Female Exquisite Wrasse

Breakthecycle2 · Mar 1, 2016

Does anyone have a clear picture of one? My LFS got one in and I would love to get her for my supermale, but we are not 100% it is a female Exq.

Duke4Life · Mar 1, 2016

Breakthecycle2 said:
Does anyone have a clear picture of one? My LFS got one in and I would love to get her for my supermale, but we are not 100% it is a female Exq.

Reefbuilders.com, but I'd be hesitant in adding as they are the same.

Breakthecycle2 · Mar 1, 2016

Duke4Life said:
Reefbuilders.com, but I'd be hesitant in adding as they are the same.

What do you mean?

Duke4Life · Mar 1, 2016

Breakthecycle2 said:
What do you mean?

Typically most fairies don't do well as pairs, females tend to transition to male even if a super male is in tank.

Duke4Life · Mar 1, 2016

You want to get a few different types for success, they will still keep their color and be active.

Breakthecycle2 · Mar 1, 2016

Duke4Life said:
Typically most fairies don't do well as pairs, females tend to transition to male even if a super male is in tank.

I have 10 different fairy/flashers. I prefer to get male/females. I've had moderate success keeping them male and female or female, female and male.

eatbreakfast · Mar 2, 2016

Duke4life's recommendation on not doing prs is good advice. Keeping prs has no benefit to the fish, just an added stressor to one of the fish in the pair. In nearly all cases it doesn't result in natural behavior, mostly because wrasses are haremic and not pr forming and it is a ratio of one male to dozen+ females.

But if your preference is a pr, females don't have color in any oftheir fins, if there is color in any of the fins it has begun it's transition into being a male.

Also, lifespans of fairy wrasses is 5-8 yrs, so "moderate success" with prs is years, not months.

evolved · Mar 2, 2016

I agree; I wouldn't do it either.

I don't bother with more than one specimen of a particular species anymore; it never works. I've had pairs spawn together for a year, only for the female to turn male without much warning. It simply isn't worth the headache.

But to answer the original question, along these lines:

A holotype, so use your imagination a bit:

And FWIW, as juvi's they are rather different:

Brit’s Fish · Dec 12, 2020

evolved said:
I agree; I wouldn't do it either.

I don't bother with more than one specimen of a particular species anymore; it never works. I've had pairs spawn together for a year, only for the female to turn male without much warning. It simply isn't worth the headache.

But to answer the original question, along these lines:

A holotype, so use your imagination a bit:

And FWIW, as juvi's they are rather different:

Resurrecting this thread & hoping you’ll reply @evolved - I just added an Exquisite Fairy Wrasse to one of my tanks & it has the same white mark on its nose as the last picture in your post here. The LFS ordered him for me and he’s still young but transitioning to adult colors. They said the white mark was probably a small scrape from bumping into a rock, but it should heal no problem. Now that I see this picture - is that actually normal coloration for these Wrasses when they’re young? Or does the Wrasse in that picture coincidentally have the same marking on his nose?