Let Them Flash! - Page 2

H.Tanaka · 04/21/2006, 10:00 PM

moonpod,
The Eightline Flasher Wrasse is a larer one and a slightly aggressive species for the genus. But you can keep it with other species of Paracheilinus and Cirrhilabrus together.

heuerfan,
Thank you for your kind invitation, but now I failed to submit it. They require my birthday but I cannot add it to the blanks... why?

The reason why we call them the flashers is that they have an ability to flash like a strobe for a short moment. As far as I know only some genera of the wrasse (family Labridae), and Fairy Basslets, can do such behavior. I hope you to have many specimens of flashers soon.

heuerfan · 04/21/2006, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by H.Tanaka
heuerfan,
Thank you for your kind invitation, but now I failed to submit it. They require my birthday but I cannot add it to the blanks... why?

The reason why we call them the flashers is that they have an ability to flash like a strobe for a short moment. As far as I know only some genera of the wrasse (family Labridae), and Fairy Basslets, can do such behavior. I hope you to have many specimens of flashers soon.

Hi Tanaka, i guess you were not able to open the link to the video file i posted. It is a video of my Mccosker flashing. I'm not sure what you mean by invitation? I'm assuming you are trying to register with putfile.com? You should not have to register in order to see the video. Don't worry, your not missing anything

I'm sure you see lots of flashing every day! LOL

H.Tanaka · 04/22/2006, 12:39 AM

hauerfan,
Really ? I clicked and could see the explanation of the web putfile.com only, so I said "thank you for your invitation"... then I thought that I could enjoy my video on reefcentral. Anyway I could not see your video clip of McCosker's Flasher there..... how to see it.

Madoktopus · 04/22/2006, 01:01 AM

h.tanaka- no they were in the same tank which was divided by a screen when the screen was removed they fought to the death.

Capt'n T · 04/22/2006, 01:52 AM

Awesome thread..I will certainly be tagging along

H.Tanaka · 04/22/2006, 03:15 AM

Madoktppus,
I am sorry; did they show any attacking behavior while they were divided ? For example, one of them "stood up and danced slowly" with all the fins spread just side of the screen or dashed to it when another one appeared ? There will usually be a sign just before an attack exhibited by the attacker.

Tow specimens among the four of P. cyaneus, 7cm showed a serious fighting and made one of them severely wounded to death. They showed a fighting pose (3); they spread all fins and turned blue or white (2). When they fought the colors just turned to the normal ones (1).

Thurge · 04/22/2006, 06:10 AM

What kind of rules apply to mixing Flashers and Fairy wrasses? I have noted that reds and yellows are predominant colors in Flaher wrasses and I already have 3 Fairy wrasses in reds. I would like to add some Flasher wrasses in the future but I worry that any more red fish inthe complex will set off warfare. I already had to remove a C.punctatus that refused to get along with my Solerinsis, and I would like to try to avoid that in the future.
thanks

scchase · 04/22/2006, 01:08 PM

I picked up this flasher yesterday and sorry my photos arent as good at yours but maybe you can help me ID it here they are

This is with the flash and the best I could get for detail color is way off

and here is the best representation of the normal nonflashing colors

basically the entire body of the fish is a dark purple and I havent been able to get anything even close off of fishbase.
Thanks
Scott

snorvich · 04/22/2006, 02:29 PM

Thank you Hiroyuki for participating in the fairy thread and for establishing the flasher thread. For those who are unfamiliar, Hiroyuki is, in my opinion, perhaps the world's authority on fairy and flasher wrasses. I seem to recall that he is writing a book on these wonderful animals; I would certainly buy a copy tommorrow or whenever it is available.

Does anyone have a reliable source of pairs of flashers?

H.Tanaka · 04/22/2006, 02:42 PM

Thurge,
Yes, there should be a rule for introducing new individuals, but we cannot see exactly what will happen when new comers are added.

scchase,
It is patience to take shots of flasher wrasses in display, because they swimm rapidly on occasion and rarely spread their fins. After spreading fins they will soon fold.

snorvich,
Thanks for your comment, but now I still am preparing the book; now I have a CD version that is not for sale yet, and I am so sorry. There are so many undetermined specimens now, but I am sure to show several new species or subspecies from now, and these should be included in the CD.

snorvich · 04/22/2006, 03:13 PM

Hiroyuki,

On the fairy wrasse thread, you posted a table of species, availability, experience, and some locations. Is it possible for you to do a similar thing for flashers?

Buzzard · 04/22/2006, 04:55 PM

Great fish, great thread! Here are my 2 flashers....

