The Sixline Wrasse is a beautiful fish. It is very popular and readily available. It has a purple body with six orange lines running horizontally across the upper half. The top of the dorsal fin is also orange. They have red eyes with two white stripes on them.
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The scientific name of this fish is Pseudocheilinus hexataenia. It grows to about 4 inches or 10cm. It’s favorable temperature is 72-78 degrees F.
The Sixline wrasse can be kept as a solitary fish but you can also keep several specimens together in larger aquariums as long as they are introduced to the tank at the same time. They are rather aggressice and should only be kept with other semi-aggressive species such as angels and tangs. They can be very aggressive towards other wrasse species. You may introduce more docile fish to the tank before adding Sixline wrasse.
Sixline wrasse is suitable for reef setups but is not 100% reef safe as it will eat small invertebrates and especially small delicate shrimps. However they help you keep the aquarium in good condition by eating and thereby controlling unwanted organisms like pyramidellid snails, commensal flatworms and bristleworms.
This species can be quite sensitive when first introduced to an aquarium but is rather hardy once it is established. Sixline wrasses should be given at least 4 hours for acclimatization before they are released into a tank. The first thing the wrasse will do is to swim down to the bottom and bury itself. After that, you might not see your species Sixline wrasse for days. It will spend less and less time spending in the sand as it becomes more and more at home in the tank. It will always sleep buried in the sand and escape down into the sand when spooked.
The Sixline Wrasse originates from Indo Pacific Ocean and can be found from the Red Sea down to South Africa and eastwards to the Hawaiian and Tuamoto islands. This wrasse can be encountered as far north as Japan and as far as south as Australia.
The Sixline Wrasse should be kept in aquariums no smaller than 20 gallon or 80l. It is important that you decorate the aquarium so that your Sixline Wrasse feels safe. Decorating an aquarium for wrasses is about recreating their natural environment and providing them with enough hiding places to feel safe. Sixline wrasses that don’t feel safe become very shy and spend most of their time hiding. It can also cause stress which makes them susceptible to disease.
The bottom of the tank should be covered with a layer of sand that is at least 3 inches or 7.5cms deep. The sand bed needs to be at least that deep to allow the Sixline wrasse to bury in the sand to sleep and seek shelter. The tank should contain an ample supply of hiding places such as caves and overhangs. The best material for caves and hiding places is live rock.
The Sixline wrasses prefer a well lit aquarium. Make sure you keep the water quality high and stable. This species is an excellent jumper and it is necessary to keep the aquarium well covered to prevent your Sixline wrasse from jumping to its death. This species is best kept in a reef aquarium or a FOWLR aquarium.
