[MasonKiller]

I have a 75 gallon reef Gonna name the fish that swim around with my mandarin name me the most likely threat to the mandarin... 1 dartfish 2 scooter blennies 1 sailfin tang 1 rainfords goby 1 peppermint shrimp 1 cleaner shrimp 1 signal goby And the one who I think did it the 6 line wrasse. So yeah I came back from working in the garden I look at my mandarin he looked lathargic. He never looked like this before and would always scoot around eating. I took a closer look his dorsal fin was basically GONE. Has anyone had the problem of the six line actually taking Fins of the mandarin ? and why didn't he harass the scooters ? so anyways would love to hear the responce this is my first thread TY

[MasonKiller]

Newbie Looking For Experience

[MasonKiller]

Forgot to mention I got a tailspot blenny also

[MasonKiller]

UPDATE he has a little less damage than first suspected. He has got a nip, but he is doing fine looking for copepods again.

[pogodzib]

My past 125 & 220 gallon tanks have all had both a mandarin and 6-line wrasse in them and they never bothered one another. Usually wrasse or gobies may bother one another within their own species, but not the other type.

[MasonKiller]

OK its official some 6line wrasses can be mean. I turned on my light this morning to watch my 6line chasing the mandarin dragonet around the tank hopefully he didnt get another nip in has anyone else seen this behavior out of a 6line toward a mandarin ?

[BLKBRDTA]

My Six-line has been MIA for a few days now. The only other semi-aggressive fish in the tank is a Canary Wrasse.. Water Parameters are money so obviously no death has recently occurred in there. No sight or smell of him outside the tank, so jumping is out of the equation. I checked the overflow boxes, siphon tube, drain line, media filtration area, heater, sump, refugium and all around the LR caves with a mirror and flashlight looking for a body of sorts.. Nothing.. Although, he did always inspect the inside of the powerhead when it is switched off for feeding.. So a possibility could have been that when the lights were still off in the A.M., he may have nestled into the powerhead thinking it was safe and it automatically switched on for the morning current and he was.. yea.. But no spikes in the parameters.. so no death.. I am truly dumbfounded. There was another member on here that had the same problem, but his returned a few days later.. Didn't mean to steal threads though, just wanted to chime that strangeness in..

Maybe its Karma from your Six-line and Mandarin incident.. My Six felt the heat somehow..

[MasonKiller]

Hey BLKBRDTA do you have any scavengers that could have made a snack of him before you realized ? Thats the only thing I could think of cause I had a blue neon goby who died and I couldn't find him but I guess that my hermits and cucumber made a snack of him.

[MasonKiller]

Ohhhh I forgot to mention I woke up this morning and now my mandarin's tail is SPLIT IN TWO !!! Right down the middle too its very strange. wtf is that about has anyone ever heard of anything like this ?

[BLKBRDTA]

Originally Posted by MasonKiller

Do you have any scavengers that could have made a snack of him before you realized?

I have about 20 Hermits in there, but I don't know how a Hermit could grab and hold onto a fast fish like the 6 line.. Although it isn't unheard of for things like that to happen. Still you have a valid point and possibility, I am trying to piece different stories together as well.. And still searching for him! lol.

Originally Posted by MasonKiller

Ohhhh I forgot to mention I woke up this morning and now my mandarin's tail is SPLIT IN TWO !!! Right down the middle too its very strange. wtf is that about has anyone ever heard of anything like this ?

That is really strange. Are you completely sure it is the Six-Line? What other Goby's are in the tank with him? I would sit back a few feet and observe their behavior at different intervals throughout the day and night.. Keep your eyes on the area that the Mandarin is in, and watch for any sign of aggression or interaction it may have with the other inhabitants. If you do happen to see something occur and can pinpoint the exact fish or invert causing the problems, then either return the fish to your LFS and ask about store credit, refund etc. You could ask around to people you know if they would want it, or you could quarantine it (or the injured fish) in a separate display to end the battles. I have a Purple Firefish Goby that had its fins nipped in the holding tanks at my LFS.. Luckily the fins are actually growing back!

[MasonKiller]

Other gobys in the tank are Rainfords, Signal and Clown and this tail split is highly unusual because its horizontal and perfectly in the middle and doesn't look like its made by another fish's harassment I could be wrong though... should I upload a pic ?

[MasonKiller]

my 6line is also very mean to my rainfords hes the meanest fish in my tank my new question is how much damage can a 6line inflict ?

[BLKBRDTA]

Originally Posted by MasonKiller

Other gobys in the tank are Rainfords, Signal and Clown and this tail split is highly unusual because its horizontal and perfectly in the middle and doesn't look like its made by another fish's harassment I could be wrong though... should I upload a pic ?

Doesn't seem like a very temperamental crowd to me, so I guess the evidence is directed back towards the 6-line.. Some species of Goby that look similar and are around the same size will often have territorial disputes if not given enough roaming space. Although my Firefish and Neon Cleaner Goby's never have fights, and they even sleep in the same rock!

And yes a picture would be helpful, we thrive on pictures here at RB!

Originally Posted by MasonKiller

my 6line is also very mean to my rainfords hes the meanest fish in my tank my new question is how much damage can a 6line inflict ?

Six-line Wrasses can either be classified as peaceful or semi-aggressive depending on their size, species and overall placement in The Grand Pecking Order of your stock list. They are very strong swimmers and have quite the jaw strength. Basically to sum it up, if they wanted to do something.. they could. Mine has only shown aggression towards my Neon Cleaner Goby, he never nipped any fins but he certainly didn't like him outside of his general area (on the left side of the tank.)

On a side note, some species of Wrasse even have small hook-like endings on the very tip of each spine located on their dorsal and anal fins. These can be used in combat like a serrated knife, scratching and tearing at the scales and flesh.. Here is a video I made a little while ago when the T5's we just put on, its of my Canary Wrasse pretty much fighting himself in the glass reflection. It was hard to capture him doing it so he only did it once on camera, but it is at around 00:25 seconds into the video.. You will see him swim up to the corner fast and flare his fins out then thrash quickly and violently in the same spot.. Very fast, and fairly lethal.. He even injured himself a few times now doing that maneuver..:YouTube - Angry Yellow Coris Wrasse

[MasonKiller]

here is an update on my tank YouTube - Jonny P's 75 Gallon Peaceful Reef Tank I guess ill just wait and see I'm hoping he chills out I wish I could get him stoned

[MasonKiller]

so yeah the Mandarin died last night I don't think it was cause of food... the scooters are still eating there are copepods inside the tank... I think the 6 line harassed him to death...