Dragon Wrasse

[fishoholic]

Just wondering if anyone on here as ever kept a dragon wrasse in their tank.

Mostly wondering about how aggressive they really are, how much more likely are they to jump from a tank compared to other wrasses, and do they really move around/knock over large pieces of rock?

[noirsphynx]

Haha, Laurie are you thinking of adding "one more fish" perhaps the one we saw on Sunday

[monocus]

i just gave my dragon wrasse to j&l last week(my harliquin tusk was terrorizing it)-it was fairly peaceful,except to snails and shrimp-but it was surprising what it could lift.as long as your rock weighs at least 5 lbs. it's ok-but it did tear off some small coral for its nesting area(branch hammer stuck on with reef epoxy).it usually burried itself in the sand at around 5 pm for the night

[fkshiu]

Dragon wrasses change appearance quite dramatically when they reach adulthood (and not for the better in most people's opinion). They also get stronger obviously and more ornery and are therefore more likely to cause chaos. I've got an old Marine Aquarist magazine somewhere that has an excellent dragon wrasse article. I'll see if I can dig it up.

[Zoaelite]

I would stay away from them If I were you, I had a similar species (The Red Corris) and every day I would come home to all of my corals and all of my frags flipped over. If you think catching an open water swimmer is hard try catching something that likes to hide in your sand (After 2 hours I finally caught mine in a 50g tank). Beautiful species but its called a Rock Moving wrasse for a reason.
Levi

[viperfish]

Originally Posted by zoaElite

I would stay away from them If I were you, I had a similar species (The Red Corris) and every day I would come home to all of my corals and all of my frags flipped over. If you think catching an open water swimmer is hard try catching something that likes to hide in your sand (After 2 hours I finally caught mine in a 50g tank). Beautiful species but its called a Rock Moving wrasse for a reason.
Levi

I know exactly what you mean. When I removed my Formosa Coris, I pulled every rock out of the tank and still couldn't find it.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by fkshiu

Dragon wrasses change appearance quite dramatically when they reach adulthood (and not for the better in most people's opinion). They also get stronger obviously and more ornery and are therefore more likely to cause chaos. I've got an old Marine Aquarist magazine somewhere that has an excellent dragon wrasse article. I'll see if I can dig it up.

If you could find that article that would be great.

goggle them Articles I have read say when juvenile they are peaceful and shy but when they mature they are known as rock movers. they will eat all shrimp and snails they can catch their jaws most be very powerful. They will redecorate your tank moving corals where they want them. they will also kill and eat smaller fish. I looked at one a while back and decided no not for my tank after reading quite a bit on them.

Bill

[naesco]

Originally Posted by fishoholic

Just wondering if anyone on here as ever kept a dragon wrasse in their tank.

Mostly wondering about how aggressive they really are, how much more likely are they to jump from a tank compared to other wrasses, and do they really move around/knock over large pieces of rock?

I had one. They get very aggressive when mature.
Their common name is a rock mover wrasse for good reason. I know you have a fish only but for the benefit of others they eat your snails, hermits, stars and other inverts and turn over you coral searching for food and therefor are not suitable for a reef tank.

They also need a fine sand bed two to four inches as that is where they sleep at night.

Thanks for asking.

[fishoholic]

Originally Posted by naesco

I had one. They get very aggressive when mature.
Their common name is a rock mover wrasse for good reason. I know you have a fish only but for the benefit of others they eat your snails, hermits, stars and other inverts and turn over you coral searching for food and therefor are not suitable for a reef tank.

They also need a fine sand bed two to four inches as that is where they sleep at night.

Thanks for asking.

I do have a 2-3 inch fine sand bed in that tank.

Edit: What other fish did you have with yours? Do you think my aggressive lunare and grouper would kill one or is it possible for them to get along?