Melanurus wrasse beating up Red head fairy wrasse

[Manolo_AP]

Hey I just naught a red head fairy wrasse from Max reef yesterday. I was very excited as I've always wanted one.
As soon as I finished acclimation and dropped him in my tank my melanarus went insane. Biting his head. Today the red head is hiding in a rock crevice looking all beat up. What to do? I was under the impression they would get along fine. Do I need to get rid of one?

 

[prattreef]

How big is the tank? Generally Halichoeres species don't bother Fairy wrasses, but as you have found out, sometimes they do. Chances are they will work it out it is just hard to watch for a few days. Moving forward,an in-tank acclimation box where new fish can seen but not touched goes a long way to preventing this problem. Good luck.

 

[Manolo_AP]

Thanks for the info. I was able to purchase an in tank acclimation at max reef today. He's currently in it now. How long should I keep him in there?

 

[prattreef]

You need to use your judgement. Make sure he is eating well and swimming around in the box and that the melanuras is not paying much attention to him. Several days to a week is a general guesstimate.

 

[MIKE NY]

...even with a good acclimation I find the Melanurus to be very unpredictable in their behavior thats why I dont keep them any longer...

 

[Manolo_AP]

Hey all thanks for the help. Just to update. I released the read head salon fairy wrasse two days ago and the melanurus is leaving it alone. Seems like they've worked things out. I've witnessed them by one another several times without incident even during feeding.
One thing I'm curious about is the solar wrasse she keeping to one side of the tank mostly and staying mostly on the upper half of the tank. Is this normal behavior or is he avoiding the melanurus?

 

[prattreef]

Great news. This is very typical behavior. Basically they have worked out a dominance hierarchy of sorts and now the Red Head is respecting his boundaries and laying low. It should slowly integrate into using the whole tank.

 

[Manolo_AP]

Wow perfect! I love wrasses and would def love to put more in my tank. I lost my six line to my melanurus. Had I done some more homework I would have known they weren't really compatible. I like the melanurus better anyway.