Scott's Fairy Wrasse

Common name: Scott's Fairy Wrasse, Scott's Velvet Wrasse, Greenback Fairy Wrasse
Scientific name: Cirrhilabrus scottorum
Max size: 5 in / 12.5 cm
pH: 8.1-8.4
Salinity: 1.020-1.025
Temperature: 72-78ºF (22-26°C)

Scott's Fairy Wrasse is a truly stunning fish displaying almost any color you can imagine. It is unfortunately rather expensive and you can only seldom find them for less than close to 100$ in the United States and online. Larger specimens are even more expensive. It is despite the price a very popular aquarium fish among marine aquarists.

Like in all fairy wrasses, only males display the beautiful coloration that has made this species so popular and almost all fish collected are males. They are however protogynous hermaphrodites so it is not 100% correct to speak about true males or females as all fish are born females and then develop into males if conditions are right. The males have a blue green body with a bright red spot in the center. The fins display a lot of color including yellows, pinks, and blues. The peduncle often sports a purple stripe that stretches forward to the red spot. The coloration differs a lot between different specimens and perfect specimens with clearly defined colors and a large red spot can fetch much higher prices than the average Scott's Fairy Wrasse.

Scott's Fairy Wrasse originates from the southern Pacific Ocean where it can be found from the Pitcairn Group to the Great Barrier Reef.

It is an easy to care for fish and Scott's Fairy Wrasse can be a good beginner fish if you disregard the high price. It is reef safe and rather friendly which makes it ideal for a community reef tank. It can be somewhat aggressive toward some species of dottybacks, basslets and longfins. Several females can be kept in the same tank without any problem, but only keep one male unless the aquarium is very large (at least 200 gallon / 750 L).

Scott's Fairy Wrasse care and aquarium setup:

You can keep Scott's Fairy Wrasse in quite small aquariums. A 30 gallon / 120 L is enough.  They do very well in reef aquariums with a lot of hiding places among live rock and corals as well as free open areas to swim in. They can however be kept in "fish only" tanks as long as there are hiding places. They like light but want there to be darker places in the aquarium as well. Keep the water clean and well circulated.

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

If you want to keep several Scott's Fairy Wrasse (one male + several females) you should always introduce the female before or at the same time as the male. Females introduced after the male might not be accepted and can have hard time acclimatizing to their new environment due to aggression from the male.

Feeding Scott's Fairy Wrasse

Scott's Fairy Wrasse is a carnivore and should be given meaty food. They usually accept high quality marine flake food. They should be given a variety of protein rich food and the diet should if possible include frozen and live food. Include chopped up sea food in their diet.  Proper feeding is the single most important factor in keeping Scott's Fairy Wrasse successfully. This is especially true with young specimens that need to be feed several times a day. I recommend feeding 3-4 times a day.

Breeding Scott's Fairy Wrasse

Scott's Fairy Wrasse is easy to sex as females have much duller coloration than males.  Males are also larger and have more elongated fins. The color changes during spawning and become more iridescent. Females are very rare in the trade but it is often possible to order females if you are willing to wait for them. We have no confirmed information about breeding Scott's Fairy Wrasse in aquariums, but most fairy wrasses seem to spawn in harems so it might be good to get several females and one male if you want to try and spawn this species. They are egg layers.

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
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