There is a genus of fish named Cirrhilabrus, and every fish in it belongs on a list of the most beautiful, aquarium appropriate, peaceful fish available to the marine aquarium enthusiast. Few fish can rival them for their flashy colors and fins, let alone their activity (once acclimated). This genus is huge, and unsurprisingly, some of them are rare, some less so; some of them are gorgeous, and some are even more so. If you get a few of us fish geeks in a room, we're unlikely to all pick the same favorite, but we can mostly agree that the Golden Rhomboid Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus rhomboidalis) belongs high in the top ten list.
Here's a juicy tidbit for you. Cirrhilabrus Wrasses are hermaphrodites. They're all born essentially sexless, and then segue into females when they're about a half inch long. In a group missing a dominant male, one of the females can then turn into a male. If an aquarist was patient, you could buy a group of females and with good husbandry and time, the group may produce a male for you! That being said, it's going to be easier, much faster, (not to mention a surer thing) just to buy the distribution you want. You'll usually see Rhomboid Wrasses in three grades, the least expensive of the three is female / juvenile, and this is because they are usually the smallest, and the least ornate. This isn't to say they won't be pretty, because they are, but they pale in comparison to the males, which are the next grade up. As a result of their extravagance, expect males to be more expensive than the females. Care is the same for both, truly the only difference is how many you can keep in a tank, and how they look. There is one more grade of Golden Rhomboid that you can aspire toward, and it is in hushed tones that we reveal to you, the Super Male. These are dominant males, fully developed and generally in breeding condition. They will be the largest, most ornate, and most expensive of all the grades. The standard Male grade can become the Super Male grade in your tank. They will only do this in the presence of female fish for the Super Male to impress, and in addition they need an excellent, protein rich, diverse diet.
All Cirrhilabrus Wrasses are very active and need multiple feedings a day; in house, they get two feedings per day, and if you wanted to, more meals wouldn't hurt as long as you fed less per feeding. As plankton feeders, Rhomboids are used to taking food out of the water column, and it is usually very easy to get them to eat in the home aquarium. The only real challenge is that they are shy when initially placed in a tank and so may hide during mealtimes. A portion of their diet should be a high-quality pellet; here we use the Nutramar Complete Sinking Pellet, and these are perfect. They also get fed a mix of meaty food, all from Gamma Foods. We vary the meaty part of their diet, and it will be a mix of stuff like Mysis, a variety of gut loaded Brine, Copepods, Finely Chopped Mussel and Prawn etc. Click here to learn more
Here's a juicy tidbit for you. Cirrhilabrus Wrasses are hermaphrodites. They're all born essentially sexless, and then segue into females when they're about a half inch long. In a group missing a dominant male, one of the females can then turn into a male. If an aquarist was patient, you could buy a group of females and with good husbandry and time, the group may produce a male for you! That being said, it's going to be easier, much faster, (not to mention a surer thing) just to buy the distribution you want. You'll usually see Rhomboid Wrasses in three grades, the least expensive of the three is female / juvenile, and this is because they are usually the smallest, and the least ornate. This isn't to say they won't be pretty, because they are, but they pale in comparison to the males, which are the next grade up. As a result of their extravagance, expect males to be more expensive than the females. Care is the same for both, truly the only difference is how many you can keep in a tank, and how they look. There is one more grade of Golden Rhomboid that you can aspire toward, and it is in hushed tones that we reveal to you, the Super Male. These are dominant males, fully developed and generally in breeding condition. They will be the largest, most ornate, and most expensive of all the grades. The standard Male grade can become the Super Male grade in your tank. They will only do this in the presence of female fish for the Super Male to impress, and in addition they need an excellent, protein rich, diverse diet.
All Cirrhilabrus Wrasses are very active and need multiple feedings a day; in house, they get two feedings per day, and if you wanted to, more meals wouldn't hurt as long as you fed less per feeding. As plankton feeders, Rhomboids are used to taking food out of the water column, and it is usually very easy to get them to eat in the home aquarium. The only real challenge is that they are shy when initially placed in a tank and so may hide during mealtimes. A portion of their diet should be a high-quality pellet; here we use the Nutramar Complete Sinking Pellet, and these are perfect. They also get fed a mix of meaty food, all from Gamma Foods. We vary the meaty part of their diet, and it will be a mix of stuff like Mysis, a variety of gut loaded Brine, Copepods, Finely Chopped Mussel and Prawn etc. Click here to learn more
