Species name: Halichoeres chrysus
Common names: Golden Coris Wrasse, Golden Rainbow fish, Yellow Wrasse, Yellow Coris, Canary Wrasse
Family: Labridae
Order: Perciformes
Class: Actinopterygii
Maximum length: 4.7 in.
Minimum tank size: 30 gallons
Hardiness: Medium
Aggressiveness: Peaceful. Can be kept in groups if introduced all at once.
Reef Compatibility: Yes. The only bad thing about H. chrysus is they may feed on your baby snails and bristleworm population.
Distribution: Eastern Indian Ocean: Christmas Island. Western Pacific: Solomon Islands, north to southern Japan, south to Rowley Shoals and New South Wales. Recently reported from Tonga.
Diet: Carnivore. They will eat meaty foods like finely chopped seafoods and brine. They usually adapt well to frozen and even dried foods.
They will pick at pyramillid snails and bristle worms and will eat fire worms and pyramidellid snails, protecting corals and clams. They may also eat feather dusters, wild shrimp, tubeworms, and flatworms. Juveniles have been report to eat parasites off the tank mates.
Additional information:
The Yellow Wrasse, also known as Golden Coris Wrasse, Golden Rainbow fish, Canary Wrasse or Yellow Coris are native to the Eastern Indian Ocean and Western Pacific where they can be found at the reef edge, in sand and rubble areas.
The name Coris is misleading as they are not a coris species at all. They are wrasse and should be called Yellow wrasse or Canary wrass instead.
This species is bright yellow in color. Juveniles have one or two eye-spot on the soft portion of the dorsal fin and a black dot on the caudal peduncle. Adults have only one white-rimmed black eye-spot on the dorsal fin. The tail fin is sometimes blue.
When first introduced in the aquarium, they may hide in the sand for a few days.
A 30 gallon tank with plenty of live rock to hide and ample room to swim will make a great environment for the Yellow wrasse. They like a lot of light, but there should be shaded areas as well. They prefer tanks with 2-3 inch of sandy bed to burrow and hide. They are jumpers so the tank should have a tight canopy. Ideally, water temperature should be at 72-78° F, specific gravity at 1.020 – 1.025 and pH between 8.1 and 8.4. The water should be well circulated with some calmer areas.
