Wrasse advice please

I have seen that wonderful thread on the wrasse that were caught and i am thinking that there may be some wrasse knowledge here.

I have just finished cycling a second tank and I want to purchase a Halichoeres chrysus,I think you call them a yellow or banana wrasse from the local LFS,they have two at the moment.

I have had wrasse before and lost them,a taeniourus and a choati,the choati was my favourite.

They were so nice and not one of them lasted more than a month.

What am I doing wrong as I am going to try again?

Firstly you emailed one of the guys about a skimmer Ashley, how did that go?

Obviously wrasse as all tank life need healthy water and good parameters,specialy salinity and PH.

Ok, wrasse have at least one misconception about them in that they do not need a substrate to hide in once in an aquarium.

The material that is normally in the make up of aquarium substrate that you buy from the shops is unrealiable, compared to what they sleep in on the oceans floor.

Not all wrasse partake in using the ocean floor for a place to sleep, some create a mucus sack for sleep security.

The ones that do hide in the substrate in the wild are used to a certain grade of particle, as the swell movement decides what is there to utilize as a hiding spot.

This natural material has very little capacity to damage the fish and even if it did the water quality out there is far better and less chance of bacterial infections than in an aquarium that can encourage bacterial infections,this is because of the old but simple term,parts per million.

The main things for wrasse are swim throughs and some small inverts for them to hunt; these are naturally found in a oldish live rock set ups.

A list of things about wrasse-

1.Make sure your tank has a design to its cover, lids, or water height, that does not allow the fish to jump out and wrasse love to jump out, if they can, plus no where they can squeeze through to try to escape!

2. Wrasse eat mainly inverts like, crabs, shrimp and worms that sought of thing and complex algae, such as Cunjivoe,though they may kill small fish species.

3. Some wrasse can attain a very large size; the banana wrasse you are looking at is a small and relatively harmless species.

4. Most wrasse will bother starfish and pretty much any moving inverts looking for food.

5. They are mostly reef safe, for corals anyway.

6. Most can with stand an anemone sting.

7.Food for these is best, with a frozen small crab, like a soldier crab opened from time to time and left in the tank, a cut off head of some Cunjivoe hung on a nori clip for a few hours at a time with some nori as well.
There are some excellent foods out there these days, but we make our own normally, with some fresh marinara, Cunjivoe, nori, dried marine fish food, dried krill and spirallina powder, all blended in some of your tank water to small to fine pieces and than add a few tea spoons of aquarium salt to it so it will last with out bacteria problems, freeze it in ice cube size blocks, keep it sealed as moisture does evaporate in the freezer and the food will last for years while still frozen and keeps most marine aquarium life sustained.

I hope that helps, we have heaps of success with these ways.

Thats very helpful

I didn't know much about wrasse, i feel i can make a go of them now.

Thats interesting about the substrate,i was of the impression they needed it in an aquarium

Why should they not have substrate?

hi Roy.
Its really an individual thing to some degree.
There are some occasions when a wrasse may injure it self within some aquariums by the type of paricles in the substrate and making contact with the glass,either or both damaging the flesh of the fish.
In a novices aquarium you dont want any flesh damage if you can help it.

Personaly i am big on adhereing to the wants and possible mistakes of the novice before all others.

Experienced hobbyists do it the way they know and well,a novice tank is best kept ready for a mistake or a low water quality occurance.

Just in case.