how many wrasses?

[Mangodude]

I've got one yellow coris wrasse but i've seen people that have 3 and want to try it out. Is it going to be a problem if I go buy 2 more coris wrassses and add them at the same time?

Also have a hoevens wrasse.. in a 150g tank

Thanks!

[Nwest]

I would add them with the lights off and would leave them off for a few days. I have added fish to the tank with lights out and helps out with the aggression.

[bhsgk]

+1 and try to get the new ones about the same size as the one you already have

[damac20]

I have 7 wrasses in my 180 with no issues.

[Nwest]

Damac20 what do you have?

[bhsgk]

Also you can get a small plastic lizard container and put some sand in there and leave it in the tank for a few days to keep an eye on everything

[screamincamaro]

You should be fine with 1 male and multiple females. You run into problems with multiple males especially with females in the tank.

[jrizo1]

I have 6 on my tanks
2 Yellow Wrasse
2 Flame Fairy Wrasse (male and Female)
1 Six Line Wrasse
1.- Hoeven's Wrasse
No problems it all

[Mangodude]

Thanks everyone!

is there a visible difference between male and female coris wrasses?

[anbosu]

I believe the terminal males have the facial markings, but I'm not 100%.

[bhsgk]

According to Scott W. Michael in Wrasses & Parrotfish, the initial phase male has one or two eyespots on the dorsal fin(the fin on top) and a black dot on the caudal peduncle(the area right before the tail).

[TriggersAmuck]

Hey Eric,

I have a similar sized tank (125g) with 4 wrasses (not counting dwarf cryptic or opposum):
Yellow Coris
Green Coris
Red Coris
Leopard

They really do leave each other alone in spite of some size differences (the Green Coris is a huge one), and I think the fact that they bury at night has the effect of allowing more "sleeping" territory for all fish involved. The only potential issues I ever see in my tank are my female Maroon Clown and Green Wrasses occasionally facing each other off with lip service but never really doing anything harmful.

[barry_keith]

In my 90g I have a melanarus, mystery and a canary wrasse. I had a leopard for several months and one day recently my mystery, which is the smallest wrasse killed it

But other than that I've had no problems for quite a while. I'd love to add another wrasse but I'm not sure about it

[damac20]

I have a flame wrasse, mystery wrasse, lubbocks wrasse, exquisite wrasse, possum wrasse, mccoster flasher, And a hovens wrasse.

[SushiGirl]

The males will have facial markings like this. Mine doesn't have a black spot on the caudal fin & the spot on the dorsal moved as it grew from the back to behind the head. They can & do change sex if needed unless it's a terminal male. Mine is the only one in the tank & developed the markings pretty quickly after we got it. Not sure if that makes it a terminal male or not LOL.



This was when we first got him. He was already pretty good-sized & showing war paint.


These are really confusing because you see them with one dorsal spot and 2 dorsal spots. Then there's Halichoeres leucoxanthus that is also sold as yellow wrasse & has a white belly. I know someone on this board that got that one & it killed all his shrimp in one day! My chrysus is a pretty good citizen except he likes to steal food from my palys & a couple of LPS.

At any rate, if yours doesn't have facial markings, you can get 2 more without & one will probably turn male. Or you can get one with facial & one without. Or if yours has markings, get 2 without.