Red Breasted Wrasse (Cheilinus fasciatus)

Red Breasted Wrasse (Cheilinus fasciatus) Care

Overview

The Red Breasted Wrasse, Cheilinus fasciatus, is best kept in a FOWLR (Fish Only with Live Rock) aquarium of 180 gallons or more.  They can reach a length of 16 inches and need large areas to swim in and plenty of rock work as hiding places and sleeping areas.

They are know to move rocks and corals in order to find prey along with disturbing existing sand beds by blowing streams of water looking for food, so ensure the rock work and structures are secure.

Only keep one fish per aquarium.

Feeding

The Red Breasted Wrasse will usually consume large amounts of food at one time and may go for two or three days before eating again. When first introducing one to your aquarium it may be difficult to get it to feed. We recommend adding live guppies or mollies, ghost shrimp, snails,  or fiddler crabs to the aquarium. They will never turn these down.

A normal diet should consist of fish, crustaceans, clams, shrimp, and other meaty marine foods. Be sure to chop the foods into fine pices and continue to feed until the Broomtail Wrasse will no longer eat the food you are providing. Then feed again in two to three days.

If not fed enough they will eat snails, tubeworms, ornamental shrimps, crabs, brittle stars, sea stars and urchins.