Fish · Wrasse
Fairy Wrasse
Cirrhilabrus sp.
Also called Fairy Wrasses, Fairy-wrasses, Cirrhilabrus Wrasses, Tongan Fairy Wrasse
Reviewed by admin on October 29, 2026 · Meet the team
- CareEasy
- Reef safeYes
- TemperamentPeacefulMales fight other males of their genus
- Favorite foods
- Mysis shrimp
- Enriched brine shrimp
- Small pellets
- Max size6.3 in (16 cm)
- Min tank55 gal
- LifespanAbout 5-8 years is quoted for fairy…
- IUCN statusNot Evaluated
Quick answers
- How big does the Fairy Wrasse get?
- Up to 6.3 in (16 cm).
- What size tank does it need?
- At least 55 gallons.
- How hard is it to keep?
- Care level: Easy.
- Is it reef safe?
- Yes. Fairy wrasses do not harm corals, clams or other sessile invertebrates, and they do not dig in the sand.
- What does it eat?
- Mysis shrimp
- Enriched brine shrimp
- Small pellets
- How long does it live?
- About 5-8 years is quoted for fairy wrasses by a hobby source (AquariumSource); no published longevity study found.
- What are good tankmates?
- Clownfish
- Tangs
- Blennies
- Angelfish
- Females of the same species with one male, in a large tank
The 30-second version
Fairy wrasses are small fish with very bright colors. There are more than 60 kinds. They live on coral reefs in the warm Indian and Pacific Oceans. They swim in groups just above the rocks. They snap up tiny animals that float by. A group is often one boy and a few girls. The boy is bigger and brighter. When he shows off, his colors flash and his fins stand up tall. Most fairy wrasses start life as girls. If the boy is gone, the top girl can turn into a boy. At night a fairy wrasse makes a slimy sleeping bag. It may hide the fish's smell from hunters. In a tank they leave corals alone. But they are great jumpers, so the tank needs a tight lid.
Water & care
Most commonly sold fairy wrasses are hardy once they are eating and are not demanding about water quality. Start new fish on small frozen foods such as enriched brine and mysis, then add pellets and flakes once they settle. Feed small meals at least two or three times a day, since once-a-day feeding leads to wasting. The main dangers are jumping and bullying: use a tight mesh lid, seal gaps around the overflow, and keep them with peaceful tankmates. Deep-water species may hide at first under bright lights, so give them shaded overhangs.
| Parameter | Keep it at | Where that sits on the usual reef range |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 72–78 °F | |
| Salinity (SG) | 1.020–1.025 | |
| pH | 8.1–8.4 | |
| Alkalinity | 8–12 dKH |
Ranges from LiveAquaria species pages and AquariumSource (72-78°F, SG 1.020-1.025, pH 8.0-8.4 or 8.1-8.4, 8-12 dKH). Gensou suggests 75-81°F (24-27°C) and nitrate below 20 ppm. In a reef tank, normal coral parameters suit them; no genus-specific calcium, magnesium or phosphate values are published.
Feeding
DietPlanktivore
Favorite foods
- Enriched frozen mysis shrimp
- Enriched brine shrimp
- Frozen copepods and Calanus
- Finely chopped seafood
- Small pellets and flakes
- Live copepods and amphipods from a refugium
Feed small portions at least two or three times a day; once-a-day feeding can lead to wasting and more aggression. Newly imported fish may refuse dry food at first, so start with frozen or live enriched brine shrimp. Foods rich in carotenoids help males keep their color.
Tank & maintenance
- Minimum tank
- 55 gallons
- Aquascape
- Open swimming space in the upper two-thirds of the tank, with rock caves and overhangs below for sleeping and hiding. Sand depth does not matter because they do not burrow. A tight mesh lid with gaps around plumbing sealed is essential.
- Lighting
- Any reef or fish-only lighting. Deep-water species such as the flame fairy wrasse (C. jordani) need dimmer light and shaded overhangs while they settle in.
- Water flow
- Moderate, varied flow as on a normal reef.
Routine upkeep
Routine reef or fish-only upkeep with regular partial water changes. Check the lid and overflow cover often, because small gaps are enough for a fairy wrasse to escape. Watch males for fighting whenever a new wrasse or planktivore is added. Empty mucus cocoons drifting in the morning are normal.