Blue Flasher

McCosker Flasher

H.Tanaka · 04/22/2006, 05:08 PM

The List of Paracheilinus species
- Availability in Japanese Market -

Availability; very common to scarce at retailers/ * has never been sold in Japan
My Experience; ?? I have been keeping more than three specimens/ 1 or 2; I have kept a few until now/ X has never experienced

Paracheilinus angulatus fairly common ??
Paracheilinus attenuatus scarce (only from Kenya) 1
Paracheilinus bellae scarce (only from the Marshalls) X
Paracheilinus carpenteri very common ??
Paracheilinus cyaneus common ??
Paracheilinus filamentosus very common ??
Paracheilinus flavianalis very common (only from Indonesia) ??
Paracheilinus hemitaeniatus *
Paracheilinus lineopunctatus common ??
Paracheilinus mccoskeri very common (from the Maldives & Kenya) ??
Paracheilinus octotaenia rather rare ??
paracheilinus piscilineatus scarce X
Paracheilinus rubricaudalis very rare (only from Vanuatu) ??
Paracheilinus togeanensis *

- Written by Hiroyuki Tanaka, CCP-Laboratory March, 2006

H.Tanaka · 04/22/2006, 05:11 PM

Buzzard,
Thanks for your very nice pics, and I hope you to post more fish photos of your favorite. P. mccoskeri will be shown in this column soon together with very similar carpenteri and flavianalis.

snorvich · 04/22/2006, 06:34 PM

Buzzard,
Nice pictures and very nice fish. Beautiful colors!!

heuerfan · 04/22/2006, 07:56 PM

Wow, beautiful wrasses people, keep them coming! Gotta bet my hands on a blue flasher again!

Tanaka- going to find another way to show you that video!

H.Tanaka · 04/22/2006, 08:53 PM

Now I show the next species, Paracheilinus mccoskeri; McCosker's Flasher Wrasse.
It ranges the Indian Ocean, from Kenya, South Africa, islands of Indian Ocean, and east to Andaman Sea. A photograph of a male was taken in Bali (aquarium release?).
It is closely related to P. carpenteri and P. flavianalis.
It reaches some 75mm. Kenya specimens are rarely seen in market, and most will be shipped from the Maldives.

The photo shows a male in display, and the species has only one filament (yellow) on dorsal fin, a red area on outer 2/3 part of anal fin with blue spots.

H.Tanaka · 04/22/2006, 09:00 PM

This male (6cm) came from Kenya coast, with an unusual anal fin; the red area covers much of the fin, and with a few blue spots. Also its pelvic fins are partly red. Other features are almost identical in coloration to males from the Maldives. Not treated as a new species by ichthyologists.

Palani · 04/22/2006, 10:55 PM

Hey Tanaka, I got a question for you. I've got this juvenile flasher of some sort. It's a red, with white belly. It has stripes on it that are broken. Just like the picture you posted above of the McCosker. It has no hint of yellow yet, so is it likely that it could be that guy? I tried to id it with the fariy wrasse book, I don't recall who wrote it, but this is the closest thing that I could find.

H.Tanaka · 04/22/2006, 11:13 PM

Palani,
It is just difficult to tell who's juvenile. Juveniles of P. mccoskeri, carpenteri and flavianalis are almost identical in appearance, but if yours came from Indian Ocean it should be mccoskeri. P. carpenteri comes from northwestarn Pacific, and flavianalis only from Indonesia and Western Australia. Any photo ?

heuerfan · 04/22/2006, 11:28 PM

This was my first flasher wrasse, this i believe is a Carpenteri? Unfortunately i didn't realize they were jumpers at the time so he did not make it.........

Peter Schmiedel · 04/23/2006, 12:21 AM

HI Hiroyuki,

good the read you here and I hope on day we can "convince" you to visit us in Germany as discussed last year

I have one question. To me it looks like you mostly keep males only? At least I only rarely have seen females on your pictures - in fact I am not sure I even have seen one. I would expect that they show much more coloration if kept together with females?

Here in Europe the biggest problem is to find females followed by the fact to match the femals to the correct species which is often impossible

Take care!

H.Tanaka · 04/23/2006, 12:45 AM

heuerfan,
It is a hybrid between P. flavianalis x filamentosus. Talk to you later.

Peter,
I have kept some of females but it was difficult to obtain those together with male specimens of the same species. Talk also to you later and now I will leave here for two hours.

rumor · 04/23/2006, 04:29 AM

Hi all,

Found a tank full of these in a LFS today

.
So here they are in quarantine under 6500K FL, the blue doesn't seem to be very pronounced though. Still accclimitising I suppose.

H.Tