Earlei Wrasse

Earlei Wrasse, Cirrhilabrus earlei, also go by the name Orange Striped Wrasse.

They make fantastic occupants to a marine tank, thanks to their stunning looks. Earlei Wrasse have beautiful, pink and orange bodies, decorated with deep purple stripes. They also have an adorable purple chin strap marking. Deep purple rays are visible through translucent fins.

Earlei Wrasse, Cirrhilabrus earlei, Ecology.

These beautiful fish come from Palau and Micronesia, in the Western Central Pacific Ocean.

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, Earlei Wrasse find a nook they like. They then envelope 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, Earlei Wrasse live in groups with one male to a few or more females. Dominant males instigate spawning by preforming their courtship display. 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.

Orange Striped Wrasse in the Aquarium.

It is important to imitate the natural environment by providing plenty of nooks and crannies for the wrasse to hide in. Hobbyists should invest in a jump guard to prevent any unfortunate mishaps.

Earlei Wrasse 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.