Christmas Wrasse

Halichoeres ornatissimus

Also known as Ornate Wrasse, Ornamented Wrasse, Hawaiian Christmas Wrasse

SaltwaterFish

Christmas Wrasse (Halichoeres ornatissimus) — Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–79°F (22–26°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 5.9 in (15 cm)
Minimum tank: 70 gal (265 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Common
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Indo-Pacific reefs, from the Cocos and Christmas Islands to Hawaii and the Tuamotu Islands, north to southern Japan, south to the Great Barrier Reef
Family: Labridae

Overview

One of the hardier, more adaptable Halichoeres wrasses, generally peaceful with other fish but noticeably more assertive toward other wrasses than most of its relatives, so add more timid wrasse species first if mixing them. It is reef safe and earns its keep hunting fireworms and pyramidellid snails that prey on corals and clams, though it cannot tell a pest snail from an ornamental one and may pick off small hermit crabs and shrimp along the way. Feed a varied diet of mysis, brine shrimp, and other small meaty foods a few times a day.

In the wild

Found on reef flats and slopes across much of the Indo-Pacific, from the Cocos and Christmas Islands to Hawaii and the Tuamotu Islands, north to southern Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef, typically at 10–40 m. It needs at least 265 litres (70 gallons) with open sand at least 5–7.5 cm deep to dive into, since it buries itself both to sleep at night and to escape anything that startles it during the day. A tight fitting lid matters here too, since it will find any gap and jump.

Good to know

Halichoeres ornatissimus is a protogynous hermaphrodite. Terminal phase males show a green body crossed with broken red stripes and a pale belly with a black spot at the center of the dorsal fin, females have red-edged green scales along the upper body and a green stripe running from the eye to the base of the tail, and juveniles are black with yellow stripes and two blue-centered eyespots on the dorsal fin. Adults reach about 15 cm.

Did you know

The name Christmas wrasse gets used loosely in the aquarium trade. Hawaii's dive and fish community applies it to this species, but a few other brightly colored Indo-Pacific wrasses go by the same nickname elsewhere, so the scientific name Halichoeres ornatissimus is the only sure way to know which fish is actually being sold.