Although many people prefer having dogs or cats as pets, collecting fish is also a viable option. What is more, this activity sometimes extends far beyond the purposes of being a domesticated animal owner. It can become a full-blown hobby based on integrating exotic fish into your household. And by far the most popular addition to any aquarium is the melanurus wrasse.

If you have been considering brightening up your fish tank recently with this colorful little swimmer, it’s important to find out how to care for melanurus wrasse. Just like any other species, it has its own specific needs that need to be respected so that it can lead a happy and healthy life in your home.

But before you establish a dedicated nurture regimen, it’s also necessary to become knowledgeable regarding the species. This will allow you to better understand their maturing process, as well as their needs. Here is everything that you need to know about the melanurus wrasse and how to look after it.

About the Melanurus Wrasse

In the science community, the melanurus wrasse is known as the Halichoeres melanurus, and it is part of a larger family of fish that share similar traits amongst them. Fortunately, it also has plenty of names in the common tongue. It is known as Hoeven’s wrasse, pinstriped wrasse, tail-spot wrasse, three-eyed wrasse, or yellow-tailed wrasse.

The species is native to the western Pacific, starting with the Ryukyu Islands of Japan and ending right at Australia’s Great Barrier reef. Towards the Indian Ocean, it is replaced by another species of haliocheres. It resides mostly in shallow coral reefs and alongside rocky shores, which makes it easy to collect for the aquarium trade.

Like much other fish, the melanurus wrasse changes its colors as it matures, and the palette differs between males and females. Both genders are born bearing salmon pink and green stripes. As they advance in life, their chromatics become brighter and bolder. Thus, the salmon pink on them turns into an eye-catching orange, while the green morphs into turquoise.

The difference between males and females lies in their spotting. On the one hand, males have a dark spot behind their eyes and a brown band that bifurcates towards their tails. On the other hand, females have multiple black spots which are located near their fins. It is a subtle difference, but it allows for quick and easy gender attribution.

They aren’t the largest fish one can own by any means, but their size is considerable when compared to some of their other peers. An adult melanurus wrasse can reach 12 cm or 4.7 inches in length, which is great news if you are looking for a colorful addition to your aquarium that is also visible enough to turn heads in its direction.

How to Care for It

Even though the melanurus wrasse looks incredibly exotic due to its vivid coloring, it is a rather unpretentious fish to care for. This is good news for anyone looking to expand their aquarium with one or more of these little guys because it means that feeding and nurturing them will be an easy process.

First of all, it’s important to note that they aren’t picky eaters. In fact, they will most likely get used to just about any treats you provide for your other fish to munch on. If you have any butterfly fish in there as well, you can provide them and your wrasse with the occasional extravagance of cracking a clam right in the tank.

Watching them tearing it apart can make for an interesting show, as it allows you to observe them in action while behaving as they would in the ocean. Just make sure to thoroughly rinse the shell beforehand so that you don’t risk getting any unwanted dirt or impurities in the tank. This could potentially be detrimental to fish health.

The one thing to keep in mind about the melanurus wrasse is that they are notorious jumpers. For this reason, you might want to cover your aquarium with a lid so that they don’t end up on the carpet by accident. A screen top costs less than 30 dollars nowadays, which is a small price to pay for the safety of your little guys.

Bottom Line

A melanurus wrasse makes a great addition to any collector’s tank. This colorful species of fish looks stunningly exotic but is rather low maintenance. What is more, a wrasse can really put on a show, which will liven up any aquarium.