Bird Wrasse

Geographical Origin and Habitat: Widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and the Red Sea. Inhabits coral-rich lagoons and outer reef slopes, incessantly scouring Acropora branches and crevices in search of prey.

Taxonomy and Morphology: Bird Wrasse. Unmistakable wrasse, famous for its exaggeratedly elongated, tubular and curved snout (similar to a bird's beak), developed as tweezers to extract crustaceans from the narrowest coral cracks. Reaches 30 cm (12 inches).

Social Behavior: Frantic, hyperactive and tireless swimmer (uses only pectoral fins for motion, "flying" through the water). Very territorial towards other Wrasses. In nature it lives in harems with a single dominant male and several females.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Radical sexual dichromatism. Females (initial phase) are brownish-black or gray on the lower half and white on the back, with an orange snout. Dominant males (terminal phase) are a dazzling emerald green or deep dark blue.

Aquarium Setup: Given its size and extreme hyperactivity, it requires HUGE marine tanks (minimum 150-180 cm / 5-6 feet in length / 500 liters). Requires porous live rock and wide, very long open swimming spaces. A tight and heavy cover is mandatory: they jump with extreme force.

Diet and Feeding: Voracious carnivore. Extracts prey by shaking its head violently. Will almost immediately accept mysis, krill, brine shrimp, shelled shrimp, clam meat and carnivore pellets. Must be fed abundantly 2-3 times a day to support its crazy metabolism.

Water Quality: Very robust and resistant if the space is adequate. SG 1.020-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4, temperature 24-28°C (75-82°F). Given the amount of food it consumes, the filtration system (Skimmer) must be oversized to handle the heavy organic load.

Compatibility and Cohabitation: NOT Reef-Safe: ignores corals, but will ruthlessly devour ornamental shrimp, snails, crabs, tube worms, starfish and echinoderms. Suitable for large and aggressive Fish-Only-With-Live-Rock (FOWLR) tanks (Triggerfish, Giant Angels, Groupers, Tangs).

Aquarium Breeding: Unknown in the aquarium. They are protogynous hermaphrodites: all individuals are born female and the largest and most dominant undergo a stunning color and morphological mutation transforming into green terminal males.

Risks and Diseases: Head trauma or death from jumping out of the tank is the most common incident, especially if frightened. Insertion in small tanks under 400 liters leads them to get depressed, crash into the glass injuring their long snout or fall ill with marine Ich.