Info on Wrasse

[garnet13aj]

I saw a fish at my LFS yesterday that they called at cometa wrasse. So far I've been able to discover it's scientific name is Labropsis xanthonota and that it is also called a yellowback tubelip wrasse. Some websites have told me they are rare and my lfs said that they just started coming in. I'll post a picture below. Does anyone know anything else about their habits, max length, adult vs juvie colors (if they are different from picture), if they are best kept singly or in groups, or any other usefull info.
Thanks.
They look essentially like this, but a bit more navy blue than black.
http://fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesS...5&what=species

 

[dogstar]

max size is 5 inches, are rarely collected, great for peacefull FO system, this is an adult male. HTH

 

[garnet13aj]

Any info on why they are rarely collected?
And this may be obvious, but just to make sure. The picture I posed is the juvie and the second picture is an adult?
Anyone ever kept one of these?

 

[garnet13aj]

Are they rare enough that no one on here has actually had any experience w/them?
They are selling for about $20, which is as cheap is my lfs sells any saltwater fish for, but from the little bit of info I've been able to scrounge up on them, it has said they are a relatively expensive fish. Anyone know?

 

[anonome]

Whow, anything that is rarely collected and only $20.00 sparks my curiosity. Is it reef safe? Probably not if Dogstar said it was good for peaceful fish only tanks. Sure is a beauty. Probably a jumper, most wrasses are.

I have an open tank, so jumpers are definately out. Too bad that is really pretty. I had a solar wrasse for all of 4 days......carpet surfer.

 

[dogstar]

This is from Fishbase also...."" Juveniles are black with several white pinstripes; females become lighter dorsally, and males develop golden centered scales, blue lines on the face, and a wedge-shaped white area in the center of the tail.
Uncommon inhabitant of coral-rich areas of clear outer lagoon and seaward reefs. Males generally solitary. Juveniles are cleaners while adults feed on coral polyps. ""
Uncommon means that they are rarely seen in the wild and thus a reason for why they are not collected very often.

 

[poniegirl]

Originally Posted by Anonome
Whow, anything that is rarely collected and only $20.00 sparks my curiosity. Is it reef safe? Probably not if Dogstar said it was good for peaceful fish only tanks. Sure is a beauty. Probably a jumper, most wrasses are.

I have an open tank, so jumpers are definately out. Too bad that is really pretty. I had a solar wrasse for all of 4 days......carpet surfer.
I have a pair of red cigar wrasse, both at this point 5+ inches, one is closer to six.
Preparing to feed them one evening a couple of weeks ago, I raised the front cover and the larger one spooked and jumped right out the 2 inch opening in the back!!!
Down behind the stand..I tried to grab him, he slipped of course, went UNDER the stand...I literally swept him forward (across the carpet!!! I'm panicking now), scooped him up and tossed him back in. He, of course, dove immediately into the sand. But amazingly appeared next morning (tho rather late) looking none the worse for wear, but staying near the bottom of the tank.
We were both pretty horrified.
Sorry, off-thread.