Yellow coris wrasse or banana wrasse ?

[RC Reefer 5184]

What do you guys think. I bought this fish a year ago as a yellow coris wrasse. It is about 4-4 1/2 inches and still has the two black dots on its back fin. Had another reefer tell me he thinks it’s a banana wrasse which gets really large and is not reef safe at all. Looked them both up and the yellow coris at full grown looks very similar to banana. Any thoughts either way would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[SaltyT]

What do you guys think. I bought this fish a year ago as a yellow coris wrasse. It is about 4-4 1/2 inches and still has the two black dots on its back fin. Had another reefer tell me he thinks it’s a banana wrasse which gets really large and is not reef safe at all. Looked them both up and the yellow coris at full grown looks very similar to banana. Any thoughts either way would be appreciated. Thank you.

Definitely H. Chrysus. Yours is a male and really nice looking!

 

[RC Reefer 5184]

SaltyT. So that’s a yellow coris ? Lol. I just googled it And thank you very much.

 

[Randy’s reef]

SaltyT. So that’s a yellow coris ? Lol. I just googled it And thank you very much.

Thank god for your post because mine looks exactly like yours , I just bought him today and got worried he may be a banana

 

[i cant think]

Banana and Yellow Coris often get labelled as separate things but tend to be the same wrasse. The banana wrasse that Salty and I know is Thalassoma lutescens. However, the Banana and Yellow Coris Wrasses are often two separate names given to the same species. The wrasse called the Yellow “Coris” Wrasse is Halichoeres chrysus. And no, this is not a true coris as the true coris wrasses are part of the genus Coris. It’s like the green “coris” wrasse, Halichoeres chloropterus.
The OP’s appears to be a transitional phase male (Potentially a terminal phase but it’s hard to tell).

 

[nereefpat]

That's crazy that people can buy large males like that. I've never seen any yellow wrasse for sale that isn't a 2" juvie.

 

[Landon K]

Beautiful fish. If I were to buy a juvi H. Chrysus and it was the only one in the tank, would it certainly eventually turn male?

 

[i cant think]

Beautiful fish. If I were to buy a juvi H. Chrysus and it was the only one in the tank, would it certainly eventually turn male?

Even if there were others in the tank it would still transition to male.

 

[Randy’s reef]

Here’s mine