Scotts Fairy Wrasse

[LINK]

None of my books have this cool little guy in them. I am thinking about getting one, and was wondering what, if any, special care they require. Also, anything that they will fight with or be harassed by.

My setup:
180Gal RR
LR & DSB 4-5" Sugar sized argo
2 tomato Clowns in a 12" bubble anemone
1 yellow tang
1 strawberry Pseudo
1 Royal Gramma
2 Pajama Cardinals
Many Corals

 

[Len]

It'll do just fine in your tank. There is one very important issue of care you must address if you want to husband this species: the tank must be covered (or the canopy fully enclosed). Cirrhilabrus scotturm is a jumper! All Cirrhilabrus sp. are jumpers, but anecdotal accounts suggests C.scottorum is more prone to it then other species.

Other then that, there isn't any other special attention you must pay this species. They feed like hogs, are not aggressive towards any species - except for conspecifics - and will rarely be the subject of bullying.

Another thought to consider: if you purchase a "super" male (properly known as displaying male), it will fade in color and patterns if not kept with female specimens. Regardless, a nondisplaying male is still a very beautiful fish, as are the females of this species.

 

[LINK]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Goldmoon]

The only thing that *bugs* me is the strawberry pseudochromis. In most of the compatibility chart they say NO or CAUTION with wrasse and Pseudochromis. I know some dottybacks can be a pain sometimes.. But I do not know about the one mentioned though.

 

[Brad Johnson]

The other caution I would give is I am trying to find someone who has kept coloring on this fish long term.

I have 2 Cirrhilabrus scottorum - Scott's Fairy Wrasse and have run into the almost complete loss of color problem. I originally bought 2 so that 1 would change to the female coloring and maybe give me a shot at keeping the male coloring. Well there was absolutely no fighting for dominance. The larger of the 2 stayed with his male coloring and the other smaller one (about 1/2 the size) started changing almost immediately.

Now we are a couple months down the road and the dominent male has slowly lost his coloring and now is nearly the color pattern of a female. Actually less striking than the female. He doesn't have much of a purple hue to him, just VERY dark. I can still make out a little of the red square on his side.

I feed almost every form of frozen food available, so can't think of anything on the nutrition front. However I do not soak the food in any vitamins, etc. Have never been a big fan of this.

Simple question to this long drawn out post is, has anyone kept a Scott's coloring long term?? What did you do, and any suggestions on changing the sex of one of my Scott's back to male. Thanks for the help.

--Brad

 

[dbman]

Maybe a little Barry White, some candles, a nice bottle of wine...