Species name: Pseudocheilinus hexataenia
Common names: Sixline wrasse, Six Stripe Wrasse
Family: Labridae (Wrasses)
Subfamily: Cheilininae
Order: Perciformes
Class: Actinopterygii
Maximum length: 3.93 in.
Minimum tank size: 15 gallons
Hardiness: Sensitive during acclimation and easy once acclimated.
Aggressiveness: It will act aggressively towards slow moving or easily intimidated fish. Keeping this species with other wrasse species is not recommended in tanks smaller than than 100 gallons.
Reef Compatibility: Good but is not 100% reef safe. Not a threat to corals or ornamental invertebrates. However, large individuals may feed on smaller, delicate shrimps (like anemone shrimps)
Distribution: Indo-Pacific: Red Sea south to Natal, South Africa and east to the Tuamoto Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Lord Howe and the Austral islands. Distribution includes St. Brandon’s Shoals and Gulf of Tadjoura
Diet: Carnivorous. In its natural environment, the Sixline wrasse feeds mainly on small crustaceans. It is a natural predator of pyramidellid snails, mantis shrimp and commensal flatworms.
Will accept thawed frozen foods, such as brine shrimp and mysis shrimp. They are very active and need to be fed twice a day at least.
Additional information:
Pseudocheilinus hexataenia, also known as Sixline or Six Stripe Wrasse are from the Indo-Pacific where they can be found in seaward reefs among coral branches or in dense coral habitats on shallow reef crest or slopes. This is a shy species that usually occurs in small groups, usually swimming amongst the protection of coral branches. They are diurnal, which means they are active by day and sleep at night.
The body is blue to purple with six horizontal gold/orange stripes racing from head to tail. The cheek is orange with numerous tiny yellow dots. The head and belly may have a purple hue to it, the caudal fin and caudal peduncle are green. There is a small blue-edged “false eye” on the upper caudal peduncle. The eyes have two white horizontal strips through them.
Like all other wrasse they sleep in a mucus cocoon. Fortunately this cocoon does not seem degrade the water quality. It is thought that the cocoon protects them from predators as they sleep by masking their scent.
The Sixline wrasse are known as “poor shippers” and online merchants may not reimburse you if this fish die in transport.
They are easy but should be given at least 3-4 hours for acclimatization before they are released into a tank. Once released in the tank, they might hide for a few days but will spend more time in the open as they feel more secure.
The first thing the wrasse will do is to swim down to the bottom and bury itself.
The ideal aquarium should be well lit and have sand or gravel with plenty of live rock with caves to hide. Suitable hiding place is even more important in a smaller aquarium. They will become very shy and spend almost all of their time hiding if they don’t feel safe.
This species is an excellent jumper and it is necessary to keep the aquarium well covered to prevent you Sixline wrasse from jumping to its death.
Ideally, the water temperature should be between 72-78ºF, specific gravity between 1.020-1.025 and pH between 8.1-8.4
