Red Line Rainbow Wrasse - Medium

Red Line Rainbow Wrasse

The Red Line Rainbow Wrasse has a long silver-grey body with red horizontal stripes running down its side. It also has spines located on its fins which cannot be seen unless raised when shocked or frightened. The females of the species have a slightly more orange shade of stripe with 2 false eyes which fade as the fish progresses through adulthood.

No known success has been had when attempting to breed this species in captivity.

The Red Line Rainbow Wrasse is so popular in fact that even in the wild other species will attempt to mimic it. Juvenile slender groupers will have the same patterns and behave similarly to the wrasse in order to trick prey into approaching what seems like another harmless fish before attacking them.

This species of wrasse can be found all over the western region of the Pacific Ocean from Indonesia and the Philippines through to Australia and Japan. They usually inhabit coral and rock reefs that contain sand patches but have also been seen in reef slopes and even amongst the seaweed. They hang around in small groups at depths of up to 35 meters.

Tank Recommendations for the Red Line Rainbow Wrasse

The smallest tank size required for these fish is 190 liters. As with a lot of other species of wrasse these guys like to burrow at night and when scared so make sure to provide a deep enough sand substrate to allow them to do this. A depth of around 2 inches should be enough. Live rock isn't essential, but they will be much happier with the shelter that it provides. Red Line Rainbow Wrasse are accomplished jumpers so a tight-fitting aquarium lid is a must. Make sure to have strong filtration as due to the wrasses increased feeding intervals there may be debris leftover from other fish.

Suitable Tank Buddies

Although this is a relatively peaceful species of wrasse they do occasionally show sporadic signs of aggression and as such tank buddies that are easily bullied or slow-moving should not even be considered. Keeping them with another wrasse may also be problematic. Perhaps not at first but they can suddenly decide they hate each other so be prepared with a second aquarium if this happens.

Usually Compatible

Large Angelfish, Boxfish, and Tangs would be an excellent choice to keep together with these fish as they are big enough and boisterous enough not to get bullied easily by the wrasse. Another great option for tank buddies would be Damsels or Fancy Damsels as these too can hold their own against them.

Sometime Compatible

Pufferfish, Parrotfish, and Snappers can be kept together but they should be watched carefully. Other species that need a close eye kept on them when combining with this species are Groupers, Gobies, and Clownfish. Anglerfish, Eels, and Lionfish may also be housed together as long as they aren't big enough to see the wrasse as prey.

Rarely Compatible

They can see certain crustaceans and invertebrates as prey so they should be wisely avoided. Sharks will presume the wrasse is an appetizer so keep those out too. Pipefish and Seahorses will more than likely not be able to compete for food and as such should not be added to the tank either.

Feeding Your Red Line Rainbow Wrasse

This species is mainly carnivorous but it has been observed eating nori seaweed. In the aquarium, you should provide it with a diet consisting of a variety of meaty foods such as mysis or brine shrimp, chopped shrimp, and thawed marine preparations. Due to their small stomachs, they need 3 feedings a day as they cannot hold much and will suffer from malnutrition if not fed so frequently. The wrasse will actively hunt any copepods that exist in the tank as well as consume zooplankton.