The genus of Wrasses known as Cirrhilabrus, or “Fairy” Wrasses has many fish in it, nearly all of which are gorgeous and size appropriate for the home aquarium. The grouping has several subgroups, and among them the Pintail or Lanceolotus fish are among the most beautiful and rarely seen. The Cirrhilabrus roseafascia is just such a fish; gorgeous, peaceful, reef safe and small enough to be appropriate for common sized aquariums. It is most often called the Pink Banded Fairy Wrasse, so named for the prominent pink band running all along its back. They are also commonly called the Rose Banded Fairy Wrasse.
These wild lifestyle makes some portions of their captive husbandry much easier, like feeding. A fish that is used to eating random things floating by is likely to continue this behavior. There are almost never issues getting Fairy Wrasses to eat high quality food that they actually see. The problem some aquarists will come across is that these fish come from very deep water, where lighting is dim. Being unused to broad daylight, Pink Bandeds are generally shy initially. This equates to them hiding quite a bit until acclimated, and if they don't see the food coming by, they can't eat it. You can get around this behavior by turning down the lights of your tank initially, and by giving them plenty of rockwork to hide in so they feel more secure in their new home. In house, we feed them a mix of foods from Gamma with Mysis being a favorite, but we also give them Finely Chopped Mussel, Finely Chopped Prawn, Copepods and all the assorted Brine Plus products Gamma makes. We also suggest getting the fish on a protein dense and broad-spectrum nutrient pellet like the Nutramar Complete. This will make getting them a balanced diet much easier and allow for the use of an auto feeder for at least one of their daily meals. We suggest you feed them three times a day (or more), as they have fast metabolisms and are very active once acclimated. Click here to learn more
These wild lifestyle makes some portions of their captive husbandry much easier, like feeding. A fish that is used to eating random things floating by is likely to continue this behavior. There are almost never issues getting Fairy Wrasses to eat high quality food that they actually see. The problem some aquarists will come across is that these fish come from very deep water, where lighting is dim. Being unused to broad daylight, Pink Bandeds are generally shy initially. This equates to them hiding quite a bit until acclimated, and if they don't see the food coming by, they can't eat it. You can get around this behavior by turning down the lights of your tank initially, and by giving them plenty of rockwork to hide in so they feel more secure in their new home. In house, we feed them a mix of foods from Gamma with Mysis being a favorite, but we also give them Finely Chopped Mussel, Finely Chopped Prawn, Copepods and all the assorted Brine Plus products Gamma makes. We also suggest getting the fish on a protein dense and broad-spectrum nutrient pellet like the Nutramar Complete. This will make getting them a balanced diet much easier and allow for the use of an auto feeder for at least one of their daily meals. We suggest you feed them three times a day (or more), as they have fast metabolisms and are very active once acclimated. Click here to learn more
