Red Coris Wrasse question... large fishes in too small worlds    1/11/08 Hey WWM, I am a relative newcomer to the marine aquarium hobby and have had a 55 gal tank up for about 2.5 years now. Currently my species include a Sebae Clown, Niger Trigger, <Needs more room than this> and a V-Tail Grouper, <Ditto> all of whom get along quite well. <Not for long> I have had my ups and downs on luck in maintaining the health of all my fish and a few hardships in the loss of some. As of late (the last 6 months or so) I have done a complete revamp of my tank and switched my substrate out from crushed coral to AragAlive Indo Pacific black sand and my tank is doing so much better, hardly ever needs cleaned. In addition to my 55gal I have a small 14gal BioCube (or whatever it is called) and I have a bag of AragAlive sand in that and a decent size live-rock, along with a 2 inch Red Coris. <Also re the room thing> This leads me to my main question... I have been doing a lot of research on this topic as of late, and have found many helpful answers...but wanted a more direct response. I have had this gaimard for about 4 months now and was just wondering of the general care for him. He eats aggressively and I feed him daily a good amount of red worms and sometimes chunks of frozen krill. I do pretty steady water changes, because (as I'm told is common with little tanks) the levels are hard to maintain and it's always dirty. <Yes> I try to throw in some Vit C weekly and do a weekly maintenance of the (cycle stuff...to help with Nitrates). I was also wondering the average timeframe for him to mature and change color, <Will be drawn out in such a small setting... a few negative feedbacks here...> if there is anything else I should be giving him (some sort of vitamins other than C), and what size I should wait for him to get before putting him in my larger tank. <... I wouldn't wait...> My V-tail is pretty large (about 5 inches) , but timid and my Niger is about 4 inches...and the clown is, well he's a clown, he'll try to eat live food but spits it right back out. As is common, the trigger is pretty aggressive and gives the grouper a run for his money, so I just don't want the little guy to get either eaten, or harassed to death (which might happen anyways, since he has been in there the longest). <A Coris gaimard needs more room than a 55...> I was just hoping with the wrasse that he would be able to hide (have enough rocks) and then grow and become aggressive as well. <Unfortunately, the odds are stacked against this fish in these settings... much more likely to perish from stress in a word> I had a Lunare Wrasse in there (died, I think due to nitrates in the substrate causing him to refuse to bed down), and he and the niger got along well. So, is it still a bad idea to put a 2 inch juvenile wrasse in there with these big guys (I'm assuming that's a big YES, but I am the amateur here). <Correct> Any help is much appreciated, sorry for the length of this, and I'm very happy to have found this insanely helpful website. <What you and your fish livestock really need is larger quarters... about twice what you have now... Is there someway to save up, provide this? Bob Fenner>

New additions  9/21/05 Good evening. <And good evening to you as well, Adam J with you tonight.>   I'm looking for some suggestions on  additions to my FO 55g setup. I currently have a Heniochus Butterfly, Percula Clown, Flame Angel. and a Longnose Hawkfish. <I fear this tank is or will shortly become overcrowded, the Heniochus will definitely outgrow it, and you are on the borderline as far as confines for the Flame Angel.> I have been unable to keep a Royal Gramma alive pre or post institution of QT. <That's unfortunate these are generally hardy and entertaining specimens.> I have been eyeing a Red Coris Wrasse at the local fish store.  Is my tank big enough and is the 2 inches of crushed coral suitable? <As I mentioned above your aquarium is/will be overstocked shortly, so I cannot advise adding any more fish. Especially the red-Coris (Coris gaimard) which has a tank busting potential of 15"+ and cannot be recommended to any aquarium less than 135 US gallons. (some aquarists even recommend 180)>   I would appreciate any hardy colorful fish suggestion you might have. <See above.>   As always, great web site! <Thank you, I will pass along the compliments to the appropriate parties. Adam J>

