wrasse murder mystery

cocoboy821

cocoboy821

Member
hey everyone
i got three six line wrasse yesterday, and until bout an hour ago, everything was going great! my mom and i had a game going on to see who could spot all three at the same time.
but when my dad was watching them, he noticed one was dead behind some lr. we thought the other small wrasse might have gotten him since they fought yesterday and the dead one had couple chunks missing from its fins.
now i just saw the one we thought killed the other wrasse die. he had couple chunks missin too.
in our tank:
1 six line wrasse
1 yellow tang
2 clarkii clowns
1 pajama cardinal
1 maroon clown
1 chromis
1 court jester goby (we hope..)
1 black sailfin
6 emerald crabs
2 sally light foot crabs
2 porcelian anemone crabs
1 banded shrimp
1 cleaner shrimp
8 peppermint shrimps
can ya'll see anything that would be killing the wrasse? the clowns are usually aggressive, but they've pretty much ignored them after checkin them out when first introduced.
 
dacia

dacia

Active Member
My tomato clown was picked on my 2 chromis when they were in the 30 gallon tank...that clown was so scared that he would never come out. I almost forgot what he looked like.
I saved his life when I moved to the 55 gallon tank...the chromis went back to the LFS and were replaced by 2 percs. Now Tom is back to normal again, and has been for 2 years now.
Damsels are territorial, and can be downright evil.
 
lesleybird

lesleybird

Active Member
Well, my sixline has murdered two and maybe even three fish his size (two fairy wrasses and a royal gramma) they are safe if they are about 40 percent larger than him. He is a little weisel that I have had for the last 4 years. Can't catch him! Lesley
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Cocoboy, how big are the emeralds, porcelains and the banded shrimp?
And, whoa! DACIA, how did it go adding the percs with the tomato? I've wanted to, but heard bad things.
 
promisetbg

promisetbg

Active Member
The sixlines most likely fought amongst themselves, they should never have been placed together. Another possibility is the yellow tang, many do not take to any fish added after them..that is why it is recommended they be added last. What size is this tank? How did you acclimate the wrasses? Even if they were kept together at the LFS, it is different when placed into a tank where they want to establish territories. Sally lightfoots are also known to take out small fish. If the wrasses were trying to acclimate to the tank and hanging near the bottom, it is possible they could have caught them.
 
dacia

dacia

Active Member
Originally Posted by PonieGirl
Cocoboy, how big are the emeralds, porcelains and the banded shrimp?
And, whoa! DACIA, how did it go adding the percs with the tomato? I've wanted to, but heard bad things.
They don't really bother each other in my tank. Sometimes the tomato will try to eat all of the food before the percs get to it, but that's about it. They've lived peacefully together since around Christmas or so of 2005. :cheer:
 
cocoboy821

cocoboy821

Member
wow lot of responses lol i'm just gonna put down the info ya'll asked for in a random order..
-75 gal tank
-sally light crabs added same day, inch to inch 1/2, busy munchin on alge
-emerald crabs, inch, munchin on bubble alge and other random alge
-bandit shrimp is rather big, my dad is thinkin it's him too since he'll go after the other fish if they bug him
-doubtful of the chromis, he's the one that the clowns pick on
-tang seems to "love" (i know, fish dont have emotions, but best way to describe it) smaller fish, has even started to protect chromis & pajama
-while the smaller wrasse did fight when we put them in, they settled down and were getting along yesterday before someone killed them
think thats all the questions answered... remind me if it isn't lol
 
nicetry

nicetry

Active Member
Sixlines actually do well when placed in small groups, given the right conditions. They are harem fish by nature, and several hobbyists keep them together. It's guesswork at this point, but I'm thinking if the wrasses went into hiding upon entry into the tank (as many do) they may have been attacked by one of the crabs or the cb shrimp. You really have a fair sized load already. I'd rethink adding anything else to the mix.
 
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