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Pink streaked or white-banded possum wrasse?


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So after keeping mandarins for the past couple of years my male ruby died to of all things a pom-pom crab. I have loved these little fish ever since I saw it was plausible to keep them. But I've had it.... I'm tired of the spot-feeding, the constant sourcing/trying of different foods, the culturing of pods, of having to step up feedings after vacations to get it to bulk back up. The last few weeks of just having to huck food into the tank and have everything do OK has been an epiphany.

 

I need a break from special-needs fish.

 

Looking at adding a more free-swimming fish. ATM I'm in a toss-up between either a white-banded possum (Wetmorella albofasciata) or a pink-streaked wrasse (Pseudocheilinops ataenia). My tank's only a 9 gallon cube so a harem is out, but there's a lot of caves and macroalgae for the fish to hide in and their temperament is fairly docile.

 

Any experiences keeping either of these fish to share? And how are they with smaller shrimp (pedersons) or porcelain crabs? Or maybe a suggestion I've overlooked?

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I had a yellow banded possum for years. Never went after crabs, shrimps, snails......just pods, pellets and Mysis.

Great little fish whose always on the move.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have a Tanaka pygmy wrasse and absolutely love this fish. They are shy at first, but once comfortable, cruise the tank looking for food. It was labeled as a W. albofasciata when I bought it, so I got a great deal. You can't go wrong with any of the Wetmorella's in my book. Great fish.

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We have a pink streaked wrasse. Very pleasant. Swims a lot. Shy when walk to the tank, but will come out if you fool it. Love her!

 

Also had a yellow banded possume wrasse. Same temperament.

 

I have 2 pom pom crabs and they are totally fine together.

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Thanks for the testimonials! I've placed an order at my local store for a pink-streaked wrasse. They have a pair of possum wrasses already in stock, but in such a small tank I think the PSW will be a bit more centerpiece-worthy.

 

But it's great to have a fallback and if it turns out they just can;t source it at this time I know where my next option is.

 

BTW - while waiting I came across this as well: Red Elongated Dottyback (Pseudochromis elongatus) http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+38+2989&pcatid=2989

 

Hmmm...

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Good choice, Pink Streak is a great fish. Always a little cryptic in the sense that it will swim near the rock most of the time. But bold enough that it, as it gets more and more familiar with its surrounding, more and more time cruising around the rock and will come out well into the open for food. Mine even tries to grab frozen food out of the mouths of my tailspot and fang blennies. Not mean or fiesty (not even close), just brave. Still ducks into the rocks if there's too much sudden motion near the tank. But out and about all the time as long as there is nothing 'suspicious' going on.

 

And, since they're just a tad smaller than some possum wrasses, I totally agreed with you about the PSW being a slightly better center piece for sub-20g tanks.

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"Still ducks into the rocks if there's too much sudden motion near the tank."

 

Are you saying the PSW are more shy than the Wetmorella? I'm interested in either (or both) as my primary fish. Any pros/cons to having pairs vs mixed PSW/wetmorella?

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I only have a Pink-Streaked Wrasse, haven't had a Wetmorella (at least not yet). So I can't say firsthand whether a Wetmorella would be less/more shy than a PSW. Given how similar the two species are though, I think they'd be pretty similar in 'shyness'.

 

I can say that my PSW is a very cool, laid-back fish that spends about half of the time meandering around the front side of my tank and the other half in the back side. If he is out in front and there is sudden motion (I move quick or someone walks into the room fast) near the tank, it'll casually swim into a cave or around to the back ... then, once it realizes there's no cause for concern, swim around to the front again a minute or two later. It's not like he shoots into hiding like a rocket, just moves to where he is more comfortable until he can evaluate things, then comes back out.

 

A few weeks ago I was considering either another PSW or a White-Banded Possum. While I did come across three or four people who had more than one PSW in a nano ... and the chances of aggression are probably pretty low, I just figured they'd be even lower with a Wetmorella and the PWS versus two PSWs. Almost pulled the trigger on the White-Banded Possum, but at the last minute I decided to go with a sharknose goby instead just to add a little more variety to the tank.

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Oh I wasn't concerned about aggression. I'm curious about mated pairs. I've never bred any fish. Should I be worried about space? Is it better to avoid pairs in a 20g filled with rocks and corals?

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I shied away from a mated pair of PSW's after reading a few threads on one of the marine breeders forums regarding their tendency to gender switch over time to male and the resulting aggression of that in a smaller nano-scale tank. But then my local store discovered they were unable to source the fish at all.

 

... but COULD get me a pair of ORA's red elongated dottybacks! (and shipped out just ahead of Hurricane Matthew) They're getting used to their new digs as I type... a little shy at first but they're already starting to explore out of the sheltered back/corner. Supposedly all of the character of the larger dottybacks, minus a great deal of the jerkwad. ;)

 

Time will tell. I'll post back here after a week or so to update on what happens.

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I love my PSW, but it took quite a while for him to get comfortable in the tank and come out regularly. But I had clown fish, and although they didn't bother him, I think they made him shy. Malacoda's description is spot on. Mine spends about half his time behind the rocks but cruises around the tank regularly.

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One of the pair of elongated dottybacks passed away 3 days after addition - no idea why as it was out & about after day 1 and feeding well. More likely it was me - these little guys have an almost blenny-like love of my Korallia powerhead. I've had to shoo the smaller out of it 2-3x before turning it back on after feeding, which usually happens after lights out (at least the remembering to turn it back on part).

 

Ah well. At least the other one settled in and is doing well.

