Mate for fairy wrasse?

[Raider0622]

Hey everybody. I've had my 75-gallon tank up and running for a few months now and everybody's doing fine. One of my first fishes was a male longfin fairy wrasse. I have been wondering, in the future if I got a female of the same species, would they pair up and mate? I'm not trying to breed them or anything, I was just trying to figure out something unique for my tank and I've heard that males will show off to their mates. Thank you for your help!

 

[Chasenm]

I paired up my lubbock’s wrasses by buying a group of 4 with one that looked like it was already a sub male. Then I waited until 2 paired and the others started getting bullied and pulled them from the tank. I know fairys live in harems in the wild, but I don’t think we can put enough of them in the tank to form a fully functional harem. Anyways back to your question. I think it’s doable but I would keep a close eye on them to ensure there isn’t too much bullying. Wrasses are very vulnerable to stress in my experience.

 

[92Miata]

The problem with fairy/flasher wrasse harems is that these fish all eventually turn male - and you start burning through dominant males as they get pushed by younger transitioning fish.

You're better off with multiple males of different species. There's a thread on here - Cirrhilabrus complex : inferiority need not apply (or something along those lines) that has a big chart of which ones work best.

 

[Raider0622]

Alright. Thank you both for your help. I'll have to check that link out.

 

[Raider0622]

Do you think he would be ok with a dusky wrasse? I can't find much info about them besides that they need a deep sand bed. One wierd thing about them is that la lists them as reef safe yet they are in the with caution category. Do you know why this is?

Dusky Wrasse, Halichoeres marginatus: Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums

The Dusky Wrasse (Halichoeres annularis) is one of many healthy, high-quality ornamental aquatic life available at LiveAquaria® for your saltwater marine aquarium.

m.liveaquaria.com