Let Me ID Your Wrasse!

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Nutramar
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Very cool thread! I need to read through all the pages here.

In the meantime, here's mine. Picked it up from a distributor labeled as "Blue-head fairy wrasse," but there are a few animals with that nickname.
P9072571.jpg

P9072550.jpg

P9072551.jpg

P9072559.jpg

P9072565.jpg
 
Deltec
....and there's this bad boy. 90% sure it's a McCoskers from the three stripes, but not 100%. I bought him as an assorted flasher wrasse. Picture doesn't show it, but he has a single centrally-located filament on the dorsal.
P9072576.jpg

P9072588.jpg
 
Tough to tell for sure from the pics, but the first does appear to be a female C. cyanopleura. The second is likely a transitioning P. mcccoskeri as you suspect.
 
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Marshall O said:
Tough to tell for sure from the pics, but the first does appear to be a female C. cyanopleura. The second is likely a transitioning P. mcccoskeri as you suspect.
Click to expand...
Agree on both, but I would like to point out the "3 stripes" isn't a good identifier for Mccoskeri; there's a small chance that fish could be a transitioning P. carpenteri (but I don't think so).
 
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eatbreakfast said:
So here are a couple to see if anyone can get them. Open to all that would venture a guess. I will have the answers tomorrow morning.

Fish 1
http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/ad183/eatbreakfast/fish101811034_zps864acf32.jpg
A little faded but enough to be able to I.D.

Fish 2
http://i934.photobucket.com/albums/ad183/eatbreakfast/DSC_0767_zps3ff1273e.jpg

Lets see those guesses.
Click to expand...

There were no attempts on fish 1, This fish is a female Stethojulis albovittata that is just beginning to transition to a male. It was collected off of the coast of Kenya, and is very similar to Stethojulis bandanensis, particularly at this stage.


Marshall O said:
#2 - Transitioning H. hartzfeldii
Click to expand...

I'm glad someone ventured a guess, Thanks Marshall. Answering this correctly required knowing the collection point because at this stage of development this fish and H. hartzfeldi, but I didnt think of that until Marshall already posted an answer. Fish 2 is H. zeylonicus, collected off of the north coast of Madagascar. It was misidentified as H. pelicieri by the collector. The guess of H. hartzfeldi was good as these 2 are sister species and both are currently valid, but it is being looked into as to whether or not they are actually the same species.

I will keep on the lookout for any other wrasses that may stump some of you in the future.
 
Deltec
delete pls
 
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It is I was told it was a male Squirei?? I had someone else tell me it was a mccoskers.
I got him from a VERY reliable source. I had the female but she has recently passed.
This is an older pic his colors are much more vibrant now.
 
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racerw said:
It is I was told it was a male Squirei??
I got him from a VERY reliable source. I had the female but she has recently passed.
This is an older pic his colors are much more vibrant now.
Click to expand...

Actually, it very well could be a transitioning Squirei. I am guessing you got the pair from PIA, since they were the only ones to sell a pair that I know of here in the states. I wasn't even thinking of C. squirei when I posted, since they are basically not available. The deep purple line does seem to indicate it is not a C. johnsoni after looking more at it.
 
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Deltec
No I did not get from them. I got directly from an individual in Hi.
 
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Trust me. You saying that makes me feel better and more confident that is in fact what he is. Thank you:)
 
I'll defer to experts to confirm either way :) Do u have a more recent pic?
 
AS
uploadfromtaptalk1410276935047.jpg
here is a horrible pic hope it helps
 
Again, I will defer to the experts, but the lack of red in the dorsal and anal fins, and the deep purple line tell me its not a C. johnsoni. So I am definitely thinking it is a Squirei.
 
C. squirrei is recognized by having noticeably more yellow unpaired fins than its close relatives within the complex. As Marshall noted the lack of red helps identify it as squirrei. Also, collection point would help confirm, as the range of the species in the complex are seperate from each other.
 
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