Tanaka Pygmy Wrasse Care (Wetmorella tanakai)

[salty_taste]

Hey Everyone,

I was looking to add a Tanaka Pygmy Wrasse into my Nuvo 14g but I wanted to hear from previous owners of this fish or any possum wrasse what their experience was with them. I wasn't able to find any recently updated videos on YouTube and from what I have read online, they tend to be a bit more delicate when it comes to bringing them in shipping. Please share any feedback positive or negative, how long did you keep and pictures are always appreciated!

 

[phatduckk]

I received one about a week ago from Ocean Devotion LA (QT vendor I use often).

It looked "decent" in the bag but during acclimation it played dead - curved body, not moving etc. I was worried but not super worried as I had a Pink Streaked wrasse behave similarly in the past and that guy turned out fine.

I acclimated it and got it into the tank per usual - no special steps. He's very elusive. He generally hides but picks the same 2 spots so I can usually find him to make sure its alive. He'll pop out from time to time and be visible - but never swims out in the open. As such, ive never actually seen him eat but since he comes out enough & I feed heavy I assume some particles float by him and he grabs them (that's just a guess tho).

That's my experience with these guys - not too much info but TLDR they seem to play dead and are elusive