Honestly I’ve never had issues with either of those species. Radiants can sometimes be a bit sensitive at first but duskies are usually quite tough.
I love love love your write up, very well done and great photos to boot. I have some of what you have, but building towards 10-12 wrasse in one of my tanks, several others in a smaller tank. What about the Harlequin Tusk, such an all time beauty. And the Maori wrasses....I have a Two Spot...it's just the colorful "Maori" lines in the face area that get meFine fine. A real answer.
Favorite type of wrasse. Well I have 11 genera and 16 wrasse which is a lot of wrasse and I guess 11 different types.
Alphabetically:
Anampses (tamarin) wrasse are definitely among the most beautiful wrasse but unfortunately are too difficult for the average reefer. Here’s my Gemma who is like a gem tang but more vibrant, doesn’t have that ugly face, and is peaceful. So just better then a gem tang:
Bodianus (hogfish) are a great fish for a bigger tank. Though they are often overlooked for their close cousin the harlequin tusk fish they offer far more variety. Here is my lyretail, B anthioides:
Cirrhilabrus (fairy) are another awesome genus since there are so many and are generally a lot easier and have great personalities. Here’s my favorite C Rubeus!
Coris wrasse are too big but they are probably my favorite in terms of looks. They have the most incredible patterns! Mine is still quite young though.
Halichoeres or salt pig wrasse are probably the best starting wrasse. Generally tough but also usually peaceful. They also have a ton of variety. Here are two of my four. H iridis and H marginatus
Labroides are cleaner wrasse and are not a great fish unless you get them captive bred. They are probably the smartest fish in the world and have awesome personalities. Mine is a tiny baby!
Macropharyngodon! Though leopard wrasse are difficult they are also the cutest and most sparkly!
Paracheilinus aka flasher wrasse are one of those fish that start off bland but can become the prettiest! Here’s my little P cyaneus.
Psuedocheilinops. What is Pseudochilinus didn’t like to kill other fish? Good thing there’s this little not-monster!
Novaculilichthys. Dragon wrasse are evil. But they are like Heath Ledger joker evil. Really really fun to watch!!
Thalassoma. What are you crazy?! They kill everything even urchins and starfish. Only a fool would get a Thalassoma. Here’s mine, T lunare…
stunning!! Mine is still to young to show the vibrant colors yours has....but in time....
Thanks! Come to the wrasse lovers thread if you want advice on stocking.
www.risingtideconservation.org
That is interesting! Hopefully we can see more wrasse captive bred. I’m sure it would increase success rates of the more difficult ones like tamarins and pencils.My yellow candy hogs were always “reef safe.” And over the years I’ve had 3 Cuban hogfish. One was more or less reef safe, but the other two were both born to kill haha
University of Florida’s Indian River lab has had recent success getting the yellow candy hogfish to spawn in captivity. It’s pretty cool to see the high fertility rates on them.
A couple of years ago they were also able to get some Cuban hogfish to spawn, and they are still working on those too.
The Beginnings of Candy Hogfish, Bodianus bimaculatus, Aquaculture at UF/IFASIRREC – Rising Tide Conservation
Just sharing in case anyone would find it interesting.
WowI have 12 in my tank at the moment but still going to add a few more.
Coris gaimard
Beautiful fish!!Making waves and turning heads: Do you have a favorite type of wrasse?
In addition to being great utility fish, wrasses can be absolutely stunning! Additionally, wrasses are popular throughout the hobby and can be readily found by many online fish sellers and local fish stores (LFSs). I saw an exquisite wrasse in a LFS this past week that stopped by in my tracks and had me mesmerized while I closely observed the wonderful markings! The variations of markings, body shapes, and tail shapes of different types of wrasses is fascinating and even the different markings within a specific wrasse species allows for some visually striking fish! Whether it is for their utility in your tank or for their beauty, do you have a favorite type of wrasse? If so, please let us know what kind, and if possible, please share pictures in the related R2R thread!
Photo by Lemon Tyk from Facebook; Paracheilinus hemitaeniatus, the Madagascan half-striped flasher wrasse
This QOTD is sponsored by: www.tckcorals.com
Six line wrasse are a fish that tend to stake out territories in the wild that they will defend violently even from much bigger fish. For that reason they can be surprisingly aggressive and are not a fish I would recommend for someone keeping a community tank.
