I think my Melanurus Wrasse is eating my Crabs
- Thread starter pvh
- Start date
Cherokee_Dude
Non-member
Mine would definitely eat hermits like popcorn. I fed him twice a day and he still went after them. He ate hermits, at least 2 emeralds and I eventually got rid of him because I actually got a picture of him with the legs of my good sized fire/blood shrimp sticking out of his mouth ::
Cherokee_Dude
Non-member
They're pretty fast Peter...
To catch mine I had to lay out a barrier of tupperware to cover most of the sandbed except the very front of the tank glass area. Then shut the lights off and waited a few minutes for him to think the day was done. After he identified the 'Open area' as suitable to do the sand dive to sleep, I took a huge scoop of sand from the back moving forward and pinned my LARGE net against the glass. When he resurfaced to see what the heck was going on, he was already caught
edit:
If you try this, make sure you bend the net where it meets the rod part or you won't make sufficient contact with the glass to trap it.
To catch mine I had to lay out a barrier of tupperware to cover most of the sandbed except the very front of the tank glass area. Then shut the lights off and waited a few minutes for him to think the day was done. After he identified the 'Open area' as suitable to do the sand dive to sleep, I took a huge scoop of sand from the back moving forward and pinned my LARGE net against the glass. When he resurfaced to see what the heck was going on, he was already caught
edit:
If you try this, make sure you bend the net where it meets the rod part or you won't make sufficient contact with the glass to trap it.
ava420
Well-Known Member
mine eats like a pig but has never touched my hermits had him for almost 2 years now... got him to wipe out some reguler flat worms. ugly little things would cover the glass as soon as the lights went out.
i did notice when i was fishing for a flame devil the Melanurus was probably one of the easiest fish to catch. it would swim right into the fish net with a little food in it. kinda got to be a pain in the butt.. it was the only fish that would swim in the trap then freak out cause it couldn't find its way out then finally get out to only go back in 5min later n freak out again...
i did notice when i was fishing for a flame devil the Melanurus was probably one of the easiest fish to catch. it would swim right into the fish net with a little food in it. kinda got to be a pain in the butt.. it was the only fish that would swim in the trap then freak out cause it couldn't find its way out then finally get out to only go back in 5min later n freak out again...
Cherokee_Dude
Non-member
Mine was fine until he was a few years old also and had some size on it... That when stuff started going missing.
I'm not saying all of them do. However, by by nature they habitually pick. It's what they do and why they are great for flatworms, nudibranch and amphipod population control. If you look close at their mouth they have these pointy little teeth at the tips they use for pyrmalid(sp?) snails, but are also great for getting at hermits.
Also, they are voracious eaters who are constantly on the hunt. This is largely the reason that they grow very quickly. You can't seem to feed them enough to keep them satisfied without a large enough tank with lil' critters for them to hunt down.
I'm not saying all of them do. However, by by nature they habitually pick. It's what they do and why they are great for flatworms, nudibranch and amphipod population control. If you look close at their mouth they have these pointy little teeth at the tips they use for pyrmalid(sp?) snails, but are also great for getting at hermits.
Also, they are voracious eaters who are constantly on the hunt. This is largely the reason that they grow very quickly. You can't seem to feed them enough to keep them satisfied without a large enough tank with lil' critters for them to hunt down.
pallobi
Neal
I agree... what so many people fail to understand is that regardless of how much you feed a fish, you are not gonna alter its instincts... if they eat whatever in the wild, they will eat whatever in your tank... its very foolish to think otherwise...
and sorry to hear about your dilemma Peter, but unfortunately i feel your gonna have to choose keeping the fish or the hermits, as clearly they wont co-exist as far as the wrasse is concerned... GL
