Breeding wrasses?

[rydr119]

As the topic says; can you breed wrasses in captivity? I am going to assume no unless someone has other experiences. My flame wrasse pair I noticed last night was doing what looked to me like breeding behavior. It was really cool to watch. The male got all crazy colored and the female is looking mighty fat in her belly. I figured they were just going through the motions but I figured I would ask anyway.
Thanks Gina

 

[IFbettas]

It is common for wrasses to breed in aquaria, but there are no reported successful rearings. The only wrasses that have been succesfully raised to maturity were cool-water species in Japan. You can read about peoples' attempts at raising wrasses at www.marinebreeder.org

 

[snorvich]

I have had fairy wrasses mate, but no spawn was ever visible.

 

[wrasseguy2]

I have had fairy wrasses mate, but no spawn was ever visible.

same here

 

[iamwrasseman]

they may show signs of breeding but you will no find any little guys coming from it . just a dance that they are doing and they need a much larger space such as an ocean in order to be successful at mating .I'm not saying it can't happen its just so unlikely .

 

[rydr119]

yeah thats what I had read in most articles I could find. Oh well If I do ever see any little flames swimming around though I will post pics right away lol.

 

[wrasseguy2]

i don't know if it was in the fairy wrasse photo thread or the flasher thread H. Tanaka started but one reefer did have some pics of a fairy that was chuck full of eggs..he had pics of the male and female..i will see if i can dig it up later if i get some time..but it was cool info and pics i had never seen it before and have not since..it is on page 11 of the Let them Flash! thread by H. Tanaka..pretty cool

 

[IFbettas]

I know several people who had their fairy and flasher wrasses spawn with viable eggs. They were all kept in tanks that were atleast 30" tall though. If the tank isn't tall enough, they don't have enough space to make their spawning rise.

 

[wrasseguy2]

I know several people who had their fairy and flasher wrasses spawn with viable eggs. They were all kept in tanks that were atleast 30" tall though. If the tank isn't tall enough, they don't have enough space to make their spawning rise.

that is what i have seen and been told as well

 

[rydr119]

Thats awesome, anyone get the babies to fry stage? This may be something I might end up putting more time into... My tank is only 24" tall but hey any excuse for another tank right? I am going to check out that thread now.

 

[IFbettas]

Thats awesome, anyone get the babies to fry stage? This may be something I might end up putting more time into... My tank is only 24" tall but hey any excuse for another tank right? I am going to check out that thread now.

Nobody has gotten fairy or flasher wrasse larvae to live past about 5 or so days, IIRC.

Those who get consistent spawns usually keep them in tall plastic drums with a window built into them. They have the overflow drain into an egg collector and then check for eggs every morning. You will get eggs very frequently (often nightly) if/once your pair starts spawning so you will have plenty of larvae to experiment with. There is quite a bit of good information at http://www.marinebreeder.org/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=189&sid=8c2721cfdb0e6de05e9fc23794762034