Wrasse ID Needed
- Thread starter Jetbkk
- Start date
reefer gladness
Well-Known Member
I'm thinking more like a red-lined or Christmas wrasse, definitely Halichoeres. Pretty fish by any name though, good find!
Oxylebius
Well-Known Member
Wrasses can be difficult to identify without some experience, complicated by color differences exhibited by fish in different stages of growth. Males can be either primary (born male), or secondary (females that have undergone sex change). Those that are born female, usually go through one or two juvenile color phases before adulthood, which is known as the initial phase. Under the right circumstances a female can transform, irreversibly, into a male with a very different color pattern, referred to as a terminal or supermale. Because of this, it may be hard to correctly ID your fish. In fact, the color differences are so pronounced that for over 200 years researchers regarded some phases as distinct species (incorrectly identified).
Your fish is a Halichoeres nebulosus. Look it up, but be aware that the juvenile, female, and male of this species look a little different: http://www.poppe-images.com/?t=17&photoid=928840
Males are identified by the angled or diagonal pink band below the eye. Females have a brighter pink patch of color on the belly.
The photos on this link are all Halichoeres nebulosus. Each one looks a little different, even though they are all the same species: http://www.poppe-images.com/?t=11&f...lity=&latest=&phylum=&class=&comname=&catid=8
Here is another source w/lots of photos: http://eol.org/pages/213523/media
Your fish is a Halichoeres nebulosus. Look it up, but be aware that the juvenile, female, and male of this species look a little different: http://www.poppe-images.com/?t=17&photoid=928840
Males are identified by the angled or diagonal pink band below the eye. Females have a brighter pink patch of color on the belly.
The photos on this link are all Halichoeres nebulosus. Each one looks a little different, even though they are all the same species: http://www.poppe-images.com/?t=11&f...lity=&latest=&phylum=&class=&comname=&catid=8
Here is another source w/lots of photos: http://eol.org/pages/213523/media
