Six Degrees of Amazing
The Six Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinius hexataenia) comes from the family Labridae, better known as simple “wrasses.” The “hexataenia” portion of its scientific name refers to the six, pinkish-orange stripes that run from its tail to its head. The fish starts with a bright green tail, featuring a small metallic blue eyespot, to a blue body, and an orange-pink head with an eye that has stripes continued from its body! The fins are ornately colored in this same scheme as well, but you will only see those when the fish flares their fins in display. The Six Line Wrasse reaches a maximum length of less than four inches, but a fish over three inches would be incredibly rare – making them suitable for a wide range of aquarium sizes!
Six Line Wrasse are wide spread – from the Red Sea to South Africa, across the Indian and South Pacific Oceans, and North as far as Japan. They can be found in a variety of habitats but generally inhabit shallow reefs to a depth of around 60 feet. They prefer the security of dense coral branches or holey rock for them to hide in; they are adept and quick swimmers that can fit into tight spaces in the blink of an eye.
A single Six Line Wrasse could be kept in an aquarium as small as 20 gallons – but a 30 gallon or large aquarium is more advisable for a single specimen. Despite their diminutive size they can be aggressive and territorial fish. This mostly concerns the aquarist when it comes to keeping multiple Six Line Wrasse in a single aquarium which is not advisable but might be attempted in aquariums of 120 gallons or larger with plenty of habitat and hiding places. Like their natural habitat, the six line wrasse will appreciate a reef setting, with plenty of nooks and crannies for places to hide, explore, and search for food. A coral filled with branching small polyp stony coral, such as Acropora sp. and lots of live rock would provide them with an ideal habitat.
Six Line Wrasse are voracious feeders – but will leave all but the tiniest invertebrates alone. They are easy to acclimate onto pellets or flake food and will eat frozen foods with gusto. Their life on the reef, and in your aquarium will be spent on the hunt, constantly foraging and so adding small quantities of food throughout the day is the best way to feed them. Perhaps the most attractive benefit of the six line wrasse is their ability to eat many common aquarium pests including bristleworms and some flatworm species! Their small size allows them to search deep within rock work and they love nothing more than the live food they find on their own within your aquarium, while keeping pests at bay!
As with many fish in the family Labridae, the Six Line Wrasse is a protogynous hermaphrodite (a fish born female, that will transition to male as it grows). Forming a pair could be as simple as growing one fish to a large size on its own, and then adding a small young fish and waiting for it to reach maturity. That said, the Six Line Wrasse is not bred commercially yet as raising the pelagic larvae would be quite the undertaking. Six Line Wrasse have been paired in captivity, and when the female is ready to spawn she will be quite plump in size (full of eggs) and you will notice the male and female “dancing”. If you witness this it is likely that your female will release her eggs into your aquarium. This is okay and will be a great food for corals and filter feeders within your aquarium, but the fry will not grow to maturity without specialized equipment and methods.
The Six Line Wrasse is a stunning fish, suitable to almost any size reef aquarium. It is hardy, and a voracious predator of common reef aquarium pests. Ask your LFS to acquire a sustainably collected Six Line Wrasse from Quality Marine today!