Wrasse (Coris gaimard) Hey guys quick question. I have read the forums and see that Humu triggers grow fairly slow and slower than other triggers. About how slow are we talking here? I have a three inch Humu and would like to know approximately about how long it's going to take to be around 4 or 5 inches.  <Difficult to answer, all depends on tank size, diet, water quality, etc.>  Lastly, I searched forums about the Coris gaimard and only found how big it gets in wild not in captivity. So, generally how big does this yellow tail wrasse get in captivity?  And what size tank would you recommend for a growing yellow tail?  <Chrissy, this wrasse is difficult to keep, best left for experts. But to answer your question. In the wild they grow to just a little over a foot. A 100 gallon tank would be the minimum size. James (Salty Dog)> 

Coris gaimard - 46 gall a Tight Squeeze - 7/14/03 Dear friends: <cheers, bub> I am planning on purchasing a juvenile Coris gaimard. I've done much research and your website say it's a hardy specimen. <true with heed of specific needs: sugar-fine sand 3-4" deep minimum, several daily feedings (3+) for juveniles for their high metabolism, low and long tank big enough (100+gallons)> However, two different e-tailers (LiveAquaria & MarineDepotLive) have designated this fish as a: "delicate shipper and "Expert Only," and we cannot guarantee it after arrival. As an Expert Only species, we recommend that only the expert marine aquarist, zoo, or research institution should purchase this species". <understood and agreed... indeed they are sensitive to shipping like most wrasses. Hence the hardy once acclimated bit <G>> Why the conflicting remarks/observation? <shipping versus husbandry... two entirely different matters.> I've a F.O. 46-Gallon Oceanic bow front. Livestock include a pair of Chrysiptera cyanea, a Chrysiptera hemi-cyanea and a Cirrhitichthys aprinus. All are small in size. <no matter... this tank really is not suited top a C. gaimard for even the short run... adult size is over one foot long (35 cm) and keeping them in aquaria so small not only will shorten their adult size/potential... but likely their life. Not recommended for a 46 gall tank... let a small one grow out in a larger aquarium and spare the stunting> Please advice and thanks in advance. Best, BC <best regards, Anthony>

New addition Dear Anthony, <Cheers, Thanassis> after a month of problems with Oodinium, high Nitrite due to the copper, etc., I now have my aquarium relaxed again , and very important: no fish lost. <all very good to hear> I am reminding you the fish composition of my tank: 1 Acanthurus Lineatus (10 cm) 1 Blue Tang (7 cm) 1 Apolemichthys xanthotis (9 cm) 1 Gramma Loreto (6 cm) 1 Damsel (Chromis Xanthurus) (4 cm) I now want to have a Coris Gaimard Wrasse, 12 cm, which I saw yesterday.  <Hmmm.... a beautiful fish but gets large and quite rowdy. Will outright eat the Gramma and damsel eventually> It just arrived in my dealer's shop and in order to avoid problems I told my dealer that I will be away for 5 days and when I come back I would like to buy it. I have read some articles about this fish and I have the following questions: - Is it good to put it for 3 days in my aquarium with my glass separator? Of course I will take care for good aeration and water circulation within the area of the separator. I have heard the theory that within 3 days the fish will in a way "get the smell" of my aquarium, so the other tankmates will not attack him when the separator is taken away. <a separate isolation tank would be much better. "getting the smell" of the display tank is not as important as screening for disease and letting the fish get acclimated to your foods and feeding schedule> - This fish likes to bury in the sand. I have a gravel of 1/2 inch. Is it right to add some coral sand n a corner ? Will it be a problem with anaerobic bacteria? <this fish needs a very deep bed of fine sand several inched thick and will make quite a snowstorm every time it decides to bury itself. I don't think you will be able to avoid this need easily if you have hope for it to behave naturally and survive a long time> - If I give him a freshwater dip before I put him into my aquarium, what is the right procedure to acclimate the fish?  <The FW dip is good but be forewarned that wrasses respond quite stressfully to it and it will try to jump out of the bucket feverishly> I usually add some water from my aquarium every five minutes into the plastic bag that contains the fish and after 20 minutes I net the fish and drop it in my tank. What should I do in the case that I first want to make a freshwater dip with Methylene Blue? Basically, temp and pH adjust some dechlorinated freshwater, aerate, and place fish in for 3-5 minutes minimum. 10-15 minutes with known hardy species... see more info here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/dips_baths.htm> Best regards, Thanassis
<kindly, Anthony>