Yellow Coris Wrasse (Halichoeres chrysus) Care Guide
A bright canary-yellow wrasse that is one of the best beginner marine wrasses. Hardy, peaceful, and reef-safe. Buries itself in sand to sleep at night and when stressed.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Halichoeres chrysus is a species in the family Labridae. A bright canary-yellow wrasse that is one of the best beginner marine wrasses. Hardy, peaceful, and reef-safe. Buries itself in sand to sleep at night and when stressed. Excellent at hunting flatworms and small pests in reef tanks.
Taxonomy
- Family: Labridae
- Genus: Halichoeres
- Scientific name: Halichoeres chrysus
- Other names: Golden Wrasse, Canary Wrasse
- Origin: Indo-Pacific
Habitat
Distributed across the western and central Pacific from Indonesia and the Philippines east to the Marshall Islands, on rubble and sand patches at the base of coral reefs at depths of 2-60 m. Picks small invertebrates from the substrate and dives into the sand to sleep and escape predators.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 150 L
- Temperature: 24-27 °C
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- GH: 8-12 °dGH
- Water flow: moderate
- Adult size: 8-12 cm
- Lifespan: 5-8 years
- Difficulty: beginner
Diet
Classified as carnivore. Recommended feeding frequency: 2x daily. In captivity, offer a varied diet appropriate to the species — quality prepared foods supplemented with frozen or live items of suitable size.
Compatibility
- Temperament: peaceful
- Swimming level: middle
- Compatible tank mates: Clownfish, Firefish Goby, Royal Gramma, Tangs
- Avoid with: Other Small Wrasses, Aggressive Fish
Reef compatibility
Generally classified as reef-safe: does not feed on stony or soft corals, tridacnid clams or ornamental shrimps under normal conditions.
Breeding
- Breeding strategy: egg-scatterer
- Breeding difficulty: advanced
Yellow Coris Wrasse Breeding Guide
Overview
The yellow coris wrasse (Halichoeres chrysus) inhabits the tropical and subtropical central Indo-Pacific, from Christmas Island and Indonesia through Japan, the Rowley Shoals, New South Wales, Tonga and the Solomon Islands. It is found on outer reef slopes and in rubble and sandy areas from the surface to about 30 m. Home breeding is not established; the following describes wild reproductive biology. As a benthic predator it feeds mainly on small marine invertebrates such as crustaceans, molluscs, worms and echinoderms.
Sexing
The species is a protogynous hermaphrodite: individuals start life as females and can become male later. Reliable visual sexing is not described in the available source for the smaller, female-phase fish typically sold.
Conditioning
There is no documented home conditioning protocol. The fish lives in small groups in the wild, a social structure consistent with the haremic mating typical of the family.
Spawning Behaviour & Trigger
As a member of the family Labridae, this wrasse is a broadcast spawner that releases planktonic eggs into the water column; the eggs are dispersed by currents and adults give no parental care. Within the family, juveniles are initial-phase individuals and dominant adults become terminal-phase males.
Egg & Fry Care
The eggs and resulting larvae are pelagic and drift in open water, so there is no nest or brood to tend and no practical means of rearing the planktonic larvae in a reef aquarium.
Common Challenges
Although hardy and beginner-friendly to keep, the combination of a broadcast-spawning strategy and unrearable pelagic larvae means intentional reproduction is not achievable for home aquarists.