Radiant Wrasse

Halichoeres iridis

Also known as Orangehead Wrasse, Iridis Wrasse, Radiant Africa Wrasse

SaltwaterFish

Radiant Wrasse (Halichoeres iridis) — Dieter Karner · CC BY 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–79°F (22–26°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 4.5 in (11.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 75 gal (284 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Western Indian Ocean reefs, East Africa to the Chagos Archipelago
Family: Labridae

Overview

Peaceful toward tankmates and its own kind, it can often be kept in small groups where most Halichoeres cannot, and it never touches corals or large invertebrates, though it will pick off small feather dusters, tubeworms, and ornamental shrimp along with the fireworms and pyramidellid snails it is valued for controlling. Only add it to a fully cycled, established tank with a healthy population of copepods, since newly imported fish often refuse anything but live food at first and are easily lost to stress during shipping and acclimation. Feed small meals of mysis, brine shrimp, and vitamin-soaked frozen foods several times a day once it is established, and keep the lid sealed since it jumps.

In the wild

Endemic to the western Indian Ocean, from the East African coast south to Natal and out to Madagascar, the Seychelles, and the Chagos Archipelago, where it lives on steep seaward reefs of sand and rubble at 6–43 m. It needs an established tank of at least 284 litres (75 gallons) with a fine sand bed at least 7.5 cm deep to dive into, since like other Halichoeres it sleeps and hides by burying itself. A tight-fitting lid is required, as it jumps well.

Good to know

Halichoeres iridis is a protogynous hermaphrodite: fish mature first as females or initial-phase males, and the most dominant individual can change into a terminal-phase male with an orange-yellow head grading to red near the gills, a black spot behind the eye, and a dark body crossed with green, magenta, and pink stripes. Adults reach about 11.5 cm. It is noticeably more delicate than hardier Halichoeres relatives like the melanurus wrasse, with far less tolerance for swings in water quality.

Did you know

Radiant wrasses ship and acclimate so poorly that most retailers list them as an expert-only fish; the usual trick for getting a new arrival eating is to offer live saltwater feeder shrimp or copepods straight from a refugium, since a fish that refuses frozen food in its first days will often still snap at something moving.