Orange Back Fairy Wrasse

Orange Back Fairy Wrasse, Cirrhilabrus aurantidorsalis, are undeniable attractive fish. Making them highly desirable in trade.

They have incredibly fetching, deep purple bodies. A magenta stripe drapes across their face, under their bright eye. True to the name, they have a gorgeous rich orange back. Their fins are large and translucent with blue hues to them.

Orange Back Fairy Wrasse, Cirrhilabrus aurantidorsalis, Ecology.

These beautiful fish live around Indonesia, in the 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, Orange Back 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, Orange Back Fairy Wrasse live in groups with one male to a few or more females. Dominant males trigger 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 get a jump guard to stop any unfortunate mishaps.

Orange Back Fairy Wrasse do best when fed a varied diet. They will accept enriched frozen mysis shrimp and enriched frozen brine shrimp. They will also eat 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.