Name That Wrasse.....Mistaken ID?

Redfish

New member
What type of fairy wrasse does this appear to be to you?

Its collection location was given as Tonga. I don't believe it is as advertised. I will keep the advertised name for a while.

WrasseA.jpg


WrasseB.jpg


I am not sure it is as simple as it first appears, but maybe I am wrong.
 
My guess would be some kind of social wrasse. Not sure, but the coloring looks cool and the fish looks healthy.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6535310#post6535310 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pecaco34
You may want to post this in the big fairy wrasse thread. My guess would be a juvi/female Rosy-fin Fairy.

That's exactly what I'm thinking on the ID too, and I agree that you should definently ask in the thread stickied to the top of this forum on fairys :) (as my guess could VERY well be wrong ^_^ ).
 
ITS A ROSY FIN FAIRY WRASSE, Cirrhilabrus bathyphilus. its a VERY rare fish, even more so than the Mystery Wrasse...and quite expensive at that. Also, its a male...

I have one, and they are GREAT fish. What a great find!!!

Do you know who the collector was of the fish? A friend of mine goes out to all the South Pacific islands to catch fish, and he is one of the few people who collect these fish...and he said he finds maybe 2 a year.
 
Oh sorry, but in addition, it appears that you have a juvenile male. Just wait for about a year, the top fin will turn the same color as the tail, with a black border around it....it is an absolutely beautiful fish. Liveaquaria has a good picture of what a full grown male will look like.

When I first got mine, it looked like yours, and now mine looks like the one on Liveaquaria.

Amazing fish...
 
I need to stop by this weekend to see him in person. I know where Phil is going with this. He had ordered one thing and got the above fish. Our LFS ordered the fish for him. With knowing what you ordered and what it might be you might have gotten a great deal.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6538478#post6538478 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thehedge
ITS A ROSY FIN FAIRY WRASSE, Cirrhilabrus bathyphilus. its a VERY rare fish, even more so than the Mystery Wrasse...and quite expensive at that. Also, its a male...

I have one, and they are GREAT fish. What a great find!!!

Do you know who the collector was of the fish? A friend of mine goes out to all the South Pacific islands to catch fish, and he is one of the few people who collect these fish...and he said he finds maybe 2 a year.

He has a Mystery wrasse as well, don't you Phil?
 
Phil gets all the fancy stuff while my budget is a nice Solorensis. Wait a minute.. I got the solor with store credit.
 
It was advertised and sold to the LFS as a flame wrasse. I ordered it to go with my female flame. I do not believe it is. I believe it to be a rosy fin or Bathyphilus. They could be two different fish.

The female flame wrasse will have nothing to do with this fish.

The price was a steal.

Yes, I do have a mystery wrasse as well as lineatus and rhomboid wrasses.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6540528#post6540528 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Redfish
I believe it to be a rosy fin or Bathyphilus.

You may have mistyped, but just incase, there shouldnt be an "or" there, just to clarify. Rosy fin fairy is the common name for Cirrhilabrus bathyphilus :) .
 
I actually believe that in recent discussions and I believe in the latest books, there are possibly two distinct species that are currently called 'Bathyphilus and/or rosy fin."

I am sure that someone may clarify this. I am sure Bronco7777 will chime in at some point.
 
There may be multiple species with the common name Rosy Fin Fairy Wrasse (although I don't know another one), but I can assure you that their is only 1 species with the sci name Cirrhilabrus bathyphilus.

However, either way, what you have is Cirrhilabrus bathyphilus, and the very rare Rosy Fin Fairy Wrasse. I'll tell you that they are not readily available and anything less than $150 is a STEAL.

And I will definately tell you that that is NOT a male Flame Wrasse...take it from a Flame Wrasse collector...and Cirrhilabrus bathyphilus are from the South Pacific, not Hawaii.
 
Redfish,

That fish is a cirrhilabrus bathyphilus. Or as it is also called a Rosy-fin fairy wrasse. What you have is a juvenile male that was changing from female to male. You can tell this by the pale red-orange in the face and also by the lines that are still visible running through the face. A female has various red orange lines begining at the face and running along the body frame. The male develops a deep red face and the lines are not visible at that point. Also, as the male gets older and mature he will obtain more black cloration on the dorsal and outline of the tail. Some blue coloration will also develop in these areas. This guy was well on his way to becoming a male when he was caught. I'd suggest you get him a female if possible. They can be found equally with the same frequency as males. Females are bright yellow for the most part with tinges of orange. I'll try and dig up a picture I have of a female I recently bought.
 
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