Common name: Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse, Carpenter's Wrasse, Redfin Flasher Wrasse, pink flasher
Scientific name: Paracheilinus carpenteri
Max size: 3 in / 7.5 cm
pH: 8.1-8.4
Salinity: 1.020-1.025
Temperature: 72-78ºF (22-26°C)

Carpenter's flasher wrasse is a colorful little fish that makes a wonderful addition to any reef community. It is a very popular species and one of the most commonly available flasher wrasse species. It is often available in the trade and if your store don't have Carpenter's flasher wrasse in stock they can likely order it for you. You can also order it yourself online.

The Carpenter's flasher wrasse has a red/orange body white blue narrow stripe that run across more or less the entire body. The fins are red with blue edges except for the dorsal fins that is more orange with red edges.

Carpenter's flasher wrasse is a friendly species that can be kept with most friendly species in a community reef aquarium. It should not be kept with large wrasses or aggressive fish.  You can keep a harem of Carpenter's flasher wrasses in the same tank, but you should only keep one male in each tank unless the aquarium is very big. You should also avoid males of other flasher wrasse species.

If you want to keep a Carpenter's flasher wrasse harem in your aquarium you should introduce all of them into the tank at the same time. If this is not possible, you should introduce the females before the male. Once the females are introduced you will have to introduce the male within a limited amount of time or the dominant female may turn into a male (read more about this under the breeding header).

The Carpenter's flasher wrasse is reef save and will not hurt ornamental invertebrates such as shrimps.

The Carpenter's flasher wrasse should be allowed 4 hours to acclimatize before being released into a new tank. They are usually very shy the first few days after being introduced to a new aquarium, so don’t be surprised if you don't see them for a couple of days.

The Carpenter's flasher wrasse originates from the western part of the Indian Ocean and the Malay Archipelago.

Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse care and aquarium setup:

Carpenter's flasher wrasses are small and can be kept in small aquariums. A single Carpenter's flasher wrasse can be kept in a 10 gallon / 40 L aquarium even if I personally think twice that size is to be preferred. If you want to keep a harem I recommend an aquarium no smaller than 30 gallon / 120 L.

Carpenter's flasher wrasses can be quite shy and it is important to decorate the aquarium in such a way that they feel safe. If they don't feel safe they will become very shy and you will hardly even see them and that is a shame for a fish as beautiful as this one. Carpenter's flasher wrasse prefers an aquarium with an at least 2 in / 5 cm thick layer of fine grained sand on the bottom. 

The aquarium should be decorated with live rock in such a way that a lot of suitably sized hiding places are created in caves, among rocks and under overhangs.

The aquarium should be well lit but Carpenter's flasher wrasse prefers if there are a few shaded areas in the aquarium for it to retreat into when it wants to rest. The water should be well circulated with a few places that are protected from the current.

Carpenter's flasher wrasse is just like all other flasher wrasses a very good jumper and it is important that you cover your aquarium well to prevent them from jumping out of the aquarium and die on the floor. Remember that they can jump out of even the smallest opening. Jumping is a common cause of death in aquarium kept specimens, but it can be easily prevented by using a secure lid.  

Ideal conditions for Carpenter's flasher wrasse is pH 8.1-8.4, salinity 1.020-1.025, and temperature 72-78ºF (22-26°C).

Feeding Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse

Carpenter's flasher wrasse feeds on zooplankton in the wild and needs to be provided small food in the aquarium. They are relatively easy to feed and can be fed a diet consisting of frozen food such as brine shrimp and daphnia as well as finely chopped shrimp, crab meat and mussels. Some specimens (but not all) accept flake food. Feed your Carpenter's flasher wrasse 3-4 times a day.

Breeding Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse

Carpenter's flasher wrasse is a protogynous hermaphrodite which means that all fish are born as females. They live in harems with one dominate male and several females. A group can also contain subordinate males. When the dominant male dies, the dominant female develops into a male. (Unless there are subordinate males, in that case one of them becomes the dominant male.) This means that if you buy a group of juvenile Carpenter's flasher wrasse you are bound to get a harem. Sexing Carpenter's flasher wrasse is not always easy, but males are larger and more colorful than females.

Carpenter's flasher wrasses are egg scatterers that release their eggs in open water. During the mating, the male Carpenter's flasher wrasse follows the female around in a sort of a dance. Both fish then dart upwards into the water column where eggs and milt are released. They then quickly return to the bottom. Eggs and larvae drift freely in the water. When the fry start swimming they make their way down to the bottom.

Carpenter's flasher wrasses are very hard to breed in home aquariums but will sometimes spawn spontaneously in large public aquariums. If you want to breed Carpenter's flasher wrasse you likely need a big aquarium that is large enough to allow them to perform their spawning behavior. It is important that the aquarium is high. 

Wrasse Articles:

Bird Wrasse – Gomphosus varius
Dragon Wrasse  - Novaculichthys taeniourus
Harliquin Tuskfish – Coerodon fasciatus
Hogfish - Information about Hogfish
Neon Wrasse – Halichoeres melanurus
Ornate Wrasse – Halichoeres ornatissimus
Queen Coris – Coris frerei
Radient Wrasse – Halichoeres iridis
Spanish Hogfish – Bodianus rufus
Striated Wrasse – Pseudocheilinus evanidus
Yellow Coris – Halichoeres chrysus

Line Wrasses:
Fourline Wrasse – Pseudocheilinus tetrataenia
Sixline Wrasse – Pseudocheilinus hexataenia
Eightline Wrasse – Pseudocheilinus octotaenia

Fairy Wrasses:
Exquisite Fairy Wrasse – Cirrhilabrus exquisitus
Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse – Cirrhilabrus lubbocki
Scott's Fairy Wrasse – Cirrhilabrus scottorum
Solar Fairy Wrasse – Cirrhilabrus solorensis

Flasher Wrasses:
Dot-and-Dash Flasher Wrasse – Paracheilinus lineopunctatus
Filamented Flasher Wrasse – Paracheilinus filamentosus
McCosker's Flasher Wrasse – Paracheilinus mccoskeri