Let Them Flash!

[H.Tanaka]

moonpod,
Thanks for info of your fish and tank. It is very hard to make them form a harem in a tank even if a group was captured in their natural habitat, and they will behave individually.
Your Paracheilinus octotaenia (Eight-line) would become a larger one soon and I hope it to flash someday. However, most of them will not excite when they are kept for some period, and it means that they settle down. I will add larger new specimens of other species or same one and then I expect that the old male would excite or even flash. Another way to see it flash is to change your tank circumstance totally or pick it up and move to another smaller tank, and add new specimens of the genus.

 

[H.Tanaka]

The third species, Paracheilinus carpenteri Randall & Lubbock, 1981.
Distribution; Western Pacific, southern Japan (Izu Islands~), Taiwan, Philippines, Palau, and one sighting in Bali.
It reaches 85mm.
It is greatly similar to P. mccskeri but has two to four filaments on dorsal fin, and often a blackish area on caudal fin. Inappropriately called "Pink Flasher" and it is applied to many hybrids and other species until now. It is often available from the Philippines.

The same specimen (8cm male) in normal coloration (upper) and displaying (lower). You may see how it changes.

 

[H.Tanaka]

The similar but valid species, P. flavianalis, 7cm, male.
It is known from Indonesia (sulawesi, Bali~Flores) and Western Australia.
It gains its size of 8.5cm
Males have an totally yellow anal fin, and then it is called The Yellowfin Flasher, and also one to four filament(s) on dorsal fin.
It is closely allied to P. carpenteri and P. mccoskeri that have a red area on anal fin.
One of the very popular species regularly available at shops.

 

[H.Tanaka]

It is a 80mm-male from Indonesia, displaying.
Note the second (but short) filament on D fin. In Bali they tend to have three or four filaments there, but males from Western Australia and Flores with a single one.

 

[Madoktopus]

not meaning to change the subject, but is there a definitive way the dr. or anyone else has for that matter on how to mix these wonderous fish with themselves and or the faries with minimum aggresion?

 

[MarvinsReef]

Hiroyuki,

here's a pic of my very first Flasher... please help me verify if this is a McCosker's or a Carpenter's... he's about 1" big right now...

Thanks
Marvin

 

[NorthernCF]

Thank you Dr. Tanaka! Awsome stuff.

 

[H.Tanaka]

Marvin,
It seems to me carpenteri, but I am not so sure; if it has two or more filaments on D-fin it is surely carpenteri, but if it is a single it is mccoskeri. Where did it come from ?

 

[H.Tanaka]

Next one shows Paracheilinus octotaenia, Eight-line Flasher Wrasse. It is said to reach 9cm but this one measures nearly 12cm, that made an ichthyologist in Hawaii astonish.
It ranges the Red Sea only and has a football-like shape without any filament.
Usually fins are orange but when males excite median fins turn red, and stripes on side become blue like this.
It is somewhat aggresive toward other fishes when it is quite large but in most cases it does not give serious injury.

 

[MarvinsReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7239829#post7239829 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by H.Tanaka
Marvin,
It seems to me carpenteri, but I am not so sure; if it has two or more filaments on D-fin it is surely carpenteri, but if it is a single it is mccoskeri. Where did it come from ?

Thanks for the reply.. I'll find out where my LFS gets their fishes... so far, it only has 1 filament so I'll wait it out til he gets bigger..

Marvin

 

[H.Tanaka]

Marvin,
If yours has a single one it is not carpenteri but mccoskeri; keep observing how it grows.
It is a young male, 5cm of P. carpenteri with shorter filaments on D-fin.

 

[H.Tanaka]

Paracheilinus octotaenia, male, 12cm almost non-exciting but with bluish lines on side. It is the same specimen with the first photo shown above. Fins are not so intensely red.

 

[H.Tanaka]

It is a male just in display, 9cm.

 

[fishfanv]

mine when in acclimation:

 

[H.Tanaka]

fishfanv,
It seems a large male of P. flavianalis deeply colored. I hope you to see its displaying coloration soon.
This is a 5cm long young male of the species with a single filament. Shipped from Bali so often.

 

[fishfanv]

yeah i hope so too. he isn't out as much as i'd like him to be, but he's slowly but surely coming out more often.

 

[H.Tanaka]

It is a larger female of Paracheilinus octotaenia, 6cm. from the Red Sea. The fins are still pale with reddish hue, but number of lines are growing.
In the background are (from left to right) Cirrhilabrus luteovittatus, C. tonozukai (front), and C. lunatus.

 

[NexDog]

H.Tanaka, you have PM (in case you have notification disabled).

 

[H.Tanaka]

The Filamented Flasher Wrasse, Paracheilinus filamentosus.

It is a popular species among keepers and diver as well, and is widely distributed from the Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands.

The filament on dorsal fin is about 5-7 in number, and is very similar to P. cyaneus from Indonesia where they mix. They differ in coloration on body; filamentosus has several lines without dots between lines, but in cyaneus there are fine dots between them.
It reaches some 9cm at maximum but most aquarium specimens are around 6-7cm.

Specimens from the Solomons are distinctly colored with an entirely yellow dorsal fin.

6cm long male from Indonesia

7cm male, displaying with a bright blue area on dorsal fin and caudal fin, and also stripes on side turned blue

 

[H.Tanaka]

Two similar species; cyaneus (upper) and filamentosus.

The difference between the lines is obvious.