Dragon and Lunar wrasse?

[AngryTriGGer]

Curious to know if dragon and lunar can be housed together. I currently have a 2.5-3" juv. dragon wrasse. Friend wants his 5" lunar gone and I have first dibs on it. Both will be in a 55 with a small picasso and small valentini till I upgrade this spring/summer. Will the lunar pick on my dragon? Oh and hello all, thanks for your input in advance.

[rzadun]

Lunar wrasse will eat snails. They sneek up on nail and grab it by the foot before it can retract. Then they srub them against rocks to pull them out of the shell.

[tang daddy]

Hi and welcome to canreef!

I would be cautious about the lunar jumping as when they get bigger there will be agression towards each other, from what I hear the dragon wrasse can be pretty mean when it gets larger probally not to the trigger but the lunar is a known carpet surfing wrasse. You may chance it and see what happens but I would keep a close eye on both fishes and ofcourse the most important thing is keeping a lid on your tank.

[Trigger Man]

I had both for a bit (almost 2/3 a year) but in my case I put the dragon wrasse in second.
In the end the dragon did the carpet surfing thing, so I would recommend a cover. I never saw either wrasse attack one another, but I did have a fowlr tank going, so there were plenty of aggressive fish that could have been the guilty party.

[justinl]

a cover is a must for any wrasse imo. the lunare is a tough wrasse that can be mean, but the dragon has a reputation for being one of the meanest of all. and it over a foot long. what are you upgrading to? youll need a very big tank if you're really adamant about keeping both these guys long term. I would also consider getting rid of that valentini.

[AngryTriGGer]

Well I'm not to worried about carpet surfers as all my tanks have great fitting lids. I don't absolutley have to have the lunar but if it and the dragon would be ok togther then I figure why not. My future upgrade will be something in the 6' range, min of 125 gals. Why should I consider getting rid of the valentini?

[tang daddy]

I realized you just said the lunar is 5in long and you have tight lids so it shouldnt be a problem as you have an agressive smaller fish in the tank first.

[justinl]

I just worry about the valentini because it is a slow small fish and I worry that a large fast fish like a large dragon wrasse might freak it out or directly harass it. A freaked out puffer can release some nasty toxins. Chances are that it would be fine, but it's not a risk i would take personally.

I would not keep both of those wrasses in a 125g. at least 200g imo. I suggest sticking with the dragon if you're okay with its... boisterous personality. personally I like the lunare a lot more.

[AngryTriGGer]

Thanks for the advice. Just want to say I'm not too concerned with my valentini as hes been housed with a bursa and undulated before with no ill effects and like I said is currently with a picasso and dragon wrasse. Still up in the air about the lunar but I have time before I have to decide.