The Wrasse Lover's Thread!

[SaltyT]

Thanks of those 3 is the Babi the better way to go? if you can find one.

None of them are difficult to keep. Typically melasmapomus is the easier one to find, but it gets larger than the other two. I'm biased towards melasmapomus Here's my male

 

[i cant think]

None of them are difficult to keep. Typically melasmapomus is the easier one to find, but it gets larger than the other two. I'm biased towards melasmapomus Here's my male

Jealous of your male, I’d love one but I just never see them.
Maybe one for the future, for now my two Radiants and Jade will be my happy place

 

[JoJosReef]

Radiant is still my favorite so far, but will have to wait for the 4ft+ tank. Melasmapomus looks great, too!

 

[SaltyT]

Jealous of your male, I’d love one but I just never see them.
Maybe one for the future, for now my two Radiants and Jade will be my happy place

He's a big teddy bear. My Kuiter's leopard bullies him now that she's 5 inches. Pretty sure she thinks he's a male Kuiter's.

 

[Slocke]

I think this calls for a top 5 Halichoeres hunh? Really tough to call but here goes and in reverse order for dramatic effect:

5. Halichoeres timorensis. Yes they are ******s in my experience but d#$% are they pretty. I've called them the poor mans choati and honestly I think they are prettier. The orange and blue spots on the sparkingly white body are stunning.

4. Halichoeres iridis. Just a lot of cool colors on one fish that work really well! I don't even know what color the main body color is is called. Wine purple?

3. Halichoeres inornatus. Looks pretty ornate to me?? Beautiful if unfortunately a fish that needs a cooler tank.

2. Halichoeres melanarus.

JK thats a Thalassoma lunare Dr Reef

2. Halichoeres marginatus. The people have spoken and by those people I mean people who have seen my tank. It is the first fish I'm asked about and it's no surprise. Shadow is a centerpiece wrasse and also so far incredibly peaceful.

1. Halichoeres discolor. I mean what a fish!

 

[Slocke]

BTW honorable mentions for H rubricepahlus which would have featured if not for the random wrasse I found while googling this list. Of all the Halichoeres this is the only one thats made me take a doubletake as it is such a WOW fish. Looks like it got a bit excited with the war paint lol

 

[Lps_lover12]

How are yellow tail tamarins for care? Thinking of picking one up because I saw one in person for the first time the other day and all I can say it wow. But I’m not sure how they are with eating and diseases etc as well as peacefulness

 

[Tcook]

I think this calls for a top 5 Halichoeres hunh? Really tough to call but here goes and in reverse order for dramatic effect:

5. Halichoeres timorensis. Yes they are ******s in my experience but d#$% are they pretty. I've called them the poor mans choati and honestly I think they are prettier. The orange and blue spots on the sparkingly white body are stunning.

4. Halichoeres iridis. Just a lot of cool colors on one fish that work really well! I don't even know what color the main body color is is called. Wine purple?

3. Halichoeres inornatus. Looks pretty ornate to me?? Beautiful if unfortunately a fish that needs a cooler tank.

2. Halichoeres melanarus.

JK thats a Thalassoma lunare Dr Reef

2. Halichoeres marginatus. The people have spoken and by those people I mean people who have seen my tank. It is the first fish I'm asked about and it's no surprise. Shadow is a centerpiece wrasse and also so far incredibly peaceful.

1. Halichoeres discolor. I mean what a fish!

Out of that group I think iridis and timorensis are 1&2. That timorensis is like a snow leopard. Beautiful.

 

[OrchidMiss]

I think this calls for a top 5 Halichoeres hunh? Really tough to call but here goes and in reverse order for dramatic effect:

5. Halichoeres timorensis. Yes they are ******s in my experience but d#$% are they pretty. I've called them the poor mans choati and honestly I think they are prettier. The orange and blue spots on the sparkingly white body are stunning.

4. Halichoeres iridis. Just a lot of cool colors on one fish that work really well! I don't even know what color the main body color is is called. Wine purple?

3. Halichoeres inornatus. Looks pretty ornate to me?? Beautiful if unfortunately a fish that needs a cooler tank.

2. Halichoeres melanarus.

JK thats a Thalassoma lunare Dr Reef

2. Halichoeres marginatus. The people have spoken and by those people I mean people who have seen my tank. It is the first fish I'm asked about and it's no surprise. Shadow is a centerpiece wrasse and also so far incredibly peaceful.

