red velvet fairy wrasse

[Nina51]

moved this girl to my dt at noon yesterday. had company for dindin so i left her in to acclimate till about 9 p.m. turned her loose when my actinics came on. she was out and about the rest of the evening. my male carpenter's followed her around for a few minutes and once everybody checked out the new kid on the block, they all had a snack and went to bed. haven't seen her yet this morning but my other wrasse is always the last one to get out of bed so i suspect she's sleeping in, too.

<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/TANK/wrasse_zpsda109732.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/TANK/wrasse_zpsda109732.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo wrasse_zpsda109732.jpg"/></a>

 

[eatbreakfast]

Looks good, but your she is a he.

 

[snorvich]

Looks good, but your she is a he.

Right.

 

[Nina51]

no way!! she was id'ed by LA as a she. hrrmmm.....

just curious, how do you sex these fish?

 

[evolved]

Some species are easier than others in that regard; this one is a bit subtle. Note the coloration on the fins (or lack thereof).

Female:

Male:

 

[snorvich]

Of course if it were a she, she may become he.

 

[Nina51]

*it* more closely resembles the female in those pics except that her fins are a little more purple. not as much as the male's fins but definitely more than the female in the picture.

i'll try to get a better pic when my lights come on in a couple of hours.

 

[Ambition]

She is probably in the process of changing into a male. Gorgeous fish either way, Nina.

 

[snorvich]

Please see "Fairy and Rainbow Wrasses and their relatives" by Rudie Kuiter, page 38. Mostly likely a female transitioning to male. See for comparison the picture of a female on the same page.

 

[Nina51]

is there somewhere online where i can see a specific page? i did a search but only come up with places to purchase the book.

 

[evolved]

*it* more closely resembles the female in those pics except that her fins are a little more purple. not as much as the male's fins but definitely more than the female in the picture.

i'll try to get a better pic when my lights come on in a couple of hours.

The purple coloration in the tail on yours plus the distinction of two colors behind the gills indicates a transitional male.

 

[Nina51]

well, *he* seems to be getting along fine. i've seen one of my hawkfish dart at him a few times but i don't see any frayed fins and he's out swimming.

 

[dcmartinpc]

Beautiful fish! I love my Red velvet!! I swear he has the brain of a puppy! He swims in my hands while I'm in the tank... When I am feeding pellet he swims up and steals it out of my fingers. He is actually kind of a bother, he won't leave me alone! He just swims around acting like "Whatcha doin?????"

He is a goofy fish I can literally grab him with my hands and take him out of the tank and he couldn't care less!!!

Don

 

[snorvich]

is there somewhere online where i can see a specific page? i did a search but only come up with places to purchase the book.

I have no idea. Since I have the book, I simply open it to page 38. (there is an index which is why I know to open it to page 38)

 

[Nina51]

I have no idea. Since I have the book, I simply open it to page 38. (there is an index which is why I know to open it to page 38)

call me at BR549, i'll give you my address and you can just mail page 38 to me. kthankbai!

<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/user/Ninapearl/media/TANK/red_zpsd0d13f1d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/Ninapearl/TANK/red_zpsd0d13f1d.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo red_zpsd0d13f1d.jpg"/></a>

 

[eatbreakfast]

The above pic is definitely an initial phase male, the contrast of colors from head to torso is strong enough to tell.

 

[Nina51]

ok, thanks. i named her "princess". i guess that ain't gonna work!

 

[SDguy]

ok, thanks. i named her "princess". i guess that ain't gonna work!

Sure it will! You are just more progressive than other fish keepers

 

[Nina51]

well ok then, princess it is! he already comes when i call him so keeping that name works well.