal (display volume) reef tank. I currently have four wrasses - W. tanakai, H. lecoxanthus, P. mccoskeri & C. solorensis, added in that order. I really love these fish, they are all very personable and swim up to the glass to greet me (beg for food?) whenever I get home. Even the possum. They share the tank with a Banggai Cardinal, Hector's Goby, Firefish, Royal Gramma and soon a pair of Bluestripe Pipefish and a second Banggai Cardinal currently in quarantine.

I added the Solarensis to the tank about two or three weeks after the McCoskers, first into an acclimation box for a day and a half, and then to the display after they didn't show much interest in each other. Both were first quarantined for about two weeks to ensure they are eating and didn't have any obvious ailment. They are pretty evenly matched in size (about 3 inches), however the Solarensis is a bit more bulky. They've been together for about a month now and are both healthy and eating really well.

The issue I have is that they get along for most part of the day even swimming together with no issues. Almost every evening when my lights start dimming however, they start fighting. It seems that the flasher is the instigator. He flashes the fairy, which the fairy doesn’t seem to take too kindly to. The fairy then chases the flasher, but instead of going for cover (I have tons of hiding places) the flasher lets him chase him in circles, every now and again turning around and smacking into him and having a skirmish, including lately biting. They tear fins from time to time, but this always heals quickly, the flasher’s fins sometimes heals within a day. They do this until they are both panting and eventually goes into hiding for the night. The next morning all is well again, until it all starts again in the evening. They also stay together in the same third of the tank, instead of setting up territories in opposite ends, although my rock work has many holes and caves all over.

Is this normal behavior, something to be concerned about or is it something that will subside? I see that Solarensis are generally aggressive with other Cirrhilabrus, which I unfortunately didn’t know before adding him. My goal was to add even more fairies and flashers; will this be a problem? Will adding another flasher perhaps get my flasher to leave the fairy alone? I’d hate to have to get rid of either, but would hate it even more if one were to be killed or die of stress.

 

I have to add, that it is almost, but not every night. Last night all was well and I didn't see any issues at all. The night before however it was pretty bad, where they even bit and held on to each other.

 

Thank you; and it's always humbling when people from all over the globe find it. I am happy you did as well.

*Side note here, but if you're going to go through the motion of QT, you might as well do such for at least 6 weeks. Several disease can take quite a bit longer than 2 weeks to manifest.

Which can sometimes happen when the white lights turn off, and then fish look different to each other in just actinic lighting. Regardless, dusk is naturally when fish spawn, so this is also a high time of competition.

Which is normal; not much to worry about on its own.

But that is certainly a behavior to be concerned about, and not one to take lightly.

Once it reaches this level of inflicting harm, that's generally the point of no return.

No; not normal and not likely to stop, until there is a winner...

Sometimes yes; not always but often. And the flasher is a Paracheilinus, but as you know they are close cousins.

It very well could be, but it could also disperse focus/attention.

Right; that's the gamble. It might well do such, but it also might not make a difference. Sometimes a certain fish sees "red" towards a particular other, and nothing will break that attention.

Further indication they won't stop until there's only one left.


I know you don't want to do it, but if I were you I would remove one.

 

Thanks for your detailed response.

To be honest, once the fish were eating well and used to me and my routine, my impatience usually got the better of me. Having a small QT tank that makes the process frustrating on me and the fish doesn't help. I have however since gotten a bigger one that my newest fish are currently in, which is much easier to keep stable and provides more space for the fish. I will attempt to do it the right way from now on. I have been lucky so fat, but my luck won't last forever.

As I understand it, fish (also other animals like birds and insects) see the world and each other very different to us, due to sensitivity to different light spectrum. I never linked this to my fishes' behaviour though. Now this got me thinking; I have 3rd generation Radion LEDs over my tank, the ones with the red LEDs. They are obviously tuned to please my non-piscine eyes, with little regard for the fish. I have it set to go through a twilight phase, where I turn the red up considerably in relation to the other light, creating a very pink hue. Thinking about it, this coincides with the time the fairy wrasse starts reacting aggressively to the flasher's flashing, while he pretty much tolerates it the rest of the day. While it might look nice to me, could this literally and figuratively be making the fairy see red? I've already changed it to see if it has any effect, and will keep and eye on them.

I have however already picked up a fish trap today, and will catch the fairy if the aggression continues. I'll then put him in my frag tank that is plumbed into my main tank. It's big enough to keep him for a few week, I'll just add some rocks for him to hide and sleep in. I'll then look for another flasher, put him though proper QT and add him to the tank. If there is no aggression between the two flashers, I'll add the fairy back and see what happens. If the aggression flares up again, I'll catch him again and let him go with a heavy heart.

Another question - males of the same species flasher wrasse can't be kept together, but what about different colour variations of the same species? My McCosker's is the normal colored one (in my avatar), and I saw a very nice one at a fish store, that Liveaquaria refers to as a black fin McCosker's. At least that's what I think it is, as the store have it completely misidentified as a Social Fairy Wrasse. Unfortunately I only had my phone with me to take a photo, and my phone's camera is too slow to get a photo of him flashing. I took a video and have taken a screenshot of it. Below is the video and blurry screenshot, which should give you a good idea of the color. He has a single filament on his dorsal fin. The anal fin is an almost solid magenta, the caudal fin very dark and the back of the dorsal fin a bright blue. The shipment came from Kenya I think. Is it a McCosker's?

Could he work with my McCosker's, or is it looking for trouble?

Thanks again

 

My pleasure.

Indeed.

It's certainly plausible. Keep us posted if you notice any changes!

Sounds like a fine plan.

Eh, there's a chance it might work, but probably not.

Yes; exactly. It's a regional variant of Mccoskeri found near Kenya.

Probably the latter; I would be inclined not to try.

 

I've been reluctant to report back on this, mainly fearing I might jinx it, but also that it still sounds a bit silly to me. However, so far so good. Since I adjusted the lights on Saturday I have not seen any further serious aggression. Sure there is still a bit of posturing, but nothing more than I see with any of my other more lively fishes.

Unfortunately what I thought, and why I didn't buy it right away when I first saw it.

I followed your advice and stayed clear, a pity as this colour variant is beautiful. I will keep and eye out for either a P. cyaneus, P. lineopunctatus or a P. filamentosus, although the latter is the only one I've seen available locally before.

I'd still like to add more Cirrhilabrus some time, but not sure what would work with my solorensis. Any of the non rare and not too expensive ones on your list you could recommend? I'm guessing aurantidorsalis and cyanopleura are a definite no due to similar body shape and even colour in a way. What about exquisitus, or lubbocki?

 

Awesome!

Any of them should be fine.

This will help: http://www.reefedition.com/cirrhilabrus-complexes-inferiority-need-not-apply/
(but those latter two should work)