All fish / Labridae

Sunset Wrasse

Thalassoma lutescens

Also known as yellow-brown wrasse, green moon wrasse, banana wrasse, yellow moon wrasse, lemon wrasse, sunset wrasse, no, ヤマブキベラ, 黄衣锦鱼, 胸斑锦鱼

A fast, active wrasse whose juveniles and females are bright yellow, while terminal males turn green and blue with pink or purple head markings. It is kept for its strong colour, hardiness and constant swimming in large fish-only or robust reef setups.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

25 cm

Temperature

23 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

500 litres

Keep as

Keep singly or one male with several females in a very large tank

Diet

Carnivore: mysis, krill, chopped seafood, quality marine pellets and flakes

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 10 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-Pacific and tropical Pacific, from the Red Sea? no: from Sri Lanka and Indonesia east to Hawaii, Japan to Australia

Breeding

It is a protogynous hermaphrodite, with females able to change into males, and it spawns in open water releasing pelagic eggs. Captive breeding in home aquariums is essentially unknown.

Good to know

Grows to around 25 to 30 cm and needs a long tank with a tight lid as it jumps; it will eat small crustaceans, snails and small fish, so it is not safe with ornamental shrimps.