Bandit Wrasse (Polylepion russelli) Care Guide
Polylepion russelli is a deep-water wrasse of the family Labridae from the North Pacific, a carnivorous reef-associated species recorded at 100-353 m.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Polylepion russelli is a marine wrasse of the family Labridae, named for its pale body and bold dark band across the eyes. FishBase records a maximum total length of 25 cm. It is a deep-water, reef-associated species of the North Pacific.
Taxonomy
- Family: Labridae
- Genus: Polylepion
- Scientific name: Polylepion russelli
- Authority: Gomon & Randall, 1975
Habitat
FishBase records the species from the North Pacific, including Japan and the Hawaiian Islands. It is marine and reef-associated at a depth range of 100-353 m, where FishBase lists a preferred temperature of about 14-24 °C. This is a cool, deep-water environment rather than a shallow tropical reef.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 300 L (79 gal)
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Carbonate hardness: 8-12 °dKH
- Lifespan: 8-15 years
- Setup: sandy substrate with rockwork refuges
Diet
Polylepion russelli is a carnivore, with a FishBase trophic level of about 3.5 based on food items. Captive wrasses of this type require meaty marine foods offered in regular small feedings.
Compatibility
The species is a mid-water swimmer. Given its deep, cool-water origin it is rarely kept and best suited to specialist marine systems with non-aggressive, sturdy tankmates rather than boisterous predators.
Breeding
FishBase records the species as oviparous, forming distinct pairs during breeding. Captive reproduction is not established.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern (assessed 2009), per FishBase, which also notes low vulnerability to fishing pressure.
Bandit Wrasse Breeding Guide (Polylepion russelli)
Overview
The bandit wrasse (Polylepion russelli) is a Labridae wrasse of the subfamily Hypsigenyinae, distributed in the North Pacific around Japan and the Hawaiian Islands. It reaches about 25 cm in total length and is a deep-water, benthopelagic species recorded by FishBase at depths of 100 to 353 m, with a temperature preference centred near 20 degrees Celsius. It carries a pale body with a bold dark band across the eyes.
Sexing
FishBase records the species only as oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding and provides no externally diagnostic dimorphism. Many wrasses are protogynous with sex-linked colour phases, but the consulted source does not document a confirmed sexing key for this species, so reliable visual sexing is not established.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
According to FishBase the species spawns in distinct pairs during the breeding season. As an oviparous, benthopelagic reef wrasse it is a pelagic broadcast spawner, releasing buoyant eggs into the water column that then disperse. No captive spawning trigger is documented, and its deep, cool habitat is difficult to replicate.
Egg & Fry Care
The eggs are pelagic and hatch into planktonic larvae that drift in open water. As with other broadcast-spawning wrasses, this dispersal-larvae strategy is the core barrier to captive rearing; there is no published home-aquarium fry-rearing protocol for the species.
Common Challenges
The deep-water origin (down to 353 m) and cool thermal preference make conditioning adults for spawning impractical in standard tropical systems, and the species rarely enters the trade. Combined with the unreared pelagic larval phase, these factors mean captive breeding has not been achieved.