Puddingwife Wrasse (Halichoeres radiatus)

Puddingwife Wrasse (Halichoeres radiatus) Care

Overview

The Puddingwife Wrasse, Halichoeres radiatus, must be housed in a tank with a deep sand bed (3 to 4 inches) for them to hide in. They required a home that has a lot of mature live rock work to both live in while also feeding on. The aquarium must have a tight fitting lid, otherwise, they will jump out. Young Puddingwife Wrasse rarely cause problems in a community type set-up, but larger adults have been known to pick on smaller passive fish, such as flasher wrasses, fairy wrasses, and firefish, so these species are best avoided.

We note above that the Puddingwife Wrasse is safe with corals, but you should note that it can be a threat to bristle worms, fan worms, snails, shrimps, and urchins. They do enjoy having small pieces of rocks to ‘play’ with when searching for food. When first introduced to a new aquarium, it is not uncommon, for them to stay buried for a three to six days.

Feeding

Puddingwife Wrasses are carnivorous and must be fed a diet rich in meaty foods. They will readily accept most meaty frozen foods such as mysis shrimp, krill, vitamin-enriched brine shrimp, finely chopped shrimp, clams, mussels along with high-quality flake and pellet food. Feed small amounts 2 or 3 times per day.