Christmas Wrasse

[jejton]

I was in an LFS the other day and they had some nice wrasses in. The two that caught my eye were the Christmas wrasse and a species of filamented wrasse ( flasher? fairy? ) which the owner said was a fairy wrasse but I haven't seen a filamented flasher wrasse in my online searches. Anyways I really liked the Christmas wrasse but wanted to find out more before getting one so has anyone here had experience with them ? Are they known to eat flatworms ( yes I know each individual is different )? Yes, Deano's, I've done my Googling but I'm looking for personal experiences.

 

[House of Laughter]

Its a flasher wrasse -

http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/wrassereefsafe/filamentflasherwrasse/

Christmas wrasses can tear up inverts depending upon their collection area and habits - generally speaking, though, reef safe

Flashers (like most wrasses) have a tendency to jump.

Hope this helps,

House

 

[jejton]

Thanks - That is the wrasse I saw. I do have a cover over the tank so I'm not worried about jumpers. What areas are preferably for Christmas wrasses which will be kept with inverts?

 

[lfsmarineguy]

your better off with a species name. Christmas wrasse has been applied to so many species it's beyond vague at this point. If you can post a pick it would help. Can't tell you the number of fish that come in with rainbow/christmas in front of their name.

 

[jejton]

Looks just like this - http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_1...ategory=4&category_search=61&root_parent_id=4

 

[prattreef]

That is the true "xmas" wrasse. IME it is a beautiful and mellow reef-safe fish, but one of the more delicate of the Halichoeres species. You might want to look at H. melanuras as a similar and striking fish that def. eats flatworms and is a bit hardier.

 

[House of Laughter]

lfs - agreed (especially as of late)

many Bioc's are being sold as christmas wrasses because they don't know any better

Check out WWmedia here - http://www.wetwebmedia.com/halichoeres.htm

The first is an Ornate (true christmas wrasse) and the biocullatus which is often sold as one.

JMO

House

 

[lanacane214]

i bought this baby like a month ago,i cant belive i got so much beauty for 40 bucks

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I think that the "marketing centric naming fad" here has spread overseas and the lists are now littered with misleading titles that could apply to any number of species.

 

[KathyC]

I'd aim for the H.melanrus (as Randy suggested) if you want one that eats flatworms for sure, plus it is a stunning fish!

I had a 'Christmas Wrasse' (H ornatissimus) and he was a model reef citizen for the first year or so (except for eating a buinch of snails...)and then he went postal on my other wrasses and attempted to beat the tar out of all of them..I had to re-home him. I have heard that this sometimes happens when they reach adulthood.

 

[ellebelle]

OKay, since you are looking for personal experiences ....

I just got an H. chrysotaenia from HoF.

He seems to be eating my flatworms (I watched him eat some off of my glass), but will always eat other food before he goes after the flatworms. I believe that is his adult coloration - or something very close to it. He is the largest fish in my tank and doesn't mess with my other two fairy wrasses (both of which are aggressive on their own). Upon introducing other fish to the tank, he ignored the venomous rabbitfish but has been chasing my new clown fish. I suspect he will cease that behavior once the point that the tank is his territory is made. I have only had him for a couple of weeks, so those are all initial impressions.

He is super active though - definitely a show piece fish. Anyone who has been to my apartment while the tank lights are on have commented on him.

 

[jejton]

Both of those are beautiful fish. The wrasse I saw in the store looks just like lanacanes, including the dorsal fin spots. I thought about melanarus wrasses but the ones I've seen weren't too colorful, basically just green with a little sheen. I'm going to check out some of the stores in the area this week and see whats in. I'll take the scientific names of the wrasses mentioned here and hope that it will help.