Red Velvet Fairy Wrasse

Red Velvet Fairy Wrasse

The Red Velvet Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus rubrisquamis) is a gorgeous reef fish — males are a rich, velvety red along the upper body shading to white below, intensifying dramatically when displaying, while females are a softer rose. Active, hardy and fully reef-safe, fairy wrasses like this one bring colour and constant movement to a community reef without any threat to corals or invertebrates.

It is at its best kept as a male with several females, where competition keeps the male in full colour.

Natural Habitat & Origin

Cirrhilabrus rubrisquamis is found in the Maldives and surrounding Indian Ocean reefs, where it lives in loose aggregations over reef slopes and rubble, feeding on zooplankton drifting in the current. Males display to harems of females above the reef.

In the aquarium it wants open swimming space above the rock for its mid-water swimming and displays, with rockwork for shelter at night.

Care Requirements

Maintain stable marine conditions: salinity around 1.024–1.026, pH 8.1–8.4, and a temperature of about 24–26°C (75–79°F). Reaching about 8 cm (3 inches) and best kept as a male with one or more females, it suits a tank of around 115 litres (30 US gallons) or more. A secure, gap-free lid is essential — fairy wrasses are accomplished jumpers. It is hardy and undemanding once settled.

Diet & Feeding

The Red Velvet Fairy Wrasse is a micro-carnivore, feeding on zooplankton in the wild. It accepts aquarium foods well: offer frequent small meals of frozen mysis and enriched brine shrimp, finely chopped seafood and quality small marine pellets and flakes. Several small feedings a day suit its fast metabolism and keep its colours vivid.

Behavior & Temperament

This is a peaceful, active fish that poses no threat to tankmates. Males may display to and gently spar with one another, so keep a single male unless the tank is large; a male with several females is ideal. It swims busily in open water by day and shelters in the rocks at night, often sleeping in a mucus cocoon.

Tank Mates

Good companions are other peaceful reef fish — clownfish, gobies, other small wrasses, anthias, cardinalfish and similar. Avoid aggressive or boisterous species. It is fully reef-safe, leaving corals and ornamental invertebrates alone, making it one of the best colourful additions to a peaceful reef. Multiple fairy wrasse species can often be mixed in a large tank if added together.

Breeding

Cirrhilabrus rubrisquamis spawns in pelagic fashion, and aquarium spawning is occasionally observed, but rearing the tiny larvae is difficult and rarely achieved at home. Trade specimens are wild-collected.

Common Health Issues

The Red Velvet Fairy Wrasse is hardy but, like all marine fish, can be affected by marine ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) and marine velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum) under stress. Quarantine new arrivals, keep water quality stable, secure the lid against jumping, and feed frequently. Given those basics — ideally as a small harem — it is a brilliant, beginner-friendly and reef-safe centrepiece for a community reef.