Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse

Common name: Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse, Striped Lubbock's Wrasse, Flameback Fairy Wrasse, Tricolor Fairy Wrase
Scientific name: Cirrhilabrus lubbocki
Max size: 3 in / 7.5 cm
pH: 8.1-8.4
Salinity: 1.020-1.025
Temperature: 72-78ºF (22-26°C)

Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse is a small cheap fairy wrasse that is suitable for beginners who want to try to keep wrasses or saltwater fish in general. It is not only their size and price that makes them suitable for beginners but also their friendly disposition and the fact that they are quite hardy.

Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse is not as colorful and spectacular as some other fairy wrasses but it is still a very beautiful and colorful fish. The males are red with a yellow field on the upper part of the body and the dorsal fin. The pelvic and anal fins are also yellow. The tip of the tailfin is usually blue.  Males also often show blue, brown, and white.

Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse is found in the waters of Indonesia, Palau, and the Philippines.

This species is as earlier mentioned easy to care for and very suitable for a reef community tank. They are 100% reef safe. They are somewhat timid and should not be kept with aggressive fish. They will not bother any other fish. Male Lubbock's fairy wrasses are more tolerant towards other male specimens of the same species than other fairy wrasses are and it is often possible to keep a small group with several males in the same tank. It should however be said that some male Lubbock's fairy wrasse don't tolerate other males in the tank at all and you can never be 100% sure that you will be able to keep a group of them even if it usually is possible.

Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse care and aquarium setup:

Lubbock's fairy wrasse can be kept in a 30 gallon / 120 L aquarium but I recommend at least a 40 gallon / 150 L aquarium if you want to keep a group of Lubbock's fairy wrasses in it. It can be kept in both reef aquariums and fish only tanks.  It is important to give them a lot of hiding places among rocks. They become very shy if they are not given enough hiding places. They can sometimes be very reclusive during the first few weeks after they have been introduced to a new tank. This is normal and does not mean that you have too few hiding places in your tank. They will never bother other animals in a reef tank. They want a lot of light but want there to be a few shaded places as well where they can rest way from the light.  Lubbock's fairy wrasse prefers a well circulated aquarium with some calmer areas.

Ideal water conditions for Lubbock's fairy wrasse are pH 8.1-8.4, salinity 1.020-1.025, and temperature 72-78ºF (22-26°C).

Introduce females at the same time or before the male. If you don't, the male might become very aggressive towards the new female. The risk for this and that the aggression should be serious enough to harm the female or prevent her from acclimatizing to the tank is less than for most other fairy wrasses but still large enough to make it prudent to advice against it.

Feeding Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse

They are carnivores and Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse should therefore be given a varied protein rich diet. They are usually easy to feed and most specimens can be trained to accept flake food. It is important to feed them several times a day. This is especially true with young specimens which can be very sensitive if they don't get fed often enough. I recommend a varied diet consisting of high quality marine flake food, shredded sea food, and live food.

Breeding Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse

Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse is as most other fairy wrasses easy to sex as the females are less colorful and often smaller than males. Lubbock's Fairy Wrasses are protogynous hermaphrodites which mean that all fish are born females and the dominant ones then develop into males when necessary. Almost all the collected fish are male and females are rare in the trade. It is however often possible to order females which are then collected for you. If you are lucky you might find females in your local fish store.

This is an egg laying species. In the wild, they likely spawn in groups or harems and keeping a harem with one male and several females or a group with several males and a larger number females is likely a good idea if you want to try to breed Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse. Keep them well fed on a varied diet and the water quality perfect. Their colors become more vivid as they prepare to spawn. We have no specific info regarding successful spawnings of Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse in aquariums.

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
Scott's Fairy Wrasse – Cirrhilabrus scottorum
Solar Fairy Wrasse – Cirrhilabrus solorensis

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