Let Me ID Your Wrasse!

Ciwyn · Feb 9, 2020

So I got this wrasse last week as a Christmas wrasse. While it's actually a very pretty wrasse with the gold streaks down its body it I don't think it matches photos I've seen of Christmas wrasses.
Sorry it was difficult to get a good photo but hopefully you can still get an ID from this photo. If not I'll try and get a better one.

evolved · Feb 9, 2020

Ciwyn said:
So I got this wrasse last week as a Christmas wrasse. While it's actually a very pretty wrasse with the gold streaks down its body it I don't think it matches photos I've seen of Christmas wrasses.
Sorry it was difficult to get a good photo but hopefully you can still get an ID from this photo. If not I'll try and get a better one.

H. biocellatus

mattzang · Feb 9, 2020

claudia?

sfairtx · Feb 9, 2020

Dempsey941 said:
Talk about doing a 180

Face only a mother could love.

evolved · Feb 9, 2020

mattzang said:
claudia?

ornatissimus

mattzang · Feb 9, 2020

evolved said:
ornatissimus

even with the broken pattern?

ugh. claudia and ornatissimus is so hard to tell apart

evolved · Feb 9, 2020

mattzang said:
even with the broken pattern?

ugh. claudia and ornatissimus is so hard to tell apart

Yeah, the pattern on the sides is pretty distinct. The "breaks" you see above are just stress coloration.
Claudia at that size:

mattzang · Feb 9, 2020

dang, yeah my first thought was claudia should be more white, but then i was referencing an old post of yours with the difference between claudia/ornatissimus/biocellatus and the ornatissium was all no broken striping. i guess the wholesale had them all listed as claudia and the origins were bali and hawaii, no fiji

Ciwyn · Feb 9, 2020

evolved said:
H. biocellatus

Just looked that one up and absolutely. Thanks

Rybren · Feb 9, 2020

Ciwyn said:
Just looked that one up and absolutely. Thanks

My favourite wrasse.

Ciwyn · Feb 9, 2020

Rybren said:
My favourite wrasse.

The gold is iridescent which is pretty cool. Do they keep those gold lines as they age? What a the the false eyes on the dorsal fin?

Rybren · Feb 9, 2020

Ciwyn said:
The gold is iridescent which is pretty cool. Do they keep those gold lines as they age? What a the the false eyes on the dorsal fin?

The male colouration is very different from the juvenile. The false eyes are common in sub-adult Halichores wrasse; I suspect it is a self-defence thing.

evolved · Feb 9, 2020

Ciwyn said:
What a the the false eyes on the dorsal fin?

Rybren said:
he false eyes are common in sub-adult Halichores wrasse; I suspect it is a self-defence thing.

False eyes, or eye spots, are there as a defense mechanism to confuse potential predators. Pretty much all Halichoeres species have them as juvieniles, but they do fade away as species of the genus mature. Adult females of some Halichoeres species do maintain the spot central on the dorsal.

Ciwyn · Feb 10, 2020

evolved said:
False eyes, or eye spots, are there as a defense mechanism to confuse potential predators. Pretty much all Halichoeres species have them as juvieniles, but they do fade away as species of the genus mature. Adult females of some Halichoeres species do maintain the spot central on the dorsal.

That's kind of what I figured. I'm not sure why but I find the false eye spots a very intriguing and pretty feature on these fish.

Bossman · Feb 10, 2020

The DD mistakenly sent me someone else's order a while back. The package had my paperwork, but different contents. I can identify the fish as a wrasse but not quite sure which one. I was thinking Filamented at first, but after looking at the Blue Flasher Wrasse, I'm not quite sure. The tail looks more like the Blue I think....

Sorry for the pics. The fish is shy and this was after sitting in front of the tank for 45 minutes. Hopefully they give enough detail to help.

evolved · Feb 10, 2020

Bossman said:
The DD mistakenly sent me someone else's order a while back. The package had my paperwork, but different contents. I can identify the fish as a wrasse but not quite sure which one. I was thinking Filamented at first, but after looking at the Blue Flasher Wrasse, I'm not quite sure. The tail looks more like the Blue I think....

Sorry for the pics. The fish is shy and this was after sitting in front of the tank for 45 minutes. Hopefully they give enough detail to help.

Yes, that's Paracheilinus cyaneus.