Temperament & tankmates
TemperamentPeaceful
Peaceful toward most unrelated fish, though TFH calls the genus moderately aggressive overall. Adult males are territorial toward other males of the genus, and two adult males in one tank usually fight. They may bully weaker planktivores such as flasher wrasses. A male can be kept with two or three females of the same species, added together, in a large tank. Different species can share a large tank if they look clearly different. Fairy wrasses themselves are often bullied by six line wrasses, large Halichoeres males, candy hogfish and some anthias.
Reef safeYes
Fairy wrasses do not harm corals, clams or other sessile invertebrates, and they do not dig in the sand. Some eat pest flatworms such as Convolutriloba retrogemma, and TFH reports that the rosy-scales fairy wrasse may eat pyramidellid snails that attack giant clams. Saltwater Aquarium Blog warns that large males over about 5 in may kill very small ornamental shrimp, such as sexy or anemone shrimp, especially when underfed.
Good tankmates
- Clownfish
- Tangs
- Blennies
- Angelfish
- Females of the same species with one male, in a large tank
- Clearly different-looking fairy wrasses in tanks over 100 gallons
Avoid
- A second adult male of the same species
- Similar-looking fairy wrasses (for example flame and rhomboid fairy wrasses together)
- Six line wrasses
- Large, mature Halichoeres males and candy hogfish
- Predators large enough to swallow them
Help it thrive
- Use a tight mesh lid and seal every gap; jumping is a major cause of death.
- Feed small meals at least two or three times a day.
- Keep one male per species unless the tank is very large; add a male and his females together.
- Skip six line wrasses and other bullies, and add fairy wrasses before feistier fish.
- Ask which species a locality-named fish such as a 'Tongan' fairy wrasse is before you buy.
Common ailments
Marine ich (Cryptocaryon irritans)
- Signs
- White, salt-like spots on the body, fins or gills, scratching, rapid breathing, cloudy eyes, hiding and loss of appetite.
- Prevention
- Quarantine new fish for about four weeks in a separate tank, and keep water stable.
- Treatment
- Treat in a hospital tank, never in a reef display. Gensou reports that fairy wrasses tolerate copper poorly and suggests the tank-transfer method or hyposalinity (SG 1.009 for 4-6 weeks) instead. Leave the display without fish for about 11 weeks, because the cyst stage can last up to 72 days.
Jumping and lid injuries
- Signs
- A fish found on the floor, or one with a scraped snout or damaged fins after it hit the lid; it often happens when lights change or the fish is chased.
- Prevention
- Use a fine mesh lid rather than glass, seal gaps around plumbing, avoid sudden light changes and keep bullies out.
- Treatment
- Return a fish that has just jumped to the tank right away if it is still alive, keep the lights low and the water clean, and watch any scrapes for infection.
Refusing food and wasting after import
- Signs
- A new fish hides, ignores pellets and flakes, and grows thin, with a pinched belly.
- Prevention
- Buy fish that are already eating, and feed small meals several times a day.
- Treatment
- Offer live or enriched brine shrimp and small frozen foods to start it eating, then mix in pellets gradually.
This is general hobby guidance, not veterinary advice. Quarantine new arrivals and treat in a separate tank whenever you can.
Risks of owning one
- Jumps out of uncovered tanks and through small gaps, sometimes fatally.
- Adult males fight with other males of the genus, especially look-alikes.
- Can be bullied to death by six line wrasses and other pushy fish.
- Male colors can fade over months without good food or females to display to.
- Trade names such as 'Tongan fairy wrasse' do not tell you the species, and some deep-water species are very expensive.
Breeding
DifficultyNot achieved Captive-bredRare or wild-caught
Fairy wrasses are protogynous hermaphrodites that live in harems: one male courts a group of females, usually late in the day, with bright colors and raised fins. The University of Hawaii at Hilo has been developing broodstock and larval-rearing methods for the Hawaiian flame fairy wrasse (C. jordani), but its 2020 report found that captive females quickly change into males, which makes steady egg production hard, and it noted possible 'sneaker' males that look like females. No captive-bred fairy wrasses were found for sale.
- Keep one male with several females of the same species in a large tank.
- Feed the group several meaty meals a day.
- Watch for courtship displays near the end of the light period.
- Expect females to change sex if the group is unstable; larval rearing is still experimental.
