Spontaneous Spawning of Six line wrasse and Yellow wrass
 

Several weeks ago I noticed my yellow wrasses displaying an odd behaviour. The T5s had just gone off and the yellow wrasse pair were shooting up to the surface of the water and back down into the rocks. They were also being chased by the other fish. So I looked closer. One of them was huge, looked exactly like a mollie does when gravid, a distended lower abdomen clearly full of eggs. The other fish was very much in attendance and leading the female up and down the water column. I ran and got camera, the results are fuzzy at best...but you can see her shape. I decided not to post the pictures at the time since they were not the greatest. Last night I changed my mind. Another wrasse pair (a sixline and a 4 line) were doing exactly the same. I had noticed the 4L flashing the 6L a while back and following her about. Last night as the T5s went out they began the same swoop and dive display, but with way more vigor than the yellows. These two would splash through the surface water every few mins. Again I ran for the camera and again ended up with fuzzy pics.....but im sure you will get the idea.

I do apologize for the lack of clarity, but with lowlights and extremely fast moving fish....it was tough.

First the yellows:
here you can see the swollen abdomen...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...lowwrasse7.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...lowwrasse6.jpg

the male leading her up from the rocks:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...lowwrasse3.jpg

and at the surface, just diving back down
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...lowwrasse4.jpg

a fuzzy pic, but clearly shows the gravid state.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...lowwrasse2.jpg

and the six line
you can see the fish on the left has the swollen abdomen
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...w/sixline3.jpg

returning from the top
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...w/sixline4.jpg

ready to break the surface:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...w/sixline1.jpg

----I didnt try to catch eggs or anything, but it was fascinating.

The time between my t5s going off and the MH going off is about 5 mins. All the action took place in that 5 mins.

Paul.

Wow Thats cool!

So has anyone had success raising the fry of a wrasse?

sweet pics paul..are ya gunna try an catch some eggs if it happens again>?..


scott

Yes, for wrasses, and I don't know for these specific wrasse.


Paul W, not only is it absolutely awesome that you got the Yellow Coris to spawn, but you have got a six AND four line wrasse to spawn...together! i wonder what that hybridization would look like :D

Travis,
i was curious about that myself, Im assuming they are just morphs of the same species.

No, Four Line and Six Lines are completely different species. There is also an Eight Line. Sometimes the Mystery Wrasse is called a Five Lined or Five Bar wrasse

Four Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus tetrataenia)
Five Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus ocellatus)
Six Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
Eight Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus octotaenia)

So, not only would you might have first ever recorded breeding of these wrasses, but you might also have the first ever cross-breeding of those lined wrasses! :D I'm very excited for you. I hope it happens again and you have a video camera handy or a video option on your camera.

well....I really didnt do anything special at all....they seemed to take care of that part all on their own. it is curious though that both sets of wrasses have done this in a 4 week period. Maybe my christmas wrasses will have a go next...who knows.

Paul, I have to say (as far as I've known) welcome to the "industry first" club. I can't find a single account of either Yellow Coris Wrasse, Six Line Wrasse, or Four Line Wrasse ever reported to breed in captivity. Here is a very long list of breedable fish, and only two wrasses are on there: Hogfish and Multicolorfin Wrasse.

http://www.rcthawaii.com/cvb/5.htm

if i got to look at Paul's tank everyday i would spawn too!!!!

i have 3 cleaner shrimp, two of which are constantly carrieing eggs, if i were a guru i would try to raise the larve but have no idea on how and whats going on.

congrats Paul, maybe you will find a few in your sump of fuge that made it!

According to this site, http://www.timstropicals.com/Saltwat...se/SixLine.asp , and here, http://animal-world.com/encyclo/mari...LineWrasse.php , breeding Six Line Wrasse in captivity is not yet documented.

...and here; http://www.centralpets.com/animals/f...h/swf2346.html
"There is currently no special breeding information in our databases for this animal. To submit breeding / propagation information that is specific to this animal please click here"

Same thing with Four Line Wrasses

Yellow Wrasses are also not reported to have bred in captivity: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...nftt/index.php
"Halichoeres chrysus (“Yellow Coris Wrasse”) – no confirmed spawning to date, but they do feed together and even though both are still very immature, one has already started displaying ”male” markings (red and green striping on the face and fins) and “flashes” often in the other’s presence."

I forgot to mention, that the male had changed color as well....he has the red and green flashes on his face. That change was almost coincident with the spawning.

Maybe you'll get a 10line wrasse from them :D

paul, if you ever want to try and catch some of those yellow wrasse eggs next time, I'd love to try and see what I can do with em. Not sure how they would handle relocation or anything, but man it would be cool to try. I'll want my Kreisel finished first, I think that would be the better way to go. Let me know if you are interested in a joint effort here.

Agreed. I'm up for attempting to raise them as well. As horrible as it sounds, as long as I can get a single one to adulthood, I would be happy.

paul, travis i have one yellow wrasse that has the green and red on the face and tail. are they not supposed to have these markings unless they are ready to spawn? mine changed colors on me a month or so ago. its a totally different color from when i bought it?

It's most likely just signalling that it is a male that is old enough to spawn. There are lots of animals in the animal kingdom that show visual outward signs of reproductive readiness as they grow older. You also have to remember that most fish that you find in the aquarium industry are VERY young, and most aren't sexually active yet.

Jpitts, keep me in mind if you ever decide to get rid of him. I've got only my one and after seeing Paul W's pair, I decided that it's another "pair" I want for my system. If coloring is an indication of sex in the older specimens, I may very well have a female, no red or green at all, and it's quite a bit bigger than the ones Paul has.

mine is probally 4 and a half to five inches and has beautifull orange and green stripes all the way down its body and through its tail. i have a peice for a digital camera (5.0 megapixels) so i cant zoom in and show you the colors. i need to get a better digital camera. if you really have to have it i will let you just to help the club and your project out, just as long as you replace it with another.

:D PM sent Jpitts. Lets discuss this one further.

Thats what i thought, As I said I was hesitant to post, but the pictures of the yellows wrasse really do show her with egss as opposed to fat from feeding.

When the six line spawned I had not actually fed the tank that day, so I know that was the case there as well. Their behaviour is very much different on the spawning night and all the other fish know food is about to appear.

I will try and video it next time (if there is a next time)...

In these pictures, it almost looks like there are eggs in the water column.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...lowwrasse4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...w/sixline1.jpg

I suggest Paul have us all over for happy hour and spawn watching at approximately 1 hour before his lights go off. Chairs lined up with spawning voyeurs, wine or beer in hands. Then Paul taking a bow for his fish after the show...name the date...I'm there. A little cheese platter would be nice too.

I have always said if you provide the correct environment, fish will spawn. Congrats Paul on providing a wonderful ecosystem for your fish and inverts!

It's kinda hard to tell from those pictures people, but I saw that yellow wrasse in person with a little potbelly on her last time I was over there. She was simply radiant! :D

Paul, a video would be AWESOME!!!

Last night as I was cleaning the front acrylic I noticed the sixline was doing her potbellied mating dance again and the 8 line was flashing.....

well.....I also had fresh batteries in my camera so i managed to get a mini video of the whole event and actually recorded the spawning. I have yet to upload the video, but the female led the male upwards then they both broke the surface, almost leaping from the tank.....and then they split apart and went their separate ways. Im unsure if you can see any eggs at all, but she was a whole lot slimmer after that event, so the eggs went somewhere...maybe trapped in the surface tension of the water.

Ill upload the video later today and see what it looks like.

paul.

Awesome!!!