Care Level: Easy Adult Size: 5.9in pH Range: 8.1 – 8.3 Temperature Range: (F/C) 77-79F/25-26C Specific Gravity/Hardness Range: 1.023-1.026 Origin/Habitat: Indo-Pacific Temperament/Behaviour: Moderately aggressive
Compatible Tank mates: Angels, Surgeonfishes, Butterflyfishes. Diet: Meaty foods, including fresh or frozen seafoods, frozen preparations for carnivores, frozen or live brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, live black worms, flake food, live grass shrimp, and even small feeder fish.
Tank Size For Adult: 30gal (114l) Narrative: Not recommended for the reef aquarium. Will eat small fishes, ornamental crustaceans, and many other motile invertebrates (including snails and serpent stars). Will also eat bristleworms and small mantis shrimp. Usually sold as the Red Longjaw Wrasse, this species is the smallest member of its genus and is attractively marked. It is a fairly durable fish that will quickly acclimate to captive life. Although it becomes quite aggressive once it has fully adjusted to its new home, if introduced to a tank that already contains pugnacious species, it may have difficulty acclimating. Males display an elongated pint on the upper lobe of the tail fin.
Care Level: Relatively easy Adult Size: 3.1in pH Range: 8.1 – 8.3 Temperature Range: (F/C) 77-79F/25-26C Specific Gravity/Hardness Range: 1.023-1.026 Origin/Habitat: Indonesia and Philippines Temperament/Behaviour: peaceful
Compatible Tank mates: Blennies, Gobies, Cardinalfishes, Flasher Wrasses. Diet: Varied diet of meaty foods, including finely chopped seafoods, mysis shrimp, and enriched preparations with added vitamins, amino acids, and colour enhancing pigments.
Tank Size For Adult: 20gal (76l) Narrative: Excellent for the reef aquarium. With males that strike dramatic fin-flaring poses, this is a gret reef aquarium species that will adapt readily to captivity, especially if housed with other peaceful fishes. Best kept in small groups to encourage “flashing”, but add all individuals at the same time or put the females in before the male. Rarely aggressive toward other fishes and easily bullied itself. If persistently harasses when introduced to a tank, it will hide and never come out to feed. To keep it with potentially quarrelsome fishes, the wrasse should be the first fish in the tank. A good diet of enriched foods is requires to maintain health and colour intensity.
Scientific Name: Paracheilinus filamentosus Common Names: Filamented Flasher Wrasse
Care Level: Relatively easy Adult Size: 3.9in pH Range: 8.1 – 8.3 Temperature Range: (F/C) 77-79F/25-26C Specific Gravity/Hardness Range: 1.023-1.026 Origin/Habitat: Western Pacific Temperament/Behaviour: Peaceful
Compatible Tank mates: Blennies, Cardinalfishes, Surgeonfishes, Flasher Wrasses. Diet: Varied diet required to maintain vibrant colouration. Include finely chopped seafoods, mysis shrimp, and frozen preparations with added amino acids and colour enhancing pigments.
Tank Size For Adult: 20gal (76l) Narrative: Excellent for the reef aquarium, especially when kept in groups, which will provoke male flasher wrasses to perform colourful displays, important in courtship and in defending females from neighbouring rivals. Solitary males occasionally “flash” at their reflections in the aquarium glass. Adapt readily to captivity, especially if housed with other peaceful fishes. Best kept in small groups, but add all individuals at the same time or put the females in before the male. Except for close relatives (e.g. fairy wrasses) and other small planktivores (e.g. fire gobies), it is rarely aggressive. Groups serve as “dither” fish, encouraging other shy fishes to move into the open.
Care Level: Relatively easy Adult Size: 3.5in pH Range: 8.1 – 8.3 Temperature Range: (F/C) 77-79F/25-26C Specific Gravity/Hardness Range: 1.023-1.026 Origin/Habitat: Red Sea Temperament/Behaviour: Moderately aggressive
Compatible Tank mates: Blennies, Cardinalfishes, Surgeonfishes. Diet: Varied diet, including finely chopped seafoods, mysis shrimp, and frozen preparations with added amino acids and pigments to ensure maintenance of vibrant colouration.