Deep dive The science, history and family tree
The science
Cirrhilabrus Temminck & Schlegel, 1845 is the genus of fairy wrasses (Labridae: Cirrhilabrinae), small, brightly colored planktivorous reef fishes. WoRMS accepts 66 species, and new ones are still being described; the type species is C. temminckii. Adults range from under 7.5 cm (C. flavidorsalis) to about 16 cm, and males are larger and more colorful than females. The cornea is divided into two parts, the central part possibly acting as a close-up lens for small prey. The genus ranges from the Red Sea across the Indian Ocean and Pacific to the Pitcairn Islands, north to Hawaii and the Ryukyu Islands, from a few meters to more than 180 m depending on species. Most live in small groups that feed on zooplankton above rubble and reef slopes, sometimes mixed with flasher wrasses or anthias. Groups are usually harems of females with one male; individuals appear to start as females, and dominant ones become males that display by rapidly intensifying color. They sleep in a mucus cocoon. Widespread species such as C. exquisitus vary by region and may hide undescribed species.
- Appearance
- Small, slender wrasses, mostly 3-6 in long, in bright reds, greens, blues, yellows and purples. Males are larger and more colorful than females, often with longer, more pointed fins, and they 'flash' brighter colors when displaying to females or rivals. Females and juveniles are usually plainer. Many species also vary in color by region. 'Supermale' is a hobby term for a fully colored, dominant terminal-phase male. A 'Tongan Fairy Wrasse' listing names where the fish was collected, not a species: retailers sell Tongan pink-margin (C. rubrimarginatus), Scott's (C. scottorum) and Temminck's (C. temminckii) fairy wrasses, and Reef Builders notes the Pacific form of the exquisite wrasse (C. exquisitus) is exported from Tonga too. Ask which one you are getting.
- Native range
- Indo-Pacific: from the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean and across the Pacific to the Pitcairn Islands, north to Hawaii and the Ryukyu Islands of southern Japan. Many species have small ranges. Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Wallis and Futuna have a high share of fairy wrasse forms found nowhere else; species recorded from Tonga include the red-margined fairy wrasse (C. rubrimarginatus), Scott's fairy wrasse (C. scottorum) and the Pacific form of the exquisite wrasse.
- Habitat
- Coral reefs and nearby habitats, often over rubble on reef slopes and edges. Depth ranges from a few feet to over 600 ft, depending on species; some species, such as the red-margined fairy wrasse, live mainly deeper than 40 m as adults. They usually swim in small groups a few feet above the bottom, picking zooplankton from the water, sometimes in mixed groups with other fairy wrasses, flasher wrasses (Paracheilinus) or anthias (Pseudanthias). At night they shelter in caves and crevices.
- Size
- 6.3 in (16 cm). Wikipedia gives 16 cm (6.3 in) as the largest size in the genus. TFH says adults range from under 3 in (C. flavidorsalis) to nearly 6 in (C. cyanopleura); Saltwater Aquarium Blog gives 4-6 in for most species. Females are usually smaller than males.
- Lifespan
- About 5-8 years is quoted for fairy wrasses by a hobby source (AquariumSource); no published longevity study found.
- Conservation
- Not Evaluated. The genus has no single assessment; species are assessed separately. For example, FishBase lists Scott's fairy wrasse (C. scottorum) and the red-margined fairy wrasse (C. rubrimarginatus) as Least Concern and the exquisite wrasse (C. exquisitus) as Data Deficient. Aquarium fish are wild-collected. Some deep-water species cost much more because of the depth they are collected from and regional collection fees. Captive breeding is still being developed
In the aquarium vs in the wild
In your aquarium
Colorful, peaceful, coral-safe display fish for reef tanks, kept singly, as a male with females, or as a mix of clearly different species in large tanks.
On the reef
Small zooplankton feeders that swim in groups above rubble and reef slopes.
History
Temminck and Schlegel named the genus in 1845, and its type species is C. temminckii. Other genus names later found to be the same, such as Cheilinoides Bleeker, 1851, Cirrhilabrichthys Klausewitz, 1976, Neocirrhilabrus Cheng and Wang, 1979 and Conniella Allen, 1983, are now synonyms. When TFH reviewed the genus, FishBase listed 46 species; only 9 had been described before 1980 and 11 since 2000. WoRMS now accepts 66, and new species are still being described. Fairy wrasses became reef aquarium favorites because they are colorful, active and coral-safe. Prices vary widely: fish collected from deep water, or from places with high collection fees, can sell for $100-200 or more in the US, TFH notes, several times their UK price.
