TankBud

Carpenter's flasher wrasse

Paracheilinus carpenteri

Also known as Carpenter flasher wrasse, Redfin flasher wrasse, Carpenter's wrasse

SaltwaterFish

Carpenter's flasher wrasse (Paracheilinus carpenteri)
Gdiggers · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
73–81°F
23–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
3.1 in
8 cm
Minimum tank
53 gal
200 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Labridae
Origin
Western Pacific reefs around the Philippines, Indonesia, and nearby waters

Overview

The Carpenter's flasher wrasse is a peaceful, colorful reef wrasse for the middle of a reef tank. It is one of the easier flasher wrasses to keep.

Did you know

The Carpenter's flasher wrasse takes its flasher name from the courtship display. The male suddenly intensifies his color and snaps his fins open to signal the females, most dramatically in the day's last light.

Caring for the Carpenter's flasher wrasse

Give Carpenter's flasher wrasses a reef tank of at least 53 gal (200 L), with live rock for shelter and plenty of open water. A tight lid is essential, since flasher wrasses jump readily. They swim actively in the middle of the tank.

Hold stable marine water at 73 to 81°F (23 to 27°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. These active fish eat frequently. Feed small meaty foods like mysis and enriched brine shrimp two or three times a day, plus marine flake and pellet.

The Carpenter's flasher wrasse is peaceful toward tank mates and suits a mixed peaceful community. It is fully reef safe and ignores corals, though a very hungry one may take the odd tiny invertebrate. It does fine alone, but a group shows it best, typically one male with several females introduced first. With only one male, it stays peaceful toward its own kind too.

Males are marked with red, orange and blue and have extended dorsal fin rays that they raise during their display. The display male is far more colorful than the females and subadults, and a lone male often stays comparatively drab. It is only very rarely bred in captivity, so trade fish are wild-caught.

Good to know

The Carpenter's flasher wrasse is a flasher wrasse in the family Labridae. Like other wrasses, it is a protogynous hermaphrodite, so females can change into males. It also goes by Carpenter flasher wrasse and redfin flasher wrasse.

In the wild

Carpenter's flasher wrasses live on western Pacific reefs around the Philippines and Indonesia, gathering in groups over rubble and reef slopes. They are active midwater fish that hover and dart above the rock, feeding on drifting zooplankton.

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Tank mates

The Carpenter's flasher wrasse is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a Carpenter's flasher wrasse need?

A Carpenter's flasher wrasse needs at least 53 gal (200 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a Carpenter's flasher wrasse need?

A Carpenter's flasher wrasse is comfortable at 73–81°F (23–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a Carpenter's flasher wrasse eat?

A Carpenter's flasher wrasse eats small meaty foods like mysis and enriched brine shrimp, plus marine flake and pellet. Feed it two or three times a day, since it eats frequently.

How big does a Carpenter's flasher wrasse get?

An adult Carpenter's flasher wrasse reaches about 3.1 in (8 cm).

How can you tell a male Carpenter's flasher wrasse from a female?

Males are marked with red, orange and blue and raise extended dorsal fin rays in their display. The display male is far more colorful than the females and subadults.

Related species