The Carpenter’s flasher wrasse is one of the smaller flasher wrasses. This species inhabits the base of steep outer reef slopes above rubble zones or coral in water 70 feet or deeper. In the Indian Ocean, the Carpenter’s flasher wrasse is replaced by the McCosker's flasher wrasse. Male Carpenter’s flasher wrasses are usually redish orange to yellow with a yellow to white underside. The dosral rays are prolonged, and the fish’s color deepens during courtship. Males are slightly larger than females, which are generally paler in color and almost entirely white ventrally.

Supplement raw meaty marine flesh with some type of herbivorous food such as a flake food formulated for herbivores (e.g. Sea Veggies Flakes) or seaweed strips (like Sea Veggies or nori). Nearly all flasher wrasses will readily take commercially prepared pellet foods, frozen foods, and food mixes like Blue Zoo Mix.

Flasher wrasses have a high metabolism and should be fed several small meals a day rather than two large meals. Alternatively use a refugium as part of the system’s filtration. This will provide a constant food supply of small live foods (e.g. copepods).

Expect male filamented flasher wrasses to display their colors and finnage (“flashing”) to other males and available females. To insure the male does not lose its color, keep one male with two or more females, or keep two males of different species of flasher wrasses in the same sufficiently large aquarium.

To learn more about flasher wrasses, see the article on genus Paracheilinus in the resources section of the Blue Zoo website.

Flasher wrasses are a great substitute for harder to keep anthias.

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