Yellow Coris Wrasse

Care at a glance

Overview

Peaceful and one of the easier reef wrasses, mixing well with most community fish. It is reef safe with caution: it will not bother corals but it hunts and eats bristle worms, spaghetti worms, feather dusters and other small polychaetes, and may go after tiny ornamental shrimp or snails. It needs a deep fine sand bed to burrow into and a tight lid because it jumps when startled. A useful natural control for pyramidellid snails and flatworms.

In the wild

Found in the tropical Indo-Pacific over sand and rubble at the base of reefs. It is a Halichoeres wrasse that dives into the sand to sleep and to escape danger, so a fine-grained sand bed of at least 5 to 8 cm is a survival requirement, not a preference. It patrols the whole length of the tank all day looking for food among the rock and sand.

Good to know

A member of the family Labridae, genus Halichoeres. Like most wrasses it is a protogynous hermaphrodite, able to change from female to male, and it buries itself in sand at night rather than making a mucus cocoon. It is a diurnal hunter of small benthic invertebrates.

Did you know

Many reefers add a yellow coris wrasse specifically as pest control, because its constant hunting of the rockwork helps knock back nuisance flatworms and the pyramidellid snails that prey on clams.

Related species

• 

  Radiant Wrasse

  Halichoeres iridis

  4.5 in (11.5 cm)75 gal (284 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Adorned Wrasse

  Halichoeres cosmetus

  5.1 in (13 cm)50 gal (190 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Melanurus Wrasse

  Halichoeres melanurus

  5.5 in (14 cm)100 gal (380 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Christmas Wrasse

  Halichoeres ornatissimus

  5.9 in (15 cm)70 gal (265 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Exquisite Fairy Wrasse

  Cirrhilabrus exquisitus

  4.7 in (12 cm)90 gal (340 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Lineatus Fairy Wrasse

  Cirrhilabrus lineatus

  4.7 in (12 cm)90 gal (340 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)