 

On a happier front - VERY active neat little fish. My yellow clown goby's having some slight territory issues, but stepped up feeding seems to be making it mellow out a bit towards the newcomer.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Sorry about the delay - been a busy couple of weeks and then a trip to Mexico.

 

So the remaining elongated dottyback has been doing great. Still pretty shy but provided nobody's standing/moving right in front of the tank it darts out & about often at all parts of the water column, especially at feeding time. Really, really fun to watch fish.

 

Almost impossible to take a picture of, though. ;)

 

Yellow clown goby settled down - barely reacts to it anymore.

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Cencalfishguy56

Sorry about the delay - been a busy couple of weeks and then a trip to Mexico.

 

So the remaining elongated dottyback has been doing great. Still pretty shy but provided nobody's standing/moving right in front of the tank it darts out & about often at all parts of the water column, especially at feeding time. Really, really fun to watch fish.

 

Almost impossible to take a picture of, though. ;)

 

Yellow clown goby settled down - barely reacts to it anymore.

Sure you still don't want a PSW??? ;)

 

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SideCar_Falcon619

I have been in love with that red elongated dotty ever since my first day on live aquaria almost a year ago and I have NEVER seen it in stock.... Where did you find them?

 

Pictures!?

 

 

Thanks for the testimonials! I've placed an order at my local store for a pink-streaked wrasse. They have a pair of possum wrasses already in stock, but in such a small tank I think the PSW will be a bit more centerpiece-worthy.

 

But it's great to have a fallback and if it turns out they just can;t source it at this time I know where my next option is.

 

BTW - while waiting I came across this as well: Red Elongated Dottyback (Pseudochromis elongatus) http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+38+2989&pcatid=2989

 

Hmmm...

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SideCar_Falcon619 - I have a good rapport with the livestock manager at a nearby LFS. I'm in there almost every week, asked nicely if they could include it in their next ORA order. And with money. ;)

 

Not the cheapest fish I've ever gotten by far - but once you add up what the Diver's Den (WYSISYG) premium and shipping adds to the $35 listed price it was comparable via the local store. Wish they had the 14-day alive guarantee though... I'm still smarting from the 60-odd bucks that went belly-up on the 2nd dottyback.

 

As for pictures - the little guy is FAST and still pretty shy; every time the camera comes out, he darts to the back of the tank/shadows. Mine looks like the shot on Liveaquaria, but a lot more shaded towards pink/violet on the body. Maybe just juvenile coloration, maybe ORA's not breeding the "red" enlongated dottyback or maybe I have a mutant. What feedback I've gotten from them says that eventually it'll likely be a dark rusty orange like its fins & head currently are.

 

Cencalfishguy56 - well, I guess one of the bright sides to not having the full pair make it is that there's room for one more smaller-ish fish. Definitely still at the top of my list, once a couple side projects are completed. Really nice pic, BTW!

 

Not to knock the many mandarin lovers out there & on this forum (I'm one, too) - but it is seriously nice for once to only have fish in the tank that actively chase down food & eat just about anything.

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I have to say, the 14 day guarantee from Divers Den/LA is a real selling point for me. All of my LFS's sell fish on the "once you buy it, it's yours" policy with no guarantee at all. So I don't mind that when it's a $20 fish, but when I'm spending $50 plus for a fish, I really don't mind paying the extra shipping to get the guarantee.

 

Can't wait to see a picture of the new guy!

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I have to say, the 14 day guarantee from Divers Den/LA is a real selling point for me. All of my LFS's sell fish on the "once you buy it, it's yours" policy with no guarantee at all. So I don't mind that when it's a $20 fish, but when I'm spending $50 plus for a fish, I really don't mind paying the extra shipping to get the guarantee.

 

Can't wait to see a picture of the new guy!

 

We used to have a store in my area that did a similar in-house QT period before entry to display with a very limited alive guarantee (3 or 5 days, I think). It was awesome and well worth the $20/$40-odd premium. They closed up when their rent went up and permitting on new space fell through, among other things.

 

Miss that place. We've still got some excellent stores around here, but it's pretty much "if it dies so much as immediately after you walk out of the store, it's on you".

 

But online ordering's pretty out in my case... my work schedule's so bad that I can't count on being able to be at home when a delivery would show. And my local delivery people have "curious" notions of how a package should be handled on the epic trip from curb to door. I've caught them throwing & kicking packages up the driveway, or cramming them into the mailbox, resulting in a parcel that looks like a cored apple. :rolleyes:

 

<removed doubled text>

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  • 2 months later...

And now for some DIY thread necromancy!

 

I FINALLY was able to get a decent-ish picture of my red elongated dottyback. Forgive the food particles and coraline build-up - I've been slack. Named it "Timex" after it tried repeatedly and finally succeeded in getting itself pureed in my Koralia powerhead. Poor little guy lost several scales on the right and most of it's left lateral fin. All healed & grown back, though - one tough fish.

 

Very camera-shy fish, but also very inquisitive - put a beer bottle in front of the tank and it's just GOTTA check it out. :lol:

 

post-70644-0-61351300-1484335388_thumb.jpg

 

post-70644-0-57317200-1484335391_thumb.jpg

 

I'm surprised... it's the most un-dottyback-like dottyback I've ever seen. No aggression to speak of - for the first week it was being bullied by the yellow clown goby! Very active if furtive swimmer, especially around feeding time or when the pumps are cut. But be careful as they will do the blenny trick of exploring the inside of powerheads... we ALWAYS check with a flashlight before starting them now.

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Sorry I couldn't help but laugh about puree-ing your fish. :lol:

Happy to see he's made a full recovery and been such an awesome addition to you system. :)

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