Blue Flasher Wrasse (Paracheilinus cyaneus) Care Guide
Paracheilinus cyaneus is a marine flasher wrasse from Indonesia, where displaying males show an intense turquoise hue over the head and back.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Paracheilinus cyaneus is a reef-associated wrasse of the family Labridae. FishBase records it from Indonesia in the Western Central Pacific. During the climax of courtship, males show a strong turquoise hue over the head, anterior body and back, extending onto the dorsal fin.
Taxonomy
- Family: Labridae
- Genus: Paracheilinus
- Scientific name: Paracheilinus cyaneus
Habitat
FishBase records the species from Indonesia, in sheltered reefs with mixed low corals and algae-rubble, at depths of 6-20 metres.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 200 L
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- dKH: 8-12
- Lifespan: 4-6 years
Diet
The species is carnivorous, with a FishBase trophic level of 3.4. Like other flasher wrasses it feeds on small planktonic and benthic invertebrates.
Compatibility
FishBase reports that it lives in small mixed-sex groups in which females substantially outnumber males. It is a peaceful, reef-safe species best kept away from aggressive damselfishes.
Breeding
FishBase reports the species is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding. Displaying males intensify their turquoise coloration during courtship.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern (assessed 25 March 2009), as reported by FishBase. The species shows high resilience and low fishing vulnerability.
Breeding the Blue Flasher Wrasse (Paracheilinus cyaneus)
Overview
Paracheilinus cyaneus (Kuiter & Allen, 1999) is a flasher wrasse of the family Labridae from the Western Central Pacific around Indonesia, inhabiting sheltered reefs with mixed low corals and algae-rubble at depths of about 6 to 20 m (FishBase). It reaches around 7 cm total length and occurs in small mixed-sex groups in which females greatly outnumber males. It is oviparous and spawns into open water rather than tending eggs.
Sexing
Like all flasher wrasses, the species is a protogynous sequential hermaphrodite: every fish begins as a female and the dominant female of a group later changes into a functional male (Reef Builders). FishBase records groups of mixed sexes in which females greatly outnumber males. Terminal males are larger and far more colourful, especially when displaying, so reliable sexing rests on the active male within a harem.
Conditioning
Flasher wrasses are zooplankton feeders, so reproductive condition depends on frequent small feedings of meaty marine foods to fuel the demanding daily flashing display. No captive conditioning protocol has been established because the fish is not bred in aquaria; in practice well-fed males in a stable mature system flash and spawn most reliably.
Breeding Setup
Natural reproduction occurs in harems of one male with several females over sheltered reef and rubble that give the male open space to display. No documented home setup produces fry, because the eggs are broadcast into the water column and are normally lost to filtration or predation before they can be collected.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
Toward dusk the male performs the genus's flashing display, intensifying his colours into near-fluorescent metallic blue hues, flicking and flaring all fins and swimming in rapid bursts to court the female group and ward off rivals, the heightened colour lasting only a few seconds per wave (Reef Builders). Spawning then follows as a quick paired ascent into open water, and flashers are notably messy spawners that may release gametes near females of other species.
Egg & Fry Care
The eggs are buoyant and pelagic, given no parental care, and they hatch into tiny planktonic larvae that feed on minute zooplankton. Rearing such larvae requires dense live-food cultures and managed larval tanks, which is why flasher-wrasse fry are essentially unreared by hobbyists and only sporadically produced in research work.
Common Challenges
The obstacles are biological: minute pelagic eggs lost to filtration or predation, first-feeding larvae that need foods finer than ordinary rotifers, the need for a stable male-led harem, and the messy multi-species spawning typical of the genus. The species therefore stays a wild-collected reef fish, with a realistic aquarium goal of a healthy display harem rather than reproduction.