| Wrasses .jpg)
Photo By: Society for Environmental Education The Wrasse family covers a whole range of shapes and sizes. And some of the most colourful fish to be found anywhere. They are also the most widespread fish on the worlds coral reef. Almost all Wrasse are born females but when a dominant male from a group of Wrasse dies, his place is taken by the dominant female who then changes sex to become a fully functioning male capable of breeding. There is also a big change from fry to adult. Both in shape and colour, quite often the two look like completely different species. and the young of many species that are offered for sale grow to be very big Trotters Hogfish for example is sometimes sold as an attractively striped 4 inch fish that would look nice in any community aquarium, but it grows into a 3 foot monster. So don't buy any Wrasse unless you know what you are getting. They generally make good aquarium subjects, They are omnivorous although they have a preference for shell fish, crustaceans, etc. Because of this they aren't suitable for the reef aquarium, although because this is such a big family there are exceptions. Back to Main Index | 
