six line wrasse compatibility

i would like to keep a target mandarin, however, i have a six line in my tank right now. should i get rid of the six line before i add the mandarin? i hear they will compete for food and the mandarin will lose every time.

 

6-line wrasses are hit and miss with aggressive behavior. I have avoided them for that reason. they tend to get super territorial once established. they play nice with fish much larger than they are, but Mandarins are not larger and are really passive eaters. Chances are it will not get enough to eat, may hide often and eventually starve to death, unless your system is large enough for the wrasse to establish his territory in one area and the goby in the opposite side of the tank, say, 55 or larger.

Also, Mandarins are pod eaters, and need a large supply of food to graze on. Many do not switch easily to frozen fare. They are a tough fish to keep and need a well established tank to have a chance.

-Doc

 

Those two fish will compete for the same food sources, and the mandarin will lose. I would not put the two of them in a tank as small as yours. I have a sixline and a mandarin in my tank, but I have 300 gallons to work with.

 

Well i guess biff answered my question i had...theres a baby six line at the lfs and i really want him but i guess thats not gunna happen. =(

 

I would not put a mandarin in a 28g tank unless it is eating frozen/prepared foods.Even if it does,it could not compete with other aggressive fish.They are slow even the ones that do eat frozen/pellets....stare,look around,stare some more then takes a bite.

 

mine was really aggressive to my firefish, so i took him out and moved him to the 10g nano and the firefish is out all the time now. he was always being bullied by the 6 line. and there are a lot of fish i am thinking of getting that i couldnt get with my 6 line in there. and since mandarins are a goby i would say take the wrasse out or dont get the mandarin. just my 2 cents from my personal experience

 

Mandarins are not gobies. They are dragonets. It's a common mistake that people think they're gobies.

 

+1 Biff

Mandarins are not gobies.Websites and other forms of information need to start making that clear.