I just added two fish that I had my eye on for some time before purchasing:
2x Paracheilinus mccoskeri (McCosker's Flasher Wrasse, Male/Female Pair) new
Female above, Male below
These wrasses grow to about 3.5". They are haremic and prefer to be kept in groups of females to one male. If there are only females present, one of them will become dominant and change into a male. Fascinating. Flasher wrasses and related fish have brilliant coloration and the males do displays for the females that consist of flaring their fins and darting up into the water column. These displays are more readily seen in a larger tank than mine, and with more females.
Two early shots of the male. You can see some fin damage, probably from handling or from an aggressive tank mate in transit.
A somewhat blurry shot of the Female. I'm still pretty bad at photographing fish.
Unfortunately, because I can't fit too many fish in this tank I only have one female. This has presented a bit of a problem- the first real fish issue that I need to deal with or worry about. With only one female to handle the aggressive pursuit of a male that is typically associated with a harem, there is too much attention for her to get any rest at all. Ideally I'd have 4-5 females for this male and the chasing and intimidation that the male uses to maintain dominance would be distributed, but my female has had a bit of an uneasy time between the pair of territorial Ocellaris clowns and an overbearing male. That said, I've had them for several weeks now and she is still feeding and quite active, but has clearly relegated herself to a corner of the aquarium. She is eating well and does not appear ill or injured. I hope things settle down for the foreseeable future until I can afford a larger tank one day.
Two recent shots of the male. His fin is healing nicely.
As usual I had these fish in quarantine for about a week before they were introduced into the main tank, and treated for fin rot just in case the male's injury became infected. Special thanks to my friend Line for taking some great pictures.
