Fish Compatability with 6 line wrasse??

[BeefnCheese]

Hello,

I currently have a 6 line wrasse and a small black cap dottyback in my 90gal setup. I added them a day apart (dotty first, wrasse second) and it took the dotty several day s before poking out and about where as the wrasse took to the tank almost immediatly.

Well now that the dottyback is out and about i noticed she has one sorta messed up/cloudy eye and a good portion of her tail is missing. She is larger than the sixline wrasse and i havent seen any aggression from either fish since theyve both been out and about.

Should these fish get along? Could the dmg be done by some mystery hitchhiker as the dotty was tucked away in the rockwork day and night for the first 3-4 days??

Want to make sure that the doty will be ok. I would have trouble getting either of them out of the tank so I should of asked this earlier.. but with anything in this hobby its live and learn.

And while im here any of these other fish likely to pose any problems as they are on my future inhabitants list.

Clarkii Clown (pair)
Pygmy Angel (flame, potters or swallowtail)
Tang (Powder Blue or Purple)
Butterfly (CBB)
Fire Shrimp
and possibly another wrasse (was thiking fairy)

Thanks for the help!

Brent

[yama63]

Like i always say its your tank and your money ou can do what ever you want? People do weird things here?

The sixline will be fine with the dotty there may be a few turf wars but it sounds like if you do not treat the dotty you will lose it.
The sixline will not allow any other wrasses in that tank they are very agressive to other wrasses may be if you went with fairys or a school of flashers but not with that sixline in there.

I would say a smaller tang then the two you mentioned (yellow and kole are the tangs for a 75-90 may be if you had a 120 i would try the powder blue or purple everything else looks good CCB's are very finiky pick wisely and see it eat frozen food before buying it.

[BeefnCheese]

Thanks for some insight...

Im well aware that the CBB can be a finicky eater and Im planning on waiting for the tank to be very well established before adding him.

The dotty ate today when i fed the tank so that a good sign.. We'll see how she does in the near future..

And the more i read and research the more im thinking of pulling out the 6 line and getting some nicer flasher/fairy wrasses instead... We'll see how I feel about trying to catch him..

How does everyone deal with the wife factor?? I chose the dotty as the first fish and came home a day later and she had added the 6 line cause the guys at the lfs said great things about them...

now im ranting.. anymore sound advice?

Brent

[Angel*Fish]

This is not to criticize but simply to help ensure an informed choice...
Some of the fish you've chosen eat desirable invertebrates (desirable for helping to keep your tank healthy)
Namely the dottyback, the CBB(feather dusters) and the 6-line wrasse
You cetainly wouldn't want the 6-line and a mandarin in the tank together if you decide you want one down the road

Also just so you know - the skunk cleaners in general tend to be a better choice than the blood shrimp as they stay out in the open where you can see them and the blood shrimp are very secretive -- for the price of one blood shrimp you might get a pair of skunks which makes a cool display

HTH :)

[BeefnCheese]

Sigh...

I have no plans to add a Mandarin and personally dont like the fish enough to add one later so atleast i have that going for me...

And it also sounds like im not starting off the tank as well as I would have liked.... Need to make a good solid plan and stick to it.. and print it out and place it on the fridge so the wife's on the same page.. lol

I know the Fire shrimp are more secretive and im alright with that.. Ive had them in an old tank and i just love their coloring so much more than the skunks...

So should I pull the dotty and 6 Line and start with somethng else for the longevity and health of the tank??

Brent

[snorvich]

I think that you need to read a lot more before forming a plan. Forming a plan is a good thing and should be encouraged. You need to decide what your tank is going to be before you do anything. Six line wrasses are tough fish and are not compatible with a lot of other desirable fishes such as fairy and flasher wrasses. Read first, buy much later.

[Angel*Fish]

So should I pull the dotty and 6 Line and start with something else for the longevity and health of the tank??

That is a personal choice :) I personally prefer not to have those fish , but that doesn't mean you shouldn't - it has a lot to do with your personal preferences. And sometimes the best laid plans don't pay off very well
For example - I am very careful to exclude worm eaters from my tank. My has tank flourished with worms (detrivores) and tons of feather duster worms, to the point where I was giving them away with frags. Suddenly my feather duster population has disappeared in the main tank - might as well have bought a CBB, right? I'm not even sure which fish is eating them :confused:

So for me or anyone to say you shouldn't buy a particular fish...it almost doesn't seem right.

Do you positively l-o-v-e dottybacks? If you do, maybe you should have one. It's not going to crash your tank or anything ;) . But you should know the facts about the fish (or potential fish) you keep.

There are tons of threads on "How to remove this #$%@! 6-line wrasse from my tank" Probably lots of info on the pros and cons woulld be in order. Like said - it's not compatible with fairies.

So basically what snorvich said is what I'm trying to say - the more you read and the more questions you ask about the fish that spark your interest, the better.

...Mandarin and personally don't like the fish enough....
Another example of why no one can tell you what fish to get - for me, a tank without a mated pair of mandarins is like a tank without water :D

[Angel*Fish]

black cap dottyback
What's a blackcap dotty back, BTW? If we're talking blackcap basslet, that's't totally different -- wonderful fish IMO. :D Sounds like that fish needs some food soaked with or gut loaded with antibiotics - hope you posted in the disease forum...