Anyone ever kept a Dragon Wrasse

[^CelticReefer^]

I saw one at the Fish Place the other day. Did some reading on them and picked one up. Very Very small one. From what I gathered from the books he should be cool in my reef. He's been in there for a few days and I really like him. He is going ape on my bristle worms! Just looking for some imput with anyone with some exp. or knowledge on the breed. He is cool with all the other fish, and he is doing a awesome job of sifting through my substrate. Anyone think I will have any problems??
Brian

[rmendis]

I don't know anything about these guys, except that they are an attractive, unusual fish. Here is some info from MarineDepotLive:

"The Novaculichthys taeniourus is a carnivore and likes to eat variety of chopped crustaceans, fish pieces, shrimp, shellfish, squid. The Dragon Wrasse is a medium maintenance fish and may act aggressively toward other fish. Not reef-safe, may voraciously eat inverts & fish. Will attempt to jump out. Sand substrate would help. Novaculichthys taeniourus, the Rock Mover, Dragon or Indian Wrasse is a very hardy fish that is more often killed by aquarists than dies from other influences. As an aquarium specimen this species requires regular "beefy" feedings of animal-based foods. It is a gluttonous feeder that quickly starves if underfed. Not for reef tanks, Razorfishes are territorial and aggressive fishes."

Here is a pic, in case anyone's interested:
http://www.blackstone-aviaries.com/Scuba/dragonwrass.jpg

[drscheck]

Just remember that as the fish gets larger, the larger the rocks it will be able to move.

They don't call it the rock mover wrasse for nothing...

[Defcon]

very cool looking fish. i hope it does well in your reef and doesnt cause too much havoc.

[JB NY]

I think those guys get huge. What's the max size?

[Gary Majchrzak]

It will become a reef wrecker when larger. The adult fish is very different looking than the juvenile stage. Juveniles {like the one pictured above} are sometimes called "Reindeer Wrasse".
Adults are often called "Dragon Wrasses".
See pic in this link:
http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?StartRow=7&ID=5610&what=species

[Defcon]

wow what a transformation....thats amazing

[sschafer]

Not sure, but I saw one many years ago that was probably 18" in a LFS. It is a VERY cool fish for a FO tank with very sturdy rock forms. The afore mentioned fish was picking up rather massive coral skeletons and moving them around the tank.

-Steve

Originally posted by JB NY
I think those guys get huge. What's the max size?

[MERCEDES]

If you value your corals run don't walk back to the LFS and return it. If you can move it to a Fowlr then you will be able to enjoy the dragon wrasse. We brought ours back after 5 days. I have never seen a fish that small move so much.:eek2: The LFS suggested it to us to eat some of the monstrous sized bristleworms we had. IMO not a good fish for a reef tank. At night they bury themselves in the sand to sleep which is cool and that is also how we caught him. :D He is small now but they will get to be almost 12 inches and will eat small fish,snails,serpent stars,ornamental crustaceans etc etc I think you get the picture.:(

[^CelticReefer^]

Thanks for all the imput,
You know, 2 books at The fish place said it was docile, reef safe, but would do alot of rearanging. Which he is. Hasen't bothered anything (yet), very active, swims with my 3 clowns. I think I will return him. Sucks, he's really neat. But I am not taking any chances. He is the same size as the above pic.

Thanks again everyone. I need to start carrying my IBM thinkpad with me to the LFS so I can consult all of you.
I kinda thought it was a leary buy by the way the LFS guy was like, oh yea they're ABSOLUTLY REEF SAFE, then he goes and grabs the books. But they both backed up what he said.
No better info than here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brian

[dgodwin]

I've noticed TFP seems to have a few new employees (I guess I go there too much). There's only one or two people I'd trust for information, and I'd still double check it with other sources. It's a shame that the information and the information here are completely different. I would definitely go with the information from people with first-hand knowledge over just about any book. I hope you can get all of your money back. (I dunno what the return policy is on incompatibility.)

[sschafer]

Well, I would say they are reef safe if you don't have any shrimp or snales and everything is solidified in place. I don't think a dragon wrasse will go around killing corals, but if they are mobile they will be moved.

-Steve

[Gary Majchrzak]

These Wrasses are relentless in their search for food. Anything that moves and can fit into it's ever growing larger mouth will be considered food.
Most of the smaller individuals starve to death in captivity.
The heavy feedings they require to thrive means you need a good cleanup crew in a reef tank {worms, brittlestars, etc.} but the fish will have already have made lunch out of them!
Luckily, Reindeer Wrasses are easy to catch after they bed down for the night in the sand.
Sorry for the disappointing news.

[sschafer]

I used to feed mine with chopstix! Was great fun. One of these days I'll have a nice big FOWLR tank and get one again.

-Steve

[Gary Majchrzak]

It figures that you had one of these fish, Steve!
They really are cool Wrasses. Too bad that they cause so many headaches in a reef aquarium.
Another Wrasse similar to the 'Reindeer Wrasse' is a juvenile Harlequin Tuskfish. The juvenile Tusk {rarely imported} looks like a dead leaf. The adult Tuskfish {commonly seen} eats inverts, but is not into "rock and roll" like a Rockmover. Tuskfish will leave smaller fish alone, and are not the jumpers that Dragon Wrasses are. Both of these Wrasses are better off in FOWLER or fish only systems, although author Teri Siegel maintains a Harlequin Tuskfish in his 10' long reef aquarium.

[RandyO]

Brian,
The Fish Place will take back the fish for seven days with a full refund. After 7 days, it is treated like any other trade in. Unless their policy has changed in the last year. Then I don't know.

If you can't catch the fish right away, call them, and let them know you want to return the fish. 693-4411. Ask for a manager.
That way, you are protected. They shouldn't give you any problems.


Mistakes happen.

[ri]

It's amazing how much the fish will change appearance as it matures.

sschafer - You say you used to feed yours with chop sticks... how old was it at that time? Did you have the fish long enough to see it change?

ri

[Rick Maley]

I have kept a dragon to maturity, about 3 years in a fish only tank. They are the neatest fish , they have there own personality like most wrasse. I have in in with a lion fish and he picks at the lion . I would never recommend him for a reef , they like to rearrange the whole aquarium. RickM