Wrasse is a beautifully colorful family of tropical water marine fishes. The Labridae family, which is the third-largest fish family after the Gobiidae and Serranidae, consists of over 600 species, spread out over 81 sub-species. The fish loves to swim near the coral reefs in shallow coastal areas. Despite their abundance, the fish is not bred commercially. Most of the new species live in the Western Pacific Ocean and the Western Indian Ocean. The tropical waters are suitable for the females to lay eggs, which they do so, by the thousands, all year long. Some males will guard the eggs laid in algae or cavities. The average life cycle of a wrasse is three to five years.
The average height of wrasses starts from 5 cm and goes all the way up to 2 meters plus. Generally, all of them have the same distinct characteristics. They are smooth with slender bodies, thick lips, and extended visible canines. The canines are helpful when they need to feed on sea urchins, which are their favorite food. Most wrasses are meat eaters and prey on small marine invertebrates. But a lot of them are cleaners. They prey on parasites and dead tissues and act as a hoover, which is a great incentive to buy them when stocking your aquarium.
Wrasse Biological Factors
Everyone knows that while aquariums are soothing and calming to look at when it comes to cleaning them, we wonder why we bought one in the first place. I imagine wrasses would be a great fish to have if you’re a lazy fish parent. Some wrasse also eats other fish, so it’s good to research which fish they consider food before choosing a partner for them. Similar to most fishes, they use their pectoral fins for their general movement and their caudal fin in case they need to speed away in emergencies.
An interesting biological fact about wrasses is that most of them are born female, and then a portion of them turn male while the rest remain females. Due to the variety of wrasses in marine biology, it’s impossible to be specific of their traits as belonging to all of them. Some wrasses change color, indicating their change of gender. And yet, some other species have wrasses that change color as they grow older. When a male leader is lost, the female will change her color and assume the leadership role. Males, on the other hand, cannot change back to male. Two similar fishes of the same genera can also look so different from each other that it’s hard to imagine they belong to the same category. Originally they would be classified as two different types of fishes.
Wrasse Aggression
Another reason wrasse makes great aquarium pets is due to their calm and peaceful nature. Although all of them do not behave the same, and some are known to fight their captivity and become aggressive. The wrasses in the Anampses or the Halichoeres genera like to burrow in the sand, either at night or when frightened. Usually, the burrowing is good because it stirs up the debris at the bottom, and in the case of aquarium life, the debris is carried up to the filter by the water currents. But the wrasse to tend to hide in their little sand hideout for days until they get used to their environment, which can be a scary thing if you’re not familiar with their habits and assume they died on you.
There’s not a demand for wrasses in the fish farming and agriculture department, there’s another reason wrasse is in high demand, in Norway and Sweden. They use them to delouse salmon. Salmon lice infestations were a serious problem until the realization that wrasse could be used to get rid of them. From 1998 up to 2005, wrasse was used to counter this infestation. In 2005, when certain chemical products were introduced in the market that could work instead of wrasses, the use of wrasse was decreased.
Thus began the renewed interest in wrasse fishing that led to almost 10 million wrasses in 2010 alone. This kind of targeted fishing always leads to an eventual supply-demand issue in the market. So the wrasses were then transported long distance on trucks fitted with tanks from the South and Southeastern coasts of Norway and Sweden to the north of the territory.
Types of Saltwater Wrasse
We’re going to discuss the common types of wrasses in a little detail below.
The Bird Wrasse
These are hardy fishes that adapt well to aquarium life. Scientifically called the Gomphosus varius, these have one green male fish in a group of black female fishes. All bird wrasses start as females at birth. If something happens to the male, a couple of them will begin their transformation into male, which takes them a few months.
The Dragon Wrasse
The dragon wrasse is known to be a mover and shaker in its search for food. If kept in an aquarium, it needs space because they tend to move about. This can also cause any unstable structures to fall. When startled, they either jump up in shock or burrow deep into the sand.
Eight Lined Wrasse
Pseudocheilinus octotaenia is an adorably orange wrasse species. Originally very bashful and won’t come close, it’ll even let it feed you personally! This good nature doesn’t extend to other fishes, and the aggression makes it difficult to keep around other fishes. The name eight lined is pretty self-explanatory and comes from the eight lines on its body.
The Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse
As the name suggests, this is a cleaner fish. Its diet consists solely of parasites and dead tissue stuck to the mouth of larger fish. If stuck in an environment devoid of other fishes or parasitic material, it refuses to eat and slowly starts to get sick and wither away.
The Saddleback Wrasse
The saddleback wrasse is a gorgeous blue and green fish with distinctive orange bars on its body. If buying as a pet, it’s always a good idea to have more aggressive fish already in there, to keep the saddleback in check. It should always be the last addition to the tank.
The Yellowtail Corris Wrasse
The yellowtail Corris is also commonly known as the clown wrasse or the labrid. One of the wrasse fish that undergo an extreme color transformation from childhood to adulthood. They also love eating meat like shrimps, black worms, and flake food. During childhood, they are placid and calm but get increasingly destructive as they get older, which means they should be out of reach of invertebrates.
Elegant Wrasse
The Anampses Elegans is a carnivorous fish native to the Pacific Ocean. Like most wrasses, these can also be found on coastal reefs but usually prefer lagoons. Due to their carnivorous nature, special care is a necessity when introducing a partner for them in a fish tank. They will commonly eat fish and shrimp. The elegant wrasses are the ones most often found as females and then convert to a male, if unable to find a male in their school of fish.
The Black and White Wrasse
As the name indicates, these wrasses are black and white. They are also sometimes referred to as the yellowtail Corris, in addition to the ones mentioned earlier. These are carnivores with prominently displayed teeth at the front of their jaw, used to eat shrimps, snails, crabs, etc. The fish lives in the waters of Japan and the wast Pacific Ocean.
