Introducing female wrasses when males are already present - thoughts appreciated

[gregzz4]

Back in my early freshwater days (more decades ago than I care to mention) I bred Bettas
The only way to safely add them both to a tank was to add the male first and wait for him to establish himself
Then you'd float the female in a suitable container that allowed him to see her
He would then start to build a bubble-nest and the rest doesn't apply here, but suffice it to say that if you put the female in first, even though she's only half his size, she'd kill him

Here's my situation;
I've read that adding female wrasses to a male-established tank can result in female deaths
I have a male Solar wrasse, and a male Lubbock's wrasse in our DT
I came across a female of each and they are currently in QT
I don't want to remove the males from our DT, nor do I want to see the females thrashed
I was thinking, when the time comes to introduce them to the DT, that I would put the females in a floating container and allow the males to go bezerkers for how long it takes for them to calm down, and then release the females when the lights are off - or something along these lines

If it really comes down to it, I would have to put the males in the QT while the females establish themselves, but I am trying to avoid any stress I can for both them and myself

Any thoughts/insights are appreciated :wink:

[Dearth]

Found this article about wrasses about a quarter way down the page is an article on introducing mixing or adding new wrasses to an established tank hopefully this might help you

http://www.3reef.com/threads/all-about-reef-safe-wrasses.122261/#ath

[gregzz4]

Thank you
I will read that tonight

[gregzz4]

Looks like I was thinking along the right lines

The write up states to place the newcomers in a holding container inside the DT for 2-3 up to as many as 5 days before releasing them

Thanks again Dearth

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I made a holding chamber out of egg crate and zap straps that I've used in the past to introduce new fish to the established tank residents. That way they spend a few days getting used to the sight, smell, taste etc. of the new fish and when you release it, hopefully the old fish are no longer so agitated about the newcomer. It was an early method I used for building up my schools of yellow tangs. BTW, if you use zap straps, melt the cut edges so they are smooth, not sharp and same with the egg crate edges.

[gregzz4]

Thanks for the idea and tips Anthony

I have time to ponder what to do
So far I've thought about buying a Medium Kritter Keeper and poking a bunch of holes in it. Then I'll suspend it about mid-tank
I'll think on it more when I'm over this work week