Halichoeres maculipinna

[bigbugoutfitters]

Does anyone have any experience with this wrasse? Caribbean wrasse, also called clown wrasse. Stumbled upon one and like the look of it. Tank is 75 gallons, current stock is just a longnose hawk. Will add a couple more wrasses, dwarf lionfish, and i have a high hat drum shipping in this week.

 

[i cant think]

Does anyone have any experience with this wrasse? Caribbean wrasse, also called clown wrasse. Stumbled upon one and like the look of it. Tank is 75 gallons, current stock is just a longnose hawk. Will add a couple more wrasses, dwarf lionfish, and i have a high hat drum shipping in this week.

This wrasse gets aggressive and is a hyperactive species. Another issue is they will get large and change colour with age.
I really don’t recommend it as if you’re adding a few more wrasses they most likely wouldn’t get along in the long term as they all start to mature.

I’d recommend Halichoeres iridis or Halichoeres leucoxanthus. They’re smaller and much less aggressive. Although for all Halichoeres a deeper sand bed is a must, Atleast 2 inches if not 3-4.

 

[Gareth elliott]

For a fairly reef safe wrasse in the same family i would recommend Halichoeres biocellatus. It’s beautiful, handles captivity well, not particularly aggressive, and is better with clean up crew than some of its larger cousins. After the Radiant Wrasse, my second favorite wrasse i have kept. *Radiant Wrasse is far more difficult to acclimate to tank life, i do not recommend unless have successfully kept other difficult to captivity fish.*

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Alright, ill avoid it. Halichoeres leucoxanthus? I am trying to keep most of my fish to Caribbean. Thanks for the advice!

 

[i cant think]

Alright, ill avoid it. Halichoeres leucoxanthus? I am trying to keep most of my fish to Caribbean. Thanks for the advice!

H. leucoxanthus is an Indonesian wrasse but it’s the silver belly wrasse. For the Caribbean your best go is Halichoeres pictus which maxes out at 5 inch and isn’t overly aggressive. The other wrasses get too large for anything less than a 4’x2’x2’ tank in my opinion.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Huh, looks like the website mislabeled it!

 

[i cant think]

Huh, looks like the website mislabeled it!

What was it labelled as?

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Nope, i just copied and pasted the wrong name. Ha!
Halichoeres garnoti
Definitely a wrasse on the larger side. LA says 75 minimum but with the size of the wrasse i can definitely see how that doesnt seem quite right. Very cool wrasse for a larger tank some day perhaps.

 

[i cant think]

Nope, i just copied and pasted the wrong name. Ha!
Halichoeres garnoti
Definitely a wrasse on the larger side. LA says 75 minimum but with the size of the wrasse i can definitely see how that doesnt seem quite right. Very cool wrasse for a larger tank some day perhaps.

If you have that 4’x2’ tank I’m sure you could do it - I have a 4’x2’ with a similar sized fish (Halichoeres chloropterus) in it. At the minute the chloropterus is 5” possibly closing up on 6 and he still has enough room to swim.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

If you have that 4’x2’ tank I’m sure you could do it - I have a 4’x2’ with a similar sized fish (Halichoeres chloropterus) in it. At the minute the chloropterus is 5” possibly closing up on 6 and he still has enough room to swim.

Hmm, intriguing. I love the look of the fish. All the fish that i will have in the tank are on the larger side, but i dont plan on having more than 6 or 7 fish in the tank. Ill ponder on getting it.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Especially with it only being a 20 dollar fish!

 

[i cant think]

Hmm, intriguing. I love the look of the fish. All the fish that i will have in the tank are on the larger side, but i dont plan on having more than 6 or 7 fish in the tank. Ill ponder on getting it.

I’d do it if when it outgrows the tank (If it does) you can either rehome it or upgrade. They’re a stunning fish and the transition from juvenile to adult male is really worth watching!

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Absolutely, there are a lot of beautiful wrasses out there but ive gotta be careful on size of wrasse with the dwarf lion that will eventually be in the tank. Ill try to get a juvenile on the larger side. Thanks!
As for another Caribbean wrasse, ive had a Thalassoma bifasciatum that was a model citizen in a previous tank however i may have just gotten lucky.

 

[i cant think]

Absolutely, there are a lot of beautiful wrasses out there but ive gotta be careful on size of wrasse with the dwarf lion that will eventually be in the tank. Ill try to get a juvenile on the larger side. Thanks!
As for another Caribbean wrasse, ive had a Thalassoma bifasciatum that was a model citizen in a previous tank however i may have just gotten lucky.

You could try it but they are also quite hyper and with another rather large wrasse in a 4’ tank it may not have the room needed.

 

[bigbugoutfitters]

Yea, mine cruised. It was in a 4’ tank but there were way more hiding places. Wish i had a picture of it, over 6 inches. Very fun to watch it glide through the tank.