Wrasse id

[A Young Reefer]

So this little fellow has been in my lfs for almost 3 months now and no one is buying it.
One because it’s not the most colorful and two because no one can really tell what species of wrasse it is.

 

[Screwgunner]

Brown stripe wrasse

 

[Dave1993]

Take it home

 

[Screwgunner]

They advise not to pick up by hand they will deliver a nasty bit.

 

[i cant think]

looks like a juvenile Halichoeres bicolor to me but maybe one of the wrasse pro’s will know @Crabby48 @SaltyT

 

[Crabby48]

Neat wrasse but I never seen one.

 

[A Young Reefer]

Brown stripe wrasse

You sure?
I have looked it up and it doesn't look similar. Thank you for your input!

 

[A Young Reefer]

Take it home

I might do that. what do you guys think?
oh I also have a melanurus wrasse, I have a acclimation box if that would help.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Looks like juvenile maori wrasse

 

[i cant think]

Looks like juvenile maori wrasse

IMO it’s got the wrong body shape for a maori, it’s too slender and is more like a Halichoeres

 

[A Young Reefer]

IMO it’s got the wrong body shape for a maori, it’s too slender and is more like a Halichoeres

definitely a halichoeres.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I too pictured halichoeres. Halichoeres has many more stripes.

 

[i cant think]

Possibly a coris then?

 

[Screwgunner]

definitely a halichoeres.

I think you are right but I can not find that fish in any of the 100's of pics I have been through.

 

[38bill]

Looks sim to the Southern Maori wrasse. IMO if you cant positively ID it I would stay away from it. It could easily be a fish that will get too large and too aggressive .

 

[SaltyT]

I’m not familiar with this one. I agree with the above, if you can’t properly ID it I would pass on it.

You can email a pic to Hunter Hammond for him to ID at [email protected]. If he can ID it for you let us know what it is.

 

[Tamberav]

Maybe Suezichthys devisi ?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So this little fellow has been in my lfs for almost 3 months now and no one is buying it.
One because it’s not the most colorful and two because no one can really tell what species of wrasse it is.

I love fish ID challenges! Wrasse are super difficult as they have up to four different color phases AND captivity changes them!

Superficially, this looks like a slippery dick, but it isn't. It also cannot be a Southern Maori wrasse - these are only found in deep water in S. Australia. Currently, no collectors in that region are shipping to the US. If you found one for sale it would be many hundreds of dollars.

My bet? A faded Coris pictoides. The spot on the caudal peduncle and the soft dorsal fin match up. These are commonly found in shallow silty areas throughout the Indo-Pacific, so will show up in shipments as "mixed wrasse"

Jay

 

[A Young Reefer]

Thank you all for your replies!
I also just found out that this shipment was from Kenya and the wrasse was labeled as a “North African wrasse”.

 

[i cant think]

I love fish ID challenges! Wrasse are super difficult as they have up to four different color phases AND captivity changes them!

Superficially, this looks like a slippery dick, but it isn't. It also cannot be a Southern Maori wrasse - these are only found in deep water in S. Australia. Currently, no collectors in that region are shipping to the US. If you found one for sale it would be many hundreds of dollars.

My bet? A faded Coris pictoides. The spot on the caudal peduncle and the soft dorsal fin match up. These are commonly found in shallow silty areas throughout the Indo-Pacific, so will show up in shipments as "mixed wrasse"

Jay

I think it’s this aswell - Definitely a coris shaped body.