why are yellow coris wrasses considered "expert only" fish

belly up

Member
i ws thinking about buying a yellow coris wrasse friom the lfs for 20$ but then i read that they were expert only level fish and i was wonder why this was?
 

rcdude1990

Active Member
they r?
i have one in my tank and there not hard to keep, he eats pellets but they hide in the sand bed wen its dark and come out and swim wen the lights r on
 

belly up

Member
hmm well i'v been doin some more research and like all the sites i've found dissagree with each other. some say expert only, others say great for begginers. so i am confused. how does it act with invets?
 

rcdude1990

Active Member
inverts im not sure about, all i have r snails for inverates and he never goes near them, i think there easy and cool to watch but i cant help u wit the inverts srry
 

tang4me

Member
The yellow wrasse is a great fish. Very active with a nice demeanor. They have been tagged as a delicate shipper on some sites. I think that is where the expert care confusion is from. Those warnings often say either/or. The yellow wrasse is a fairly harder fish, as long as you don't have crushed coral. They are going to bury themselves for sure, especially at night and probably when you first add them to the tank. When they have had enough activity for the day it's burrowing time. Mine often checks out with the lights still on. The crushed coral can cut the yellow wrasse as it's burrowing, thus leading to infections.
As far as snails go, they will eat very tiny snails that you sometimes see on your glass when you first turn on the lights. Mine has never bothered any typical size astrea/turbo snails. I have never had a problem with hermit crabs either.
Just make sure you see it eat before you buy it. They should go after mysis/flake like no tomorrow. You want to start with a healthy specimen. Good luck!
 

tang4me

Member
The yellow wrasse is a fairly "harder" fish. Meant to say hardy fish, LOL. Been a long day! Good luck with your wrasse. Great choice!
 

gharner

Member
how big do they get? i have heared several different things...like they get to be like 12 inches and others that say they get to be only 3 or 4 inches? i have no idea what to believe on these guys.
 

belly up

Member
ok well i didnt check here before i went to the lfs so i picked up a chalk basslent instead but the yellow wrasse might be added later on. wat about with shrimp(cleaners,fire,peppermint,)i also heard they eat the little hickhiker stars.
 

tang4me

Member
As far as size, 5 inches max. Several wrasses do grow to 10-12 inches, but not the yellow.
The yellow wrasse will target anything that is very small and can fit into it's mouth. That includes pods, very small bristle worms, very tiny snails. The key words are very small. It will not mess with a cleaner, pepperment, or fire shrimp. Anything of size the yellow will stay away. They are very peaceful. Hard to say on small hitchhiker stars. If they are really tiny I suppose it's possible, but if they have any size to them they would be okay.
Color, personality, activity make this a great choice. Plus, they don't cost a lot.
 
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