Lineatus wrasse guidance

HouseofStark · Nov 17, 2022

Really want to get a show piece fish. Was looking at a lineatus wrasse. Currently don’t have any wrasses in my tank. Not finding much available and when I do they are 300-400$. Any suggestions and or guidance on adding on to my tank. A bit leery of online and shipping in mn winters. Would it be best to go through a local store? Do you buy small, female vs male, what location/type Australia the most vibrant?

I have a 95 gallon 40” tank that has tomini and yellow tang as big fish, the rest are small.. Midas bleeny, Bella goby, Royal grama, mandarins…

Looking for help on what to buy.

i cant think · Nov 18, 2022

HouseofStark said:
Really want to get a show piece fish. Was looking at a lineatus wrasse. Currently don’t have any wrasses in my tank. Not finding much available and when I do they are 300-400$. Any suggestions and or guidance on adding on to my tank. A bit leery of online and shipping in mn winters. Would it be best to go through a local store? Do you buy small, female vs male, what location/type Australia the most vibrant?

I have a 95 gallon 40” tank that has tomini and yellow tang as big fish, the rest are small.. Midas bleeny, Bella goby, Royal grama, mandarins…

Looking for help on what to buy.

I would go for a young juvenile at first. And yes it’s best to go through the LFS with this fish. They suffer badly from shipping stress as most come in as what people sell as “Supermale” which actually, is just a male with superb colours (This is easy to get in captivity after you get it settled).
There isn’t much that differentiates the two varieties, so it doesn’t really matter which variety you get.
Ideally you want something that looks like this (not my photo);

This is a young female Lineatus which I’ll admit isn’t as bright however once she transitions she will become a Stunning male much like the ones you see online.
It’s best to get this wrasse as a female as when they come in as males their lifespan is only about 2 years at max usually IME. If you get them as females, they’re usually pretty young so you’ll have them for 5-7 years.

HouseofStark · Nov 18, 2022

So if I understand correctly, a single female will transition into a male, and a super male is pretty much fully colored and matured/closer to end of lifespan. So if a person wants to have that happen, find a small female and it should move through all those stages? I think the LFS is asking 400$ for them which seems steep, not sure what they are...I assume? a super male? I did look at a few online stores but not much in stock.

Reef Pros have a medium female in stock, don't like the 2hr DOA window after shipping a 300$ fish though :/

Lineatus Fairy Wrasse Female

Lineatus Fairy Wrasse FemaleSCIENTIFIC NAME: Cirrhilabrus lineatusOverviewReef Compatible: YESDiet: CarnivoreTemperament: DocileOrigin: Australia

reefprostore.com

i cant think · Nov 18, 2022

HouseofStark said:
So if I understand correctly, a single female will transition into a male, and a super male is pretty much fully colored and matured/closer to end of lifespan. So if a person wants to have that happen, find a small female and it should move through all those stages? I think the LFS is asking 400$ for them which seems steep, not sure what they are...I assume? a super male? I did look at a few online stores but not much in stock.

Reef Pros have a medium female in stock, don't like the 2hr DOA window after shipping a 300$ fish though :/

Lineatus Fairy Wrasse Female

Lineatus Fairy Wrasse FemaleSCIENTIFIC NAME: Cirrhilabrus lineatusOverviewReef Compatible: YESDiet: CarnivoreTemperament: DocileOrigin: Australia

reefprostore.com

I have seen rather pricey females as this is a species many want. However generally if it’s 400 or more you’re looking at what wholesalers would say is a super male.
Yes, you are correct in getting a female should result in all of those stages. And you can even get a younger super male if you feed heavily nutritional foods (Some of my wrasses are young males but still could be sold as ‘super males’).