Please help me to ID this wrasse

[n8ureman]

I have three of the exact fish you have Aganthos. The largest one looks like yours in coloration, and even has the long ventral fins like yours. The other two are solid pink, and are very submissive to the largest one. I also have a blue Solar wrasse in the same tank and he chases the largest of the three only, in what is definitely aggression and not a mating display. What is confusing is that in Rudie Kuiterr's book on fairy wrasses under the description for C. solorensis he does provide two pictures labeled as female solorensis (plates E and F) however they lack the blue color on the chin that runs almost the length of the ventral region of my largest (on the illustration it is white not blue/bluish.) Now, from the difference in coloration displayed by my three and the behavior I witnessed in my own tank I strongly believe that these fish if C. solorensis are not females, but possibly a color variant, and your fish and my largest fish are males.I bought mine from saltwaterfish.com and the had them labeled as C. cyanopleura So I'm not quite sure who is right as far as identification, but I do not believe what we have is a female wrasse.

 

[michael_cb_125]

Agathos,

Such a pretty fish, but I think "she" is actually a "he"....


~Michael

 

[evolved]

Definitely a male. Only males develop long pelvic fins.

That being said, I see a C. aurantidorsalis.

 

[Agathos]

I might as well use this same thread for another mysterious wrasse I have:

It lives in the same tank as the wrasse from earlier in this thread and a male Cirrhilabrus solorensis. It is smaller and submissive to both of them.

 

[evolved]

Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura

 

[Agathos]

Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura

Thanks! I believe you are correct for both of my fish. The first one is a male C. aurantidorsalis whereas the latter is a C. cyanopleura. What sex do you think it is?

 

[evolved]

They are a species which are a bit more challenging to sex, but based on the translucent-ness of the fins and the stubby pelvic fins, I'd say female on this one.

 

[Agathos]

They are a species which are a bit more challenging to sex, but based on the translucent-ness of the fins and the stubby pelvic fins, I'd say female on this one.

Thanks again! I googled your name and will now enjoy your series of articles on rare wrasses .

 

[Agathos]

Two new pictures of the fish in this thread. I wanted a picture of them together, but the smaller and submissive won't go near the larger and dominant C. aurantodorsalis.