Let Me ID Your Wrasse!

[nwkennard]

Thanks evolved!

 

[Dragon52]

I've ordered from LA for a few yrs now & they've never sent me the wrong fish

 

[saltyhog]

Only time it happened to me was a melanurus they sent as a Vrolik's which is not that bad of a mistake (although not one a vendor should make).

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Was told female C. isosceles. Correct?

 

[evolved]

Was told female C. isosceles. Correct?

Nope; female cf pylei.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Nope; female cf pylei.

Thanks @evolved... I didn't think it was C. isosceles, but it looked pretty anyway. Still on the hunt for an isosceles then...

 

[Jaag]

Thanks @evolved... I didn't think it was C. isosceles, but it looked pretty anyway. Still on the hunt for an isosceles then...

I have one I am selling due to moving away across the country for grad school. I’m sad to see it go. I’ll post a pic of him once I’m home.

 

[nwkennard]

These just showed up at my LFS, apparently from Australia. First I think is scott’s Second two I have no idea. Let me know what

 

[evolved]

These just showed up at my LFS, apparently from Australia. First I think is scott’s Second two I have no idea. Let me know what

scottorum is correct, lineatus on the others. All males.

 

[Greenstreet.1]

What wrasse is this don’t want to be wrong

 

[Greenstreet.1]

And this one @evolved

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Got it figured it out crescent tails

 

[evolved]

cf. lunatus

 

[YellowFinsReef]

So, I don't have pictures of the wrasses per se, but was hoping you could identify the nuances between these three wrasses for me (aside from their scientific name): Halichoeres biocellatus, Halichoeres claudia, & Halichoeres ornatissimus.

I always see them sold as ornamental wrasse and honestly they look the same to the untrained eye when I try googling them.

 

[evolved]

So, I don't have pictures of the wrasses per se, but was hoping you could identify the nuances between these three wrasses for me (aside from their scientific name): Halichoeres biocellatus, Halichoeres claudia, & Halichoeres ornatissimus.

I always see them sold as ornamental wrasse and honestly they look the same to the untrained eye when I try googling them.

Get your scrutiny glasses on. :)
But it's easy to tell these three apart if you know what you're looking for.

H. ornatissimus and H. claudia are a bit similar as adults, but knowing where the questionable fish was collected helps. H. ornatissimus comes from Hawaii, while claudia usually comes from Fiji.
H. biocellatus is easy distinguishable as an adult, but juveniles of this species are also pretty close to juveniles of biocellatus.

Clear as mud? Picture time.

Let's start with biocellatus. It is the most different as it always has the wide white/light green stripe below the eye which continues down the mid-side of the fish. As a juvenile, it also faintly extends to the tail. Also pay attention to the red stripe below the wide white/light green stripe, as it is unique to this species. This is the only one of the three in question where it extends from the nose to the pectoral fins, and then bifurcates into two stripes.

Juvi H. biocellatus:

Adult H. biocellatus:

As I said, the juveniles of ornatissimus looks similar, but they are easily distinguished by paying mind to the red stripe below the wide white/light green stripe. You can see it does NOT extend back to the pelvic fins in the species. It's also more green overall than biocellatus as a juvi, but that doesn't help much if you haven't seen both before. As an adult, the species gets a pretty uniform pattern across the body. It also gets much larger than that other two in question here, and is also pretty nasty as an adult.

Juvi H. ornatissimus:

Adult H. ornatissimus:

Lastly, H. claudia is pretty different as a juvi. It does have the identical marking under the wide stripe to ornatissimus, but the markings on the body are very different. As an adult, its markings do not change much, and it remains quite different from ornatissimus by having a seemingly random pattern in comparison.

Juvi H. claudia:

Adult H. claudia:

 

[YellowFinsReef]

Get your scrutiny glasses on. :)
But it's easy to tell these three apart if you know what you're looking for.

H. ornatissimus and H. claudia are a bit similar as adults, but knowing where the questionable fish was collected helps. H. ornatissimus comes from Hawaii, while claudia usually comes from Fiji.
H. biocellatus is easy distinguishable as an adult, but juveniles of this species are also pretty close to juveniles of biocellatus.

Clear as mud? Picture time.

Let's start with biocellatus. It is the most different as it always has the wide white/light green stripe below the eye which continues down the mid-side of the fish. As a juvenile, it also faintly extends to the tail. Also pay attention to the red stripe below the wide white/light green stripe, as it is unique to this species. This is the only one of the three in question where it extends from the nose to the pectoral fins, and then bifurcates into two stripes.

Juvi H. biocellatus:

Adult H. biocellatus:

As I said, the juveniles of ornatissimus looks similar, but they are easily distinguished by paying mind to the red stripe below the wide white/light green stripe. You can see it does NOT extend back to the pelvic fins in the species. It's also more green overall than biocellatus as a juvi, but that doesn't help much if you haven't seen both before. As an adult, the species gets a pretty uniform pattern across the body. It also gets much larger than that other two in question here, and is also pretty nasty as an adult.

Juvi H. ornatissimus:

Adult H. ornatissimus:

Lastly, H. claudia is pretty different as a juvi. It does have the identical marking under the wide stripe to ornatissimus, but the markings on the body are very different. As an adult, its markings do not change much, and it remains quite different from ornatissimus by having a seemingly random pattern in comparison.

Juvi H. claudia:

Adult H. claudia:

This has been the most helpful information I've recieved on these species! I thought I was going crazy when I saw that these fish had different patterns but were marketed under the same name. This helps a lot!

 

[PDR]

Sold as female/juvi Cirrhilabrus rubrimarginatus. Correct?

 

[evolved]

Sold as female/juvi Cirrhilabrus rubrimarginatus. Correct?

Sorry to bear bad news, but that is C cf. pylei.

 

[blebs]

I believe cf. solorensis from the reef builders article. It looks identical to ones posted by Dr. Trond Erik Vee Aune.

https://reefbuilders.com/2015/06/22/fairy-wrasses-cyanopleura-group/

I would like to add a C. rubrimarginatus into the tank with this fish. I looked at the inferiority chart and they appear to be in different subgroups, do you think they might be compatible?

 

[evolved]

I believe cf. solarensis from the reef builders article. It looks identical to ones posted by Dr. Trond Erik Vee Aune.

https://reefbuilders.com/2015/06/22/fairy-wrasses-cyanopleura-group/

I would like to add a C. rubrimarginatus into the tank with this fish. I looked at the inferiority chart and they appear to be in different subgroups, do you think they might be compatible?

That's correct, although we tend to use cf. cyanopluera more commonly than cf. solorensis. Regardless, all the same thing.

Yes, compatibility would be fine.