Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura

[chipchip]

Hi guys..

my dealer has a Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura in his store. I asked if this one is healthy and if he eats well. He told me that the fish is doing great and is very healthy and not even shy.

He sent me this video. What would you say, should I pull the trigger?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyaWjN7vTBI

 

[Monkeyfish]

Hard to tell from the video, but I don't think that's a C. cyanopleura. Kind of looks like a female solorensis, but I'm no expert.

Either way, the fish looked healthy and both species are fairly mellow, so I say go for it.

 

[chipchip]

Hi,

oh, do u think its a female C. solorensis? I got to ask my dealer for a better picture then.
He told me that is a C. cyanopleura.

The vid is taken by an iPhone. So the quality is a bit better when I play it with my iPhone.

Any other thoghts on this? Can someone see which species it is?

 

[evolved]

Could be either species at this point.

 

[chipchip]

Ok dudes.. My dealer sent me some pictures.

What do you say now? Cyanopleura? female solorensis?

 

[chipchip]

Just as additional info.. He ordered this one as C. cyanopleura but they also had C. Solorensis on the stocklist.

Hunter, can you bring light into the dark?

 

[Monkeyfish]

Female solarensis

 

[chipchip]

Huh, that is crazy.. But maybe they delivered the wrong one then. Lets see what Hunter says.

Blue zoo has a female solorensis.. https://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productDetail.asp?did=11&pid=16465&cid=365

 

[evolved]

I agree with solorensis.

FWIW, the ID on these two often get mixed up.

Dr. Tanaka's photos:

cyanopleura

solorensis

 

[chipchip]

Ok thanks for that dude. It is fine, solorensis is better then cyanopleura for my tank so. And how long does it take until the female changes into a male?

 

[evolved]

A few weeks to many months. There's no set answer; the time frame is very environmentally dependent.

 

[Rutrag]

Is there a key feature to look for differentiating the females of the solorensis from the cyanopleura? Looking at Tanaka's pics above, it strikes me that the solorensis has more coloring in the caudal and anal fins. The eye also looks a little larger in relation to the head as well in those pics. I just got an "assorted fairy wrasse" the species of which I'm a unsure. At times it looks like a female of one of the above species or perhaps an aurantidorsalis that hasn't colored up yet. The fright coloration seems to have a lot of blue and almost purple if that's any kind of clue. I'll try to snag a picture tomorrow and post.

 

[evolved]

The "blueness" of the caudal fin is what I always look at/for.