My new favorite fish...

[Chris]

This beautiful guy has usurped the position of my favorite fish which was formally held by the gorgeous powder blue tang I received from Josh a while back.

I've only had him for about a week so I haven't had the opportunity to any good pictures but here are some similar ones attached below. The pictures don't do much justice though, especially when he flares up.

Thanks to Ed & Austin Aquariums for finally catching this guy and dropping him off here in town.



I was able to do some searching online and found a little info...

Cirrhilabrus rubriventralis
aka. Social Wrasse
aka. Longfinned Fairy Wrasse
aka. Dwarf Parrot Wrasse.

The Dwarf Parrot Wrasse, or Sea Fighter, is a peaceful fish from the Indian Ocean. Their small body is elongated and bright red in color. The lower half of the fish is light and fins are speckled and edged in iridescent blue.

This Wrasse is hardy and relatively easy to acclimatize to aquarium conditions. Water conditions should be at their best for this fish to thrive however. Temperature should be between 75-80 degrees F. with a pH of 8.4 and salinity of 1.023-1.027. In a large enough tank of 50 gallons or more, these fish may be kept in groups where the males will be seen displaying their beauty to females.

Dwarf Parrot Wrasses are omnivorous and will accept a wide variety of foods. They relish live, frozen and flake foods, which should all be provided.

Breeding has not been recorded in the home aquarium, though sexing is possible; males have a more intense coloration than females, as well as a long, feather-like extension to their dorsal fin.

[Ed]

Thanks to Ed & Austin Aquariums for finally catching this guy and dropping him off here in town.

Chris,

You are more than welcome. Glad your new wrasse is doing well.

-Ed

[Triggerman]

i've seen this fish in person myself and it's a beauty. alittle similiar to the carpenter's, but in my opinion much better. the longfinned wrasse is not a very common imported fish, so chris was lucky to get it at a very good price.
Ed's a good man.

ray

[MikeP]

Neat fish - I am staying away from wrasses since I have an open topped tank. I actually bought a pair of wheeler's shrimp gobies last week and they dissapeared. Checked overflow before work today and they were relaxing on the bottom.