Have you seen this wrasse?

[bermudadiver]

Hi all.

Fish ID time again.

Caught this fish today snorkelling and could use a bit of help. I'm pretty sure he's a wrasse, just not sure which kind.

The basics:
Yellow
Single black stripe along length of body
black dorsal
round black dot at front of dorsal
Red cheeks
On the reef, was in large groups


Photos as follows:

http://www.odonnellnet.com/temp/wrasse.jpg
http://www.odonnellnet.com/temp/wrasse2.jpg

I know some wrasses are harmless and peaceful, others are aggressive. Given I have just ripped out all my rock to remove an aggressive damsel, I would really rather not go through that exercise again.

Can anyone identify this guy, and if so, let me know what kind of temperment to expect?

Regards

BermudaDiver

[bermudadiver]

^anyone?

He's fully acclimated and ready to be released into the tank....

BermudaDiver

[beerguy]

Looks a little like oxyjulis californica but it wouldn't be in Bermuda. I'll look it up at home tonight.

[Cirrhilabrus]

Thalassoma bifasciatum female. The most dominant of the harem in the wild will change sex and turn into a male, displaying a vivid blue face with a green body. The fish are commonly referred to as the Bluehead Wrasse. This very active wrasse should work ok with the puffer you collected last week. They like to jump out of open topped aquariums, and are not safe with small crustaceans. Thalassoma wrasse are somewhat aggressive towards fish with similar body shape. There is not a great deal of species diversity in the Caribbean and if you go to the local dive shop there you will find a chart which lists fish that are endemic to the reef you areas where you dive. Good luck!

[bermudadiver]

Thanks Cirrhilabrus,

I'll do that

BermudaDiver