Evolution & relatives
Wrasses (Labridae) are one of the largest marine fish families, with about 600 species in around 80 genera, and the parrotfishes are a branch inside the wrasse family. Fossil wrasses are known from the Early Eocene of Monte Bolca in Italy. WoRMS places Cirrhilabrus in the subfamily Cirrhilabrinae with the flasher wrasses (Paracheilinus), the lined wrasses (Pseudocheilinus, including the six line wrasse), Pseudocheilinops and Pteragogus. Within the genus, Reef Builders groups species into complexes such as the scottorum and exquisitus groups. Several widespread species vary in color from region to region and may hide undescribed species, and some hybridize where their ranges meet, such as C. exquisitus with C. melanomarginatus in Japan. On the site's tree, fairy wrasses sit beside the six line wrasse, on a different branch from Halichoeres wrasses such as the melanurus wrasse.
Family tree, from kingdom down
- Kingdom Animalia Animals Animals are living things made of many cells that must eat food to live. Fish, corals, crabs, snails and sea stars are all animals.
- Phylum Chordata Chordates Chordates have a stiff rod running down their back at some point in their lives. In fish and people, this rod is replaced by a backbone.
- Subphylum Vertebrata Vertebrates Vertebrates are animals with a backbone and a skull. Fish, frogs, birds and people are all vertebrates.
- Infraphylum Gnathostomata jawed vertebrates
- Parvphylum Osteichthyes bony fishes
- Gigaclass Actinopterygii ray-finned fishes
- Superclass Actinopteri
- Class Teleostei Teleost fishes Teleosts are bony fishes with thin, bendy fin rays and jaws that can push forward. Almost all of the fish in the world are teleosts.
- Order Eupercaria (unplaced) Unplaced eupercarian fishes Eupercaria is a huge group of fish with spiny fins. Scientists found it by studying DNA, and it holds wrasses, grunts, butterflyfishes and many more. 'Incertae sedis' means 'place not sure': scientists have not yet agreed which order wrasses belong in.
- Family Labridae Wrasses Wrasses are a huge family of colorful fish that swim by flapping their front fins. Many change color, and some change from female to male.
- Subfamily Cirrhilabrinae Fairy wrasses and allies
- Genus Cirrhilabrus
See it on the Tree of Life Compare with another species
Closest relatives
- Cirrhilabrus temminckii Thread-fin Fairy Wrasse (Temminck's) Type species of the genus
- Cirrhilabrus exquisitus Exquisite Wrasse Same genus; the most widespread fairy wrasse, with its own guide Read guide · Compare
- Paracheilinus Flasher wrasses Same subfamily (Cirrhilabrinae)
- Pseudocheilinus Lined wrasses (six line wrasse and kin) Same subfamily (Cirrhilabrinae)
Older scientific names: Conniella.
Fun facts
- Their cornea is split into two parts, and the middle part may work like a built-in magnifying lens for spotting tiny prey.
- Every night they wrap themselves in a mucus cocoon, which may hide their scent from predators.
- A male can 'flash' brighter colors in seconds when he displays to females or rivals.
- Some species live deeper than 600 ft, and new species are still being described.
- Their names can be fun: the Hawaiian C. jordani is the flame fairy wrasse, and C. wakanda is called the vibranium fairy wrasse.
Learn more
- TFH Magazine: Cirrhilabrus, the fairy wrasses tfhmagazine.com
- Reef Builders: Fairy wrasses, the scottorum group (2015) reefbuilders.com
- Reef Builders: Fairy wrasses, the exquisitus complex (2015) reefbuilders.com
- Gensou: Fairy Wrasse care guide gensou.sg
Sources
- WoRMS taxon record 204972: Cirrhilabrus marinespecies.org
- Wikipedia: Cirrhilabrus en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia: Labridae en.wikipedia.org
- TFH Magazine: Cirrhilabrus, the fairy wrasses tfhmagazine.com
- Saltwater Aquarium Blog: Fairy wrasse care saltwateraquariumblog.com
- Reef Builders: Fairy wrasses, the scottorum group (2015) reefbuilders.com
- FishBase species summary: Cirrhilabrus rubrimarginatus fishbase.se
- Masse et al. 2020, Observations of Hawaiian flame wrasse reproductive behavior (World Aquaculture Society abstract) was.org
Scientific names and classification follow the World Register of Marine Species (AphiaID 204972). Checked by our team. Last updated October 29, 2026.
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