Labout’s Fairy Wrasse Male

Labout’s Fairy Wrasse Male, Cirrhilabrus labouti make wonderful additions to marine tanks.

These are fantastic fish. They have multicoloured backs which are nicely offset by their pale purple and white bellies. The wrasse display vibrant red, pink, orange and purple stripes. Dusky blue blemishes cover their head and underline their gill. Fins are transparent with yellow, red and blue hues. Male and female Labout’s Fairy Wrasse look very much alike, although the male will brighten up when courting.

Labout’s Fairy Wrasse Male, Cirrhilabrus labouti, Ecology.

These beautiful fish live around Australia and Melanesia, in the Western Central 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, Labout’s Fairy 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, Labout’s Fairy 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.

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.

Labout’s Fairy Wrasse Male 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.