Tank Size For Adult: 20gal (76l) Narrative: This brilliantly coloured species is a welcome addition to the reef aquarium or peaceful fish tank. It is the most aggressive member of the genus; males will usually dominate other flasher wrasses if kept in mixed aggregations. Males should be kept singly, unless the tank is very large (135gal [511l] or larger). When creating groups, house one male with several females so that aggression is dispersed. Best kept with less-aggressive fish species. Very likely to jump out of an open aquarium.
Care Level: Moderately difficult Adult Size: 3.1in pH Range: 8.1 – 8.3 Temperature Range: (F/C) 77-79F/25-26C Specific Gravity/Hardness Range: 1.023-1.026 Origin/Habitat: Indo-Pacific Temperament/Behaviour: Moderately aggressive
Compatible Tank mates: Butterflyfishes, triggers, Surgeonfishes. Diet: Prefers live grass shrimp but will at frozen brine shrimp and chopped seafoods.
Tank Size For Adult: 20gal (76l) Narrative: Not harmful to sessile invertebrates; adult specimens will eat ornamental shrimps. Will eat small fireworms. This is a cryptic species that requires suitable caves and crevices where it can hide and seem to vanish for considerable periods of time. It often ships poorly and can be a challenge to acclimate successfully. Does best in an aquarium with live rock aquascaping. It has a territorial, scrappy disposition, and will battle fiercely with its own kind, as well as other members of the genus. It should be kept with larger, moderately boisterous fishes, and even in an aggressive community tank, it should be one to the first fishes introduced. Will jump from open aquariums.
Scientific Name: Pseudocheilinus hexataenia Common Names: Sixline Wrasse (Pyjama Wrasse)
Care Level: Easy Adult Size: 3.0in pH Range: 8.1 – 8.3 Temperature Range: (F/C) 77-79F/25-26C Specific Gravity/Hardness Range: 1.023-1.026 Origin/Habitat: Indo-Pacific Temperament/Behaviour: Moderately aggressive
Compatible Tank mates: Butterflyfishes, triggers, Surgeonfishes. Diet: Meaty foods, including finely chopped seafoods, mysis shrimp, and enriched frozen preparations.
Tank Size For Adult: 20gal (76l) Narrative: Excellent for the reef aquarium. Will aid in controlling pyramidellid snails and commensal flatworms. Larger specimens may eat ornamental shrimps. An active, attractive species that will constantly forage on live rocks for small crustaceans, this wrasse often ships poorly, but once acclimated, it is a good aquarium fish. It is a smaller, less-aggressive species than P.octotaenia, and better suited for the community tank. However, it will often behave aggressively toward peaceful wrasses and shy inoffensive species. Several specimens can be housed in the same tank, but fighting may occur if population densities are too high. Because this is a secretive species, it needs numerous hiding places.
Scientific Name: Pseudocheilinus octotaenia Common Names: Eightline Wrasse
Care Level: Relatively easy Adult Size: 5.3in pH Range: 8.1 – 8.3 Temperature Range: (F/C) 77-79F/25-26C Specific Gravity/Hardness Range: 1.023-1.026 Origin/Habitat: Indo-Pacific Temperament/Behaviour: Aggressive
Compatible Tank mates: Butterflyfishes, triggers, Surgeonfishes. Diet: Meaty foods, including finely chopped seafoods, mysis shrimp, and enriched frozen preparations.
Tank Size For Adult: 30gal (114l) Narrative: Harmless with corals and clams, but a predator on small crabs and other crustaceans (including ornamental shrimps), and small snails. Also preys on bristleworms, small urchins, pyramidellid snails, and commensal flatworms. Larger than the similar looking P, hexataenia, this species is also much more aggressively inclined; it frequently assaults smaller tankmates, shredding fins and removing scales effectively with its large canine teeth. Will grasp small sea urchins in its mouth and bash them against hard substrate until they are broken into smaller, edible pieces. Best kept singly and with larger or more-belligerent fishes. If kept in an aggressive community tank, this species should be added first.
Scientific Name: Pseudocheilinus tetrataenia Common Names: Fourline Wrasse
Care Level: Easy Adult Size: 2.9in pH Range: 8.1 – 8.3 Temperature Range: (F/C) 77-79F/25-26C Specific Gravity/Hardness Range: 1.023-1.026 Origin/Habitat: Western and Central Pacific Temperament/Behaviour: Moderately aggressive
Compatible Tank mates: Butterflyfishes, triggers, Surgeonfishes. Diet: Meaty foods, including finely chopped seafoods, mysis shrimp, and enriched frozen preparations.
Tank Size For Adult: 20gal (76l) Narrative: Excellent for the reef aquarium. Will aid in controlling pyramidellid snails and commensal flatworms; may attack ornamental shrimps. A small species usually imported from the Hawaiian Islands, this fish often ships poorly but will prove to be a good aquarium fish once it settles in. It is best suited to less-belligerent community tanks and smaller reef aquariums, but may behave aggressive toward peaceful wrasses (e.g. flasher, fairy and leopard wrasses) and shy inoffensive species (e.g. gobies, dart gobies).Somewhat secretive, it does best in an aquarium with live rock where it can hide and forage.
Scientific Name: Pseudojuloides cerasinus Common Names: Smalltail Wrasse (Pencil Wrasse)
Care Level: Difficult Adult Size: 4.7in pH Range: 8.1 – 8.3 Temperature Range: (F/C) 77-79F/25-26C Specific Gravity/Hardness Range: 1.023-1.026 Origin/Habitat: Indo-Pacific Temperament/Behaviour: Peaceful
Compatible Tank mates: Blennies, Gobies, Cardinalfishes. Diet: Difficult to feed; even when it does eat it tends to pine away. Keep in a tank with live rock and feed vitamin-enriched live brine shrimp and frozen mysis shrimp.
Tank Size For Adult: 30gal (114l) Narrative: not harmful to sessile invertebrates, but adult specimens may attack more-delicate ornamental shrimps. Will eat small fireworms. Should be avoided by the vast majority of aquarists. Some reef aquarists have had success keeping it in tanks full of healthy live rock with a productive refugium attached. Provide it with plenty of hiding places, including a layer of sand in which it can bury when threatened or at night. Do not house with aggressive tank mates. Keep only one male per tank. Two or more females can be kept together or with a male. Females are light red or orange.
Scientific Name: Pseudodax moluccanus Common Names: Chiseltooth Wrasse
Care Level: Moderately difficult Adult Size: 9.8in pH Range: 8.1 – 8.3 Temperature Range: (F/C) 77-79F/25-26C Specific Gravity/Hardness Range: 1.023-1.026 Origin/Habitat: Indo-Pacific Temperament/Behaviour: Moderately aggressive
Compatible Tank mates: Angels, Butterflyfishes, Triggers. Diet: Meaty foods, including finely chopped shrimp, squid, or marine fish flesh, and frozen mysis shrimp. Finicky specimens may require vitamin-enriched live brine shrimp or small grass shrimp.
Tank Size For Adult: 75gal (284l) Narrative: Not harmful to sessile invertebrates; adult specimens may attack more-delicate ornamental shrimps. Will eat small fireworms and fanworms. Not as flashy as some of the other wrasses, this is a handsome species nonetheless. Juveniles are black with blue lines and act as part-time cleaners. This species tends to ship poorly, but juveniles will acclimate better than larger specimens. Provide good hiding places, including a layer of fine sand in which they can bury when threatened and at night. Adults can hold their own with more aggressive fishes once they have acclimated. Keep only one male per tank; two or more females can be housed together or with a male.
