Latin name | Wetmorella nigropinnata - (Seale, 1901) |
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Local name | Sharpnose wrasse |
Family | Labridae - Wetmorella |
Origin | East Indian Ocean, West Indian Ocean, Australia, Japan, The Red Sea, Indonesia, East Pacific, Central/West Pacific |
Max length | 8 cm (3.1") |
Minimum volume | 50 l (13 gal) |
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Hardiness | Hardy |
Suitable for aquarium | Suitable with care |
Reef safe | Always reef safe |
Aggressiveness | Docile |
Recommended |
Small crustaceans (Krill, mysis, artemia...) Zooplankton (Cyclops, pods...) |
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This species is known to jump out of open aquaria.
This species can be kept in a small tank, if it is specifically equipped to meet its needs.
It is recommended however, to keep it in an aquarium which is larger then described above.
This species must be fed with an appropriately varied diet.
This species is very sensitive during transportation and acclimatizing into the aquarium.
This species thrives best when there is a sufficiently large amount of micro life (copepods, amphipods or similar) in the aquarium, so that the it can always find their own food.
This fish requires feeding several times a day, especially when newly added.
When the fish can find its natural food in the aquarium it requires less frequent feeding.
This species is very shy and docile, so one should be careful when keeping it with more aggressive fish.
Several specimen of this species can coexist in the same aquarium, provided they are introduced simultaneously.
This species can change gender from female to male.
When a male is needed, a female changes sex and takes on the role.
Wetmorella species are very small thus these Wrasses are well suited to nano aquaria. They are peaceful and live of a diet of invertebrates, but if they cannot find their own food they need feeding several times a day.
They should not be kept with aggressive fish. One can keep more of these Wrasses together, if the tank is larger than 75 gal (300 liters).
These fish is shy and spend a lot of time amongst the rocks, thus it is imperative that it is peaceful in and around the tank, if they are to be visible.
Wrasses are nearly always seen in reef aquaria, since many of the species are both attractive and useful in battling a range of unwanted invertebrates like i.e. flatworms, pyramide snails.
These fish live of everything from zooplankton to large crustaceans, sea urchins and the like.
The needs and behaviour of Wrasses vary greatly, so it is vital to familiarize oneself with the specific species before buying one.
Aquarium trade | Yes |
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Distribution | Indo-Pacific: Red Sea to the Marquesan and Pitcairn islands, north to Ryukyu Islands, south to the southern Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia. |
English common names |
Yellow-banded possum wrasse Blackspot pigmy wrasse Black-spot pigmy wrasse Possum wrasse |
Scott Michael. Aquarium Fish: Possum Wrasses, Genus Wetmorella - Advanced Aquarist - (English)
Scott W. Michael. 2009. Wrasses and Parrotfishes (Reef Fishes Series Book 5) - TFH Publications / Microcosm Ltd. - (English)
Minimum volume
"Minimum volume" indicates the size of the tank needed to house this species under optimal conditions.
This is based on a medium size animal, which you want to keep for several years.
It might be possible to keep smaller specimens for a limited period in a smaller tank. A larger tank might be needed for fully-grown specimens.
Hardiness
"Hardiness" indicates how resistant this species is to disease and how well i tolerates bad conditions in general.
Some species doesn't handle transportation very well, but that doesn't mean that the species isn't hardy under the right conditions.
Suitable for aquarium
In this case, a "normal" aquarium is a reef aquarium with mixed corals or a fish only aquarium with an approximately salinity of 1.026 (sg) and a temperature close to 26°C.
Species requiring more than a 4000-liter tank are considered not suitable for home aquarium.
Special aquariums may cover tanks with low salinity, sub-tropical temperature, deep sand bed, sea grass etc.
Reef safe
Always reef safe: No sources indicate that this species will harm corals or other invertebrates.
Often reef safe: Only a few aquarists has reported problems keeping this species with corals and other invertebrates.
Reef safe with caution: This species may be a threat to some types of invertebrates.
Reef safe with luck: Most specimens will harm corals and/or other invertebrates, but you might be lucky.
Not reef safe: This species is a threat to most corals and/or other invertebrates.