6 line or no????

[D.J.]

hey guys just wondering what yalls opions on 6 line wrasses are......

im debating on buying one....just to keep kim at ease about there being brisstle worms in the tank.....

are they really worth the $17 or is it just a $17 fish that doesnt really have a purpose??

i mean has anyone actually seen these things eat anything other than fish food?

[reefcrazy8587]

We have one and not had any problems. I only see him eat fish food. Fun to watch though. I have heard a few stories of them getting aggressive towards other fish though.(N)

I have a lot of ppl ask about the fish when they look at my tank-they are quite neat to watch. Very fast swimming through rocks...very neat. Mine is not aggressive towards my fish-doesn't really stand much of a chance against the tangs and clowns tho...never bothers them

[ZMattie]

Yup, beautiful fish that doesnt serve a purpose besides your viewing pleasure. Heck, you can have mine for a small trade if you want lol, as soon as I catch it, its getting sump duty until I rehome it (its trying to beat the crap outta my new fairy wrasse). But otherwise, Ive never had a problem with it bothering other fish, the clowns actually chase him away from their nem if he gets too close. For the price, its an awesome fish, I mean, just look at it.

[schneijt]

Keep in mind, DJ, that you've got that huge mandarin in your tank, and the six-line also eats a crapload of 'pods... So, I would avoid is simply for that reason.

-Joe

[Jnicho]

6lines are aggressive hunters...not a good companion for your mandarin...competition for the same food.

[hansmatt]

Love my 6 line...does eat lost of pods and other critters, but has a lot of good personality. One of my favorite fish, very curious.

[Afish4u]

I've heard of them eating in other peoples tanks. As for eating pods. I think I just learned something new today I believe my kryptic must eat some he doesn't eat the flake. So that would narrow it down to pods, and worms. I don't ever see any in my display and only one in the sump every once in awhile

[D.J.]

ya know i never even knew they ate pods...THANKS JOE.........ya im not putting anything in there to compete with the mandrin for pods.....

i was thinkin of a canary wrasse just to add some more color to the tank...i dont want anything that gets BIG just something that will keep kim at ease....

and would REALLY prefer something that wont compete with the mandrin.....guess ill go do some researching..........

[pogodzib]

I've always loved by 6-line wrasses and plan on getting one again soon (if Matt would ever get one in for me ). Both a mandarin and 6-line can live peacefully together with plenty of food if your tank is big enough.

[schneijt]

DJ, do you have a 'fuge? If you have a refugium that's mature and overflowing with pods that make it back to the display, then you could perhaps keep both a mandarin and a 6-line. But with a 90gal tank like yours and the huge mandarin, I think I'd rather err on the side of caution and not put something as pod-hungry as a 6-line in your tank. I always get a kick out of watching the 6-line at Tropic in the huge corner reef, but the think is CONSTANTLY picking at the rocks in that tank for food. Jim has the 6-line and two mandarins in that tank, and I'd be lying if I wasn't concerned about the ability of that tank to support three voracious pod eaters, and that thing has hundreds of gallons of water and probably a couple hundred pounds of live rock.

Brian is right that you can keep multiple pod devourers in one tank if it's large, but I'm not sure a newly set up 90gal is big enough to support the kind of pod population you'd need for both your huge mandarin and a 6-line. Just my opinion, though, of course...

-Joe

[D.J.]

ya i seen them in jims tank....CRAZY IMO....but is his stuff....

no fuge on this tank....i do have some nice rubble and chaeto in my sump..NEED MORE CHAETO.......and my sump is teamin with pods....

i shined the tank last night after 3 hours of dark and i have a TON of pods in there and actually got to see the mandrin HUNTING THEM DOWN...THAT WAS FREAKIN SWEET....seen him suck up a BIG OL BOOGER too...that was even better....but like i said i dont want to add another pod eater if i can help it....

has anyone had a CANARY WRASSE YET? i was told they are got exceptions to the 6 line....

[Kyuss]

Do not add the six line if you have a mandarin. I added a mandarin after my six line and they did fine for a while until the pod population dropped. Then the six line kept the mandarin confined to one corner of my 90. The six line also chased my purple firefish out of the tank. Anytime the P firefish left the rocks the six line was on it chasing it back into the rocks. I eventually tore the tank down and caught the six line and moved him to my nano where he is nice and mellow. Now the mandarin is coming around slowly but surely.

Six lines are very useful fish, eating pests such as nudis, but they do eat the pods.

[reefcrazy8587]

Originally Posted by Kyuss

Do not add the six line if you have a mandarin. I added a mandarin after my six line and they did fine for a while until the pod population dropped. Then the six line kept the mandarin confined to one corner of my 90. The six line also chased my purple firefish out of the tank. Anytime the P firefish left the rocks the six line was on it chasing it back into the rocks. I eventually tore the tank down and caught the six line and moved him to my nano where he is nice and mellow. Now the mandarin is coming around slowly but surely.

Six lines are very useful fish, eating pests such as nudis, but they do eat the pods.

WOW! I have a 6 line, a mandarin, and scotter blenny-they all co-exist very well together. My scooter and 6 line both enjoy frozen foods and flakes, and do not bother the mandarin ...maybe when the 6 line is older I may have to find him a new home-but at this point it is a very pretty fish that I enjoy having in my tank-i suppose it helps having lots of LR w/ a good pod population as well.

[Kyuss]

yes they coexisted fine for along time, I have a lot of liverock but eventually the two ate away the pod population, I noticed my mandarin was getting skinnier and then the six line would not let it leave one corner of the tank. six lines are not fun to catch btw

[condiman]

Dj I would say in your 90 no due to its small size and limited food sources for it. Unless you dump bottles of pods in it