1. Halichoeres discolor. I mean what a fish!

I have 3 out of 5!
My ranking will be in the order I got them

Had and loved my earmuff I had for about a day...

Haven't had one, but will one day have a pallidus

 

[LeonardTheWrasse]

@OrchidMiss
Just out of interest, what's your Timor Wrasse like, is it aggressive?

 

[i cant think]

How are yellow tail tamarins for care? Thinking of picking one up because I saw one in person for the first time the other day and all I can say it wow. But I’m not sure how they are with eating and diseases etc as well as peacefulness

Yellow Tails are peaceful but can be easily bullied. In terms of feeding, if it’s not feeding already then avoid it - These are a species that can be a PITA to feed.

In terms of diseases, these are generally quite resistant like many other wrasses. However you’ll want to watch out for internal parasites and also any mouth damage on her.

 

[i cant think]

I think this calls for a top 5 Halichoeres hunh? Really tough to call but here goes and in reverse order for dramatic effect:

5. Halichoeres timorensis. Yes they are ******s in my experience but d#$% are they pretty. I've called them the poor mans choati and honestly I think they are prettier. The orange and blue spots on the sparkingly white body are stunning.

4. Halichoeres iridis. Just a lot of cool colors on one fish that work really well! I don't even know what color the main body color is is called. Wine purple?

3. Halichoeres inornatus. Looks pretty ornate to me?? Beautiful if unfortunately a fish that needs a cooler tank.

2. Halichoeres melanarus.

JK thats a Thalassoma lunare Dr Reef

2. Halichoeres marginatus. The people have spoken and by those people I mean people who have seen my tank. It is the first fish I'm asked about and it's no surprise. Shadow is a centerpiece wrasse and also so far incredibly peaceful.

1. Halichoeres discolor. I mean what a fish!

Well, I think we all know my top 2 Halichoeres

1. H. iridis the juveniles are adorable and the males are just full of colour! I mean, have you seen a properly matured male? That red is a deep purple!

2. H. chloropterus these are meant to be Satan’s spawn but mine is peaceful for now. Plus I love the subtle colouring on him.

3. H. leucoxanthus this guy just looks nicer than the sister species as a mature male (and even as a female). The yellow white and green just goes nicer than solid yellow and green IMO.

4. H. melasmapomus I just love how they look as males, the females are also nice but the males are just a bit nicer

5. Last but not least H. chlorocephalus If this species was available in captivity I’d likely have it over the rubricephalus (although I do like them both).

(Only the top 3 photos are mine the rest are from Google).

 

[JoJosReef]

Ok, I'll try. None of these are mine, but I will opine on the great debate over H. chrysus vs. H. leucoxanthus. My preference is a darker contrast between the white belly and ventral color, like Cirrhilabrus rubeus, whereas that splash of yellow you get with H. chrysus.. I wish mine could stay female forever!

1. Halichoeres cyanocephalus, juvenile

I don't think there's anything cuter than that. Adults? A bit meh, though.

2. Halichoeres iridis

Still topping my list of must-haves, eventually.

3. Halichoeres claudia

I like the ligher shades of green-blue and red more than H. biocellatus. And it's the Christmas wrasse, for goodness sake!

4. Halichoeres radiatus

Juvenile, how cute is that?

Still not bad!

Look at that big boy! I might need that 4ft tank upgrade...

And look, here's one hanging out with his BFF eel!

5. Halichoeres bivittatus

Naturally.

 

[OrchidMiss]

@OrchidMiss
Just out of interest, what's your Timor Wrasse like, is it aggressive?

He was not at all aggressive, very timid when I got him. As he's matured, he has certainly become more aggressive. He is in my predator tank and fits in very well.

 

[OrchidMiss]

I'm gonna see if I can get a good photo of him today, actually. His mature colors are beautiful

 

[OrchidMiss]

Blofeld finally gets his closeups

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Blofeld finally gets his closeups

beautiful fish, love the colours

 

[OrchidMiss]

#wrassenerds does the spot on the dorsal mean Blofeld is a female? Is that the case for all haliochores?

 

[Slocke]

#wrassenerds does the spot on the dorsal mean Blofeld is a female? Is that the case for all haliochores?

Mine has them too and I assumed it was a male because of its aggression.

 

[i cant think]

#wrassenerds does the spot on the dorsal mean Blofeld is a female? Is that the case for all haliochores?

Nope! The dorsal spot being an eye shape on juvenile Halichoeres is true for most species (with some exceptions). However, considering Blofeld has a yellow and black dot he is male. A female timorensis looks like this (not my photo);