On the reef, Thalassoma lunare hunts benthic invertebrates, crustaceans, zooplankton, mollusks, fish eggs, and small fishes. It is a powerful feeder, capable of carrying larger crustaceans and snails to hard surfaces and smashing them against rock to break the shells into swallowable pieces. That predatory toolkit shapes everything about how the fish behaves in a closed system.
In the aquarium, offer a varied carnivore diet of meaty foods: mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, ghost shrimp, krill, crab meat, squid, chopped clam and fish, silversides, and bloodworms, rounded out with quality carnivore pellets or flakes. Two to three feedings per day match the fish's metabolism and help blunt its interest in tankmates. Newly introduced specimens benefit from more frequent offerings until they settle in and begin foraging naturally across the rockwork.
This wrasse is not reef safe. It will hunt ornamental shrimp and crabs, snails, sea urchins, serpent stars, and other members of a standard cleanup crew, and it will make short work of small fish. Corals themselves are not the target, but the invertebrate losses make a fully stocked reef impractical. The same appetite has a useful side: Moon Wrasse are effective against pest Pyramid snails, flatworms, and bristleworms, which makes them a considered choice for aggressive fish-only systems or reefs where the keeper has accepted the loss of the invertebrate population.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
About the Moon Wrasse
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Is the Moon Wrasse safe with shrimp, crabs, and snails?
No. It readily consumes ornamental shrimp, crabs, snails, sea urchins, bristleworms, and serpent stars, and can smash larger shelled prey against rock to eat it. -
How large an aquarium does an adult Moon Wrasse require?
Plan on a 180-gallon aquarium at minimum, arranged with long open swimming lanes and covered by a tight-fitting lid, since this species is a determined jumper. -
Can a Moon Wrasse be kept with other fish?
Only with similarly sized or larger, robust species that can defend themselves. Introduce the wrasse last, because an established adult becomes territorial and may bully or eat smaller newcomers.
