Splendid Pintail Fairy Wrasse Juv/Female

Splendid Pintail Fairy Wrasse Juv/Female, Cirrhilabrus isosceles, are adorable fairy wrasse that make fantastic editions to marine tanks.

Males have vibrant pink bodies, adorned with bright orange stripes and patches. They sport narrow blue stripes that run from head to diamond shaped tail. Fins are translucent but display multicoloured hues. In contrast, females have splendid orange and yellow bodies. A darker red stripe covers their back and their fins are tinged yellow.

Splendid Pintail Fairy Wrasse Juv/Female, Cirrhilabrus isosceles, Ecology:

These beautiful fish live around the Philippines and Japan in the Western Pacific.

The complex habitat help the wrasse avoid predation. Unlike some species, these fish do not bury themselves to sleep or hide. Instead, they have quite a nifty trick. In order to sleep safely, Splendid Pintail Fairy Wrasse find a nook they like. They then cover themselves in a protective mucus coat. Supposedly, this hides the wrasses scent from predators. These sticky invisibility cloaks do not degrade your water quality like some coral wax jackets’ might.

In Nature, Splendid Pintail Fairy Wrasse live in groups, with one male to a few or more females. Dominant males trigger spawning by doing their courtship dance. He will dash around, showing off his colours to the harem. These fish are protogynous hermaphrodites. Which means that, when they get old enough, breeding females turn into a male. As a result, all juveniles are immature females.

Wrasse in the Aquarium:

It is important to copy the natural environment by making plenty of nooks and crannies for the wrasse to hide in. Hobbyists should get a jump guard to stop any unfortunate mishaps.

Splendid Pintail Fairy Wrasse Juv/Female do best when fed a varied diet. They will accept enriched frozen mysis shrimp and enriched frozen brine shrimp. They will also devour live foods, such as copepods and amphipods, that can be cultivated in attached refugium. Over time they will accept high-quality pellet or flake. We adapt all our wrasse to aquarium life before they leave us. We focus on their health, and most are eating a good quality flake food and/or pellet, such as JBL Maris, before being offered for sale.

The Fish pictured here are representative only and the livestock you receive may vary in pattern, coloration, and shape.