Common name: Exquisite Fairy Wrasse, Exquisite Wrasse, Emerald Fairy Wrasse
Scientific name: Cirrhilabrus exquisitus
Max size: 6 in / 15 cm
pH: 8.1-8.4
Salinity: 1.020-1.025
Temperature: 72-78ºF (22-26°C)

Exquisite fairy wrasse is not as common as some other fairy wrasses in the trade but is becoming increasingly more popular. Their steadily increasing popularity is not hard to understand when you see one as they are very beautiful. The males display a wide variety of colors on a green body with a pinkish/reddish head and a white lower part of the body. Different specimens show different exact colorations but blue, orange, pink, purple, red, and yellow are all common colors in this species. Exquisite fairy wrasse can be found from around 50$ in the United States and online.

The Exquisite fairy wrasse originates from the Indian and Pacific Ocean. It can be found along Africa's east cost down to South Africa, and eastwards to the Tuamoto Islands in French Polynesia.

The Exquisite fairy wrasse is harder to care for than many other fairy wrasses and can only be recommended to advanced saltwater fish keepers. They are more sensitive and have higher demands on their owners and the water quality than some of the other common fairy wrasses.

The Exquisite fairy wrasse is friendly towards most other fish but can be aggressive towards some species of dottybacks, basslets and longfins. Males are aggressive towards other males. Only keep one male in the same tank unless you have a very large aquarium (at least 240 gallon / 100 L).

Exquisite Fairy Wrasse care and aquarium setup:

This reef safe species can be kept in a 30 gallon tank / 120 L, but a 40 gallon / 150 L tank is better suited for the task. The Exquisite fairy wrasse is best kept in a reef aquarium with lots of hiding places among corals and live rock. They never touch corals, anemones or other reef inhabitants. This usually flamboyant fish becomes shy if it is not given enough hiding places in the tank. They want a lot of light with a few shaded/darker places to retreat to. Exquisite fairy wrasse can also be kept in a fish only aquarium with or without live rock as long as plenty of hiding places are provided. It is important to keep the water quality high and stable. They prefer a well circulated tank with some calmer areas to rest in.

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

Males can be very aggressive towards females if they are introduced after the male. You should therefore always introduce Exquisite fairy wrasse females before or at the same time as the male.

Feeding Exquisite Fairy Wrasse

The Exquisite Fairy Wrasse is easy to feed and can often be trained to accept flake food even if it always prefers live food and chopped sea food. A proper diet is important when keeping this species as especially young specimens can be quite sensitive if they don't get enough food or aren't fed often enough. Feed them 3-4 times a day if possible. Don't overfeed. They do well on a varied diet consisting of flake food, live food, frozen food, and chopped sea food.

Breeding Exquisite Fairy Wrasse

The Exquisite Fairy Wrasse is a protogynous hermaphrodite which means that all specimens are born females and the dominant ones then turn into males when a need for males arises. Exquisite fairy wrasse is easy to sex as males are much more colorful and often larger than females. We have no confirmed information on how to breed this species in aquariums, but many fairy wrasses a spawn in harems in the wild so it might be good to keep a harem with one male and several females if you want to try to spawn this egg laying species. Females are rare in the trade but your local fish store should be able to order females for you if you want them. You might have to wait 1-2 months for delivery, sometimes more. You should keep them well fed on a varied diet if you want to get them into spawning condition. Perfect water quality and good water circulation with calmer areas is likely required as well.

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:
Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse – Cirrhilabrus lubbocki
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