Saltwater Aquarium Wrasses (Labridae)

Coris Clown Wrasses (Coris Angulata)
The Coris clown wrasse grows to 1 m in the wild but does not exceed 30 cm in an aquarium. The juveniles are characterized by their large, red dorsal patches, which fade when they reach a length of 10-15 cm. The adults are a uniform brown-black. Aggressive towards other wrasses, this fish buries itself at night, or when in danger.

Birdmouth Wrasses (Gomphosus Coeruleus)
The birdmouth wrasse can live in couples, but two males will not tolerate each other. it is easy to keep and its feeding poses no special problems. The adult male is green-blue, the female brown-purple.
Size: 30 cm male), 20 cm (female).

Cleaner Wrasses (Labroides Dimidiatus)
The cleaner wrasse, with a reputation for being difficult to acclimatize, lives in couples as an adult. It feeds on live prey and it has a highly distinctive habit: it "cleans" other fish. It puts on a show in a specific part of the tank to attract them, and it then frees them of their external parasites or pieces of dead skin. When there are no males available, a female can change sex. Size: 10 cm.

False Cleaner Wrasses
(Aapidontus Taeniatus)
This is not a Labrid - in fact, it belongs to the Blenniid family -but it closely resembles the true cleaner, although the position of its mouth is different (it is terminal in the true version). It takes advantage of this resemblance by tricking fish into getting cleaned and then tearing off pieces of their skin, or even their branchiae. False cleaners are raised in specific aquariums and fed on crustaceans. On very rare occasions they attack fish belonging to the Labrid family. Size: 10-12 cm.

Red Coris Wrasses (Coris Gaimard)
The adult red coris wrasses sport bright blue dots on a brown-red background; the young are red with white dorsal patches which gradually fade with age. This fish buries itself in the sand, although it is a good swimmer. It feeds on mussels, shrimps, worms, and artificial food.
Size: 20 cm.

Harpfish Wrasses (Bodianus Mesothorax)
The young are brown-black with dark patches on the fins that disappear in the bicolor adult. The harpfish swims continuously, and it must therefore be given a large space with room to move about, although the aquarium must also provide it with shelters. The adults do not tolerate members of their own species. Size: 20 cm.

Harlequin Tusk Wrasses (Lienardella Fasciata)
The Harlequin tusk wrasse, aggressive even toward bigger fish, likes eating mollusks, worms, and crustaceans, and it needs shelters. Size: 15 cm.

Spanish Hogfish Wrasses (Bodianus Rufus)
There is barely any difference between the young and the adults, which are somewhat aggressive. This Spanish hogfish has carnivorous tastes. Size: 25 cm.

Lunar Wrasses (Thalassoma Lunare)
The lunar wrasse is aggressive towards other members of its own species. It is easy to acclimatize, although it requires large open spaces in which it can swim freely. Size: 20 cm.

Red Tail Wrasses (Anampses Chrysocephalus)
The active red tail anampses spends its time looking for food of animal origin. It buries itself in the sand and needs hiding places. The coloring of the young resembles that of the female shown in the photo, but the males are very different. Size: 20 cm.