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Help ID Mr. Spot (the wrasse of legend)

2K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Doug1 
#1 ·
Wrasse Lovers unite! I emailed a pic of my unidentified wrasse to RickO and he was kind enough to add it to his site so that I could post it here. What a prince
See what nice things reef buddies do for each other?

Rick's Site

Yeh, yeh,yeh...you thought my tank was an urban legend. I'm proud of the coraline in the back. The leathers just above Mr. Spot are from Tom (TDWYATT), and the mulitplying xenia on the far right is from RickO. The trumpet in the middle of the picture is from Connie & Tim who started Marine Aquariums Society of the Carolinas (affectionately known as MASC). And the xenia on the left I actually bought! Oh, and if anyone wants any aiptasia, I've got a particularly strong variety that my peps don't care for, and I'd gladly share


OK, then. What kind of wrasse is Mr. Spot? About 3 1/2 inches long, pink, and with a black spot that varies from vivid to pale, depending on if the cat surprises him.
 
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#5 ·
Cath,
In looking through my trusty old Baensch, it appears a likely candidate for the Halichoeres genus, looking especially at body shape, mouth and fins. A juvenile H. hortulanus, or similar species, would be a possibility. Coloration is a difficulty in ID as many of the Wrasses undergo color and pattern changes as they mature. As Baensch points out, there are over 60 known species of Halichoeres and new ones are constantly being added.
This picture does bear some resemblance to some of the Bodianus Genus (Hogfish).
I'm certainly not expert in fish ID but these are my impressions based on the fish books I have.
Dick
 
#7 ·
Thanks for taking a look, dudes and dudette!
Greg, as for the coloring, Mr (Ms?) is only slightly darker pink than the picture shows. Really it does have the tone of a FW gourami.

The picture was taken with my Nikon 8008 (which I've had for years), using Poloroid 400, no flash. F 5.6, 1/60 second. And actually, I had better pix with 200 and no flash. I really do need a macro lens, but bein' a reef keeper, that's not in my budget. I plan to buy a less expensive close up, though. Need lots of practice taking pictures of the tank.

Dick- I looked for the Baensch at the library, but it was checked out. Imagine that.


[ 07-22-2001: Message edited by: cath ]
 
#8 ·
Doug,

Beats me! Wrasses, especially considering the color-and-pattern changes they go through in life, are a constant PITN for me.


I'm leaning more towards a Halichoeres than a Bodianus though. I wish the dorsal fin was fully erect...

Sorry, cath!


dark horge
 
#12 ·
No go, Wrasse Man
But thanks for helping out. This is a toughy, and I think I may just have to wait til he gets older.

The dorsal fin is just a gentle slope to the tail.

I'll keep watching, and report significant changes. I hate to be using bb space with a question that just doesn't seem to have the answer right now. Thank you everyone for taking a stab at it.
 
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