Any harm in mixing melanarus wrasses?

[unbreakable]

The one i currently have has long stripes instead of dotted lines like this one but still has the same colors and patterns on the face:

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f20/labman48076/mwrasse.jpg

Any idea if theres just different variations in the melanarus wrasse or does the pattern make it a juvenile, adult, male or female?

[rgentry123]

i not sure but that is one beautiful wrasse.

[drdoolittle]

i had two of thm in my tank. they stayed away from each other. until, my lime green wrasse out grew both of them an killed one.

[Ralph ATL]

yes, juvenile/female phase has the spots & lines.

[unbreakable]

Is it safe to say I have a female melanurus wrasse if it is mostly pin striped?

There's a melanurus wrasse at my LFS that looks bigger and there are no pin stripes on the body but has circular dots instead

[Ralph ATL]

here's mine. just got it a couple of weeks ago.



http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb317/mysterybox1/IMG_1485.jpg



http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb317/mysterybox1/IMG_1504.jpg


Labrids of the genus Halichoeres are protogynous hermaphrodites, and at maturity, these fishes will display initial phase (both males and females) or terminal phase (males resulting from a female sex change) coloration and patterns.

Your new fish is still in the Initial Phase, and the exact sex is very hard to determine. When this species starts changing sex from female to male, the horizontal striped pattern and coloration on the head and face of the fish will gradually start to change to thicker stripes, with a distinct yellow/lime green patch on the upper region of the operculum, and yellow patch or spot at the base of each pectoral fin. During this transformation the fish will also lose the three black spots along the dorsal fin, changing from spots to thick stripes, and the tail will also develop coloration and pattern, going from clear to a blue, red/orange, and green with black vertical band at the outermost part.

I hope you find this information beneficial, and I hope you enjoy your new Halichoeres wrasse.

Cheers!


__________________
Kevin Kohen
Director of LiveAquaria
Drs. Foster and Smith
www.LiveAquaria.com

[unbreakable]

thanks mysterybox, that helps out a lot. Mine does not have the black dots on the dorsal fin and it has more thicker patterns along the face, i also notice it has some bluish patterns on its tail, the body still has stripes.

I'm assuming mine is turning into a male; it's a vibrant blue and green. The one at the LFS I would say for sure is a male since it no longer has striped patterns and looks larger

Would adding a male with the existing melanarus cause problems? and would this stop the original melanarus from turning into a complete male?

[unbreakable]

Mine looks exactly like this but without the tail spot:

http://www.dickensons.org/Aquariums/TailSpotWrasse.jpg

[Ralph ATL]

Not a good idea

[unbreakable]

Thanks!

[Ralph ATL]

Sure, try some other wrasses, even other Halichoeres.