Lunare Wrasse - AAARGH!!!

[jawja peach]

HELP!!!!
I LOVE looking at this guy, but he is KILLING my aquarium! Clicky here to read my background.
Yep - I know it was STOOOO-PID to add him to a reef - but someone gave him to me and (yes - I'm a blonde) I said, "OOOOHHH, purdy fishy!!! Me LIKE!" and tossed him into my luscious, stable, well-stocked reef tank.

That was in October of 2006. He has had a year and a half now to totally decimate my setup. He has gone from being a four inch nuisance to now, he is an eight inch holy terror!!!
So - What do I do??????
I have over 120# of LR that would basically all have to come out to catch him unless any of you have a great idea for me. The LFS I currently use will buy him from me because he is super gorgeous and healthy as can be. About a year ago he jumped out of the tank (I have a hood - he found a crack) and landed NINE FEET AWAY!!!! OMG! I didn't realize at that point that he was the reason everything was dying, so I scooped him up and threw him back in. Unfortunately, he learned his lesson.
I've been very torn between keeping him and giving him up... he is just so pretty - Here is a picture of one that looks just like mine. But I have to face reality and accept that it is either him or the entire aquarium goes down in flames.
So, you ask, what has he done???
Mainly, he has eaten ALL of my hermits & snails - I started with over 150 and had tons of babies. I now have NO hermits or snails and have been fighting red velvet algae and just a basic dusting of detritus for about six months.
He ate a cleaner shrimp, a clam, a flame scallop, two gobies, three kaudern's cardinalfish, a six-line wrasse, and although I have no proof, I am pretty sure he contributed to the early demise of my Powder Blue Tang, and my Coral Beauty.
He killed a show quality multi-branched frogspawn, 2 plates, a leather, a big candy cane cluster, every frickin' polyp and zoo I had, and every feather duster I had. My show quality branched hammer is down to three small fragments, the Wellsophylia is hanging in there along with the Kenya trees and my orange fan sponge. They must not taste good.

He also hasn't managed to kill my Maroon Clown, Yellow Sailfin Tang, or Circus Goby (who hides all.the.time).
HELP! I really don't want a FO aquarium. I get a lot of enjoyment from watching the corals and the hermies!
My brightest idea ... he eats jumbo freeze-dried krill from my fingers (and BITES the heck out of me in the process) - so I have wondered if perhaps I could sneak up behind him with a net while he is snatching food.
Ha. Yeah right.
Come'on - I know you all can solve my problem!!!

 

[stdreb27]

yeah that is how I caught mine. And yes they will tear up a tank they are one of the more aggressive fish out there. Other than that if you can figure out which rock he sleeps in you can pull that rock out. He won't come out usually and then shake it till he does come out. They are awesome fish, but don't belong in a reef environment at all. They are holy terrors.

 

[angler man]

I had a Wrasse that became an absolute nightmare, I tore out half of my rock work to try to capture him with no avail. Everytime I lifted the hood he would hide, so I built a trap. It took only two days, and I caught the monster.
Take a Poweraid/GatorAid bottle(the large ones) and cut the bottle at the first seam. Drill a couple holes in the sides for flow. I drilled two holes in the back and installed two suction cups that I jacked off of one of my heaters. Take the cut lid and install it backwords creating a funnel, run a seam of super glue around the lid. Make sure before you glue the lid on that there are no burs in the bottle from drilling flow holes as they will scratch the fish up. Put the bottle in an easy to grab place in your tank. That's why I utilized the suction cups so I could just suction cup it to the top of the tank. Put some food in the trap and let the Wrasse take it. Let him become comfortable with the trap. The next day, do the same only this time when he's in there chomping away simply grab the bottle right out and volla!
Works like a charm, and you can build the trap in 5 minutes.

 

[fats71]

Originally Posted by Angler man
http:///forum/post/2560231
I had a Wrasse that became an absolute nightmare, I tore out half of my rock work to try to capture him with no avail. Everytime I lifted the hood he would hide, so I built a trap. It took only two days, and I caught the monster.
Take a Poweraid/GatorAid bottle(the large ones) and cut the bottle at the first seam. Drill a couple holes in the sides for flow. I drilled two holes in the back and installed two suction cups that I jacked off of one of my heaters. Take the cut lid and install it backwords creating a funnel, run a seam of super glue around the lid. Make sure before you glue the lid on that there are no burs in the bottle from drilling flow holes as they will scratch the fish up. Put the bottle in an easy to grab place in your tank. That's why I utilized the suction cups so I could just suction cup it to the top of the tank. Put some food in the trap and let the Wrasse take it. Let him become comfortable with the trap. The next day, do the same only this time when he's in there chomping away simply grab the bottle right out and volla!
Works like a charm, and you can build the trap in 5 minutes.

Bah I was gonna suggest electric shock therapy for the lil bugger afterward I would give him a good stern talking too... Guess you ruined my idea...

 

[michaeltx]

unfortunaty it will only get worse as it grows into an adult. some fish like this guy just dont go well in a reef tank.
I would catch him and setup a new tank for him but if thats not an option there are a lot of people that have FO setups he would go good in or a trade back to the LFS and get some more corals.
the hard part is going to be catching him. Fish are smart so that could be easier said than done. I have had to tear a tank apart and take everything out just to catch a fish. wasnt a fun deal.
on a suggestion now that you have found us here at SWF.com ask us about the experiences with a certain fish there is bound to me many people that have kept it from the most exotic to the basic fish the members here have kept them.
Mike