Melanurus wrassi?

kahnsell

Member
Hey all. I just ordered 2 melanurus wrasses on-line. It was nearly impossible to find them, but I have heard that they eat flatworms, and I want to try the natural method before I do yet another flatworm exit. My mandarin does not touch the flatworms at all.
So I ordered 2. Does anyone have any info on them as far as their nature or if they actually eat flatworms?
Can I put 2 of them in my 175? I know they do not eat corals, but will they eat eat other? Any help would be greatly appreciated, and here are 2 photos in appreciation...
 

meadbhb

Member
Hiya,
I was told a six line would eat flat worms. However, I think my scooter blenny took them all out before I got the six line. I haven't seen a one since I got the scooter.
By the way...WONDERUL tank!
Meadbhb
 

nm reef

Active Member
Some general info on the genus from a reliable on-line source....
"The thirteen species of Anampses are commonly labeled as Tamarin Wrasses in reference to all but ones colorful appearance. Unfortunately the members of this genus rate an overall (3) or the lowest score in survivability. For a few reasons, mostly rough handling and shipping stress Anampses wrasses come in beat from collection and never recover. If you’re determined to try to keep one, take extra care to select a specimen that is in exemplary condition, with no bloody markings or raw marks around the mouth, that is up and swimming. And follow through with making sure it’s getting enough food (mainly interstitial fauna... i.e. benthic and between sand grain invertebrates). to sustain itself, and has an adequately deep and fine substrate to sleep within (as in under the surface) at night. Due to their frailty and inherent food-picking behavior I encourage you to look at hardier and less-burrowing species of wrasses, though I have seen Anampses kept successfully in full-blown reef systems (mainly for the control of pesky pyramidellid snails that predate hobbyist’s tridacnid clams). Note: these wrasses are infamous "jumpers"."
and...
"Two very similar Anampses, the White-Spotted Wrasse (Anampses melanurus Bleeker 1857) and Yellowtail Wrasse (Anampses meleagrides Valenciennes 1840) are often mixed-up in identification in the trade (both sold as Yellowtail Wrasses). Both have yellow tails, but the White Spotted lacks the bold black margin of the Yellowtail. Both these and the less frequently encountered but also similar White-Dashed Wrasse (Anampses lineatus Randall 1972) ship and do poorly (3’s) in captivity."
and...
"Selection: General to Specific
These fishes are very hard to access in terms of likelihood of surviving, most are doomed on-arrival. You should look a prospective purchase over carefully, and leave on site for at least the first few days (better a couple of weeks) after your dealer receives them, to assure they are going to make it past this phase. With Anampses, the most important deciding criteria is appearance of damage, then feeding. Re behavior; they should be out and about, looking over, sampling their environment, and aware of your presence.
Look at the mouth especially for signs of wearing, tearing (any marking, sign of bloodiness should disqualify the purchase). Any reddening on the body, especially at the origins of the unpaired fins should disqualify your purchase. After they settle in, offer some sort of meaty food, fresh or defrosted. A healthy specimen should react/eat.
Environmental: Conditions
Anampses as a whole require reef-tank conditions. Live rock systems that are under-crowded and well-established.
Habitat
A broken rocky reef area where your specimen can hide out and skulk, with some finer substrate with life in it to root around in is called for.
Chemical/Physical
As stated, optimized, stable reef water quality is necessary. Touchy to temperature changes, higher nitrate concentrations.
Display
Tamarins should not be kept with other larger fishes; they are definitely only for reef set-ups. Large, coral containing systems with vigorous water movement are ideal.
Selection: General to Specific
These fishes are very hard to access in terms of likelihood of surviving, most are doomed on-arrival. You should look a prospective purchase over carefully, and leave on site for at least the first few days (better a couple of weeks) after your dealer receives them, to assure they are going to make it past this phase. With Anampses, the most important deciding criteria is appearance of damage, then feeding. Re behavior; they should be out and about, looking over, sampling their environment, and aware of your presence.
Look at the mouth especially for signs of wearing, tearing (any marking, sign of bloodiness should disqualify the purchase). Any reddening on the body, especially at the origins of the unpaired fins should disqualify your purchase. After they settle in, offer some sort of meaty food, fresh or defrosted. A healthy specimen should react/eat.
Environmental: Conditions
Anampses as a whole require reef-tank conditions. Live rock systems that are under-crowded and well-established.
Habitat
A broken rocky reef area where your specimen can hide out and skulk, with some finer substrate with life in it to root around in is called for.
Chemical/Physical
As stated, optimized, stable reef water quality is necessary. Touchy to temperature changes, higher nitrate concentrations.
Display
Tamarins should not be kept with other larger fishes; they are definitely only for reef set-ups. Large, coral containing systems with vigorous water movement are ideal.
Territoriality
Unless the system is huge (hundreds of gallons), I'd keep them one to a tank; they are almost always solitary, territorial as adults in the wild and captivity.
Introduction/Acclimation
These fishes are almost always beat and prone to infectious and parasitic disease when imported; I would quarantine/harden new introductions for a good two-three weeks before placing them in a main/display tank.
Predator/Prey Relations
Anampses wrasses are generally "live and let live" with other fishes, but may consume snails and crabs (including the False Crabs called Hermits).
Feeding/Foods/Nutrition: Types, Frequency, Amount, Wastes
Finicky feeders of all but acknowledged, fresh, frozen, prepared or natural meaty foods. Some sort of meaty food should be offered twice daily as these are active fishes. Ideally, their system will involve a living sump/refugium that produces copious amounts of crustacean and worm life for their consumption.
Disease: Infectious, Parasitic, Nutritional, Genetic, Social
As reef fishes go Anampses wrasses are disease prone, typically the first to show signs of bacterial, protozoal or parasitic problems. Look to them to show evidence of poor water quality.
Summary:
Tamarin wrasses are indeed beautiful, interesting behaviorally, dynamic in their movement and other behavior, but tragically poor shippers and survivors in captive systems... They must be kept individually by collectors, covered to prevent jumping, shipped in large bags that lack corners, with lots of water and oxygen... and fine sand to make them feel at ease and prevent "rubbing" damage... and then carefully maintained in reef conditions to survive and hopefully thrive.
Thats a lot of info...they are some beautiful species to say the least but don't seem well suited for most home systems...to answer your specific question about keeping two be sure to read the section titled "Territoriality"
 

kahnsell

Member
Jebus, everything sounds great, except for that one ominous sentence, "they are usually doomed by arrival." Well, that doens't bode well... So the question I guess is that if I ordered 2, should I:
a) put one of them immedaitely in my display tank and one in my smaller tank (the problem with this is that that tank has a gravel bottom (not sand) which may scratch the fish and an Assassi Trigger.
b) put them both in my smaller tank and after a week, move one of them to the display tank. If they fight right away, I can move one to my display;
c) put them both in my display tank and hope for the best.
Either way, this is gonna be tough. Why is it that everything that eats flatworms is tricky at best??? Nudis are impossible as well...
:confused:
Thanks for the reply, NM. Where did it come from yourfishisgonnadie.org???
Here's a picture for your troubles...
 

nm reef

Active Member
Wasn't a problem.....but I can't say where the info was found due to rules here. But a google search should turn up the source easy enough.
My concern with those types of wrasse are these:
For one they don't ship well...they tend to dig/burrow in the sand...and as a general rule they are reef safe but not very well mannered.. Plus the information posted above suggests they not be kept in pairs in smaller systems.
...and nice pics...here is one of mine.....
 

kahnsell

Member
Well I got them today. One was really big and one was smaller. The big one wasn't looking too good from shipping, so I put him in my smaller tank, which has a gravel bottom. Once I let him out of the bag, he immediately buried himself int he gravel (which is not good b/c he may get sratched up...)
The other one I put in my display, and he is doing well. Swimming around and doing fine.
Hopefully the bigger guy makes it and then I may add him to the display tank in a week or 2.
If the smaller one eats the flatworms, I would be thrilled, but I'm not too confident. I will keep you all informed...
 

kahnsell

Member
The new guys. Here's the bigger one that is in my 125. He is swimming around and is eating flake right now. I am going to watch him and if all goes well, he will be added to my display in a few weeks to try to combat my fw issue.
 

kahnsell

Member
The second one. He is in my 175 display. He is doing well but I have not seen him even look at a flatworm yet. We shall see. He's pretty cool though... So far, they have not been proven to be "doomed at arrival". But you never know, they may erupt with a massive ebola virus at any minute. :D :D
 

reefer44

Member
oh and that thing about hard to keep is a bunch of crap........i have yet to see a wrasse not accept flake food within a few weeks (and i have seen many many wrasses.....including some very rare ones i keep in my tank)
Brad
 

kahnsell

Member
I'm gonna wait a week and if all goes well, I will add the big one to my other tank. The only problem is that if they chase each other, it will impossible to get them out. Also, I learned that when fish chase each other, one of then tends to end up on my carpet....
 

kahnsell

Member
So the big one died yesterday.
He was swimming around and eating fine and then I he disappeared and I found him on the bottom of the tank. I have no idea what happened to him. At least the small one is doing really well in my display tank. I have not seen him eat a flatworm yet, but time will tell...
 
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