melanurus wrasse questions.
 

Hey everyone, I am planning on picking one of these fish up on Friday. Has anyone had any experience with this fish. I have a lot of flatworms. I have tried treating them and they just keep coming back. I must have thousands. I have read about this wrasse eating them, so I'm going to give it a shot. Has anyone had any luck. Seems to be a beautiful fish also. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

It's a beautiful fish and it's been well documented for flatworms. However; each fish has a different personality. Hopefully it finds your flatworms tasty. Like most wrasse; it needs a place to burrow in the substrate to sleep at night....or at the very least lots of hiding spaces in rock work. Quite hardy and animated.

You'll find it will also keep other pests in check as well. It will pick at your rock work for star fish etc. :)

Red lined wrasses are great too for keeping pests in check.

*Note....they (wrasses) are jumpers when startled. Try and have your display enclosed if possible.

I bought mine for a minor outbreak of flatworms. He ate them and just about any other creepy crawly he could get ahold of. When ever I move a coral that sits on the substrate he's RIGHT there waiting to pounce on anything lurking under it.

I have one and he is the chief of my tank. He's a great fish who never stops hunting. Just bear in mind that you couldn't get a mandarin if you have one of these as it will pick your DT bare of pods.

He disappears as soon as the lights go off and I'm never quick enough to see where he goes. And definitely cover your tank well if you get one.

This guy just may well be my favourite.

Dunc

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they love monti-eating nudis too. def more aggressive than leopards...

I have a Melanarus wrasse , as well as a pair of Mandarins that only eat pods and everyone is fat and healthy.

I stand corrected. I can't find a pod in my DT for love nor money.

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I've kept a melanarus with three dragonettes;)

Awesome guard fish and mine is my guard dog , full grown pest destroying machine even yesterday he snagged a 5" bristle worm , poor worm never stood a chance lol

hey everyone, thanks for the info.I'm pretty excited to pick mine up on Friday.
I hope he has a big apatite, and takes a liking to my flatworms :lol: I will let everyone know once he settles in....thanks again all.:mrgreen:

Well here is my new fish. He settled in very nicley.

very nice! Love this fish. Good bang for your buck.

You have one Kien ?

This thread makes me want to go out and buy this fish... Been looking for something useful to add to the tank for the last year.

What's this guy like over say a yellow coris?

Yes! have had one for years. He helped me wipe out an infestation of of zoa eating nudibranches :biggrin: Quite the workhorse fish as they are constantly on the hunt for small pests like flatworms and other such nuisances. I don't know that mine eats pods much because my Melanarus is fairly large. I also have a dragonette and a pipefish which only eat pods.

The yellow coris is a good worker too. Compared to the Melanarius, my yellow coris was a bit more timid so he hid in the sand a lot. He wasn't ever picked on, but was just generally skittish and a tank full of largish reef fish. I eventually sold my coris in favour of the Melanarus.

Not familiar with the yellow coris. but this guy never stops roaming the tank, very active. Pics at all the rock, and eats the pest i don't want...lol my new favorite fish.:biggrin:

cool thanks Kien.

They are great 'workhorses' and 'hunters' of pests. They get along well with almost any fish.

From personal experience.....I believe they are a little less aggressive than a yellow coris wrasse. Also; their adult size is a little smaller than a Yellow or even Green coris wrasse.

If you're fortunate enough; you'll be able to observe your fish find a home it likes and watch it burrow a place to sleep like clockwork every night :). They tend to sleep at the same time every night.

my melanarus doesnt sleep in the sand , he never sleeps as far as i know lol when i first got him he use to but not anymore:P

i dont have a sandbed anymore but he doesnt seem to mind:)

I have not seen him burrow in the sand yet. But can't find him anywhere after lights go out. Lol

I wouldn't worry. They generally aren't nocturnal. With no sand bed....they will find a comfortable hole or spot within your rock work.

Observe it over time....and you will find that it has a distinct 'bedtime' and disappear (like most wrasses) :)

You guys talking about the wrasse / dragonette combo what size are your tanks & how full of rock are they?

Okay I blame this thread... I had to go buy one :neutral:

Definitely goes and disappears at night, not sure where but I don't have a deep sand bed so I'm sure he's got a spot. See him pick at the rock when he's hungry so he's gotta be doing something useful right? My bristle worms are far to large for him... But a fish that takes no BS anyway!

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...altFish058.jpg

Will these guys eat asterina stars? Got a population explosion happening here.

I sure love mine, he does the same thing, lights out hes gone..lol he's now my favorite fish in the tank:lol:

I had the melanarus and pair of mandarins in my 90 with about 75 lbs of live rock , and now they are in my 140 with the same rock.

Anyone have problems with your melanurus wrasse when it comes to cleaner shrimp? Or snails and crabs?

Got one, no issues that I have seen although it is difficult to do rolecall of CUC. Some do some dont. I keep mine well fed so he dont. Hopefully it works out for u cuz they are an absolute nightmare to get OUT of a system

my melarnus has eaten all my bristle stars.... he hates my leopard wrasse...... and the leopard is a pussy and seeds to stand up for himself..... otherwise a good guy...

I tried to catch my melarnus to trade him and just keep the leopard.. but it has proved impossible to catch.... so I wait...

Make sure u have jump proof lid on tank so u dont come home from work to an anchovie on the floor. My wrasse rocks by the way. Great fish.

I am going to get a glass top for my corner tank as it seems easier then trying to make something for the strange shape. I also decided to get a red-lined wrasse and a christmas wrasse before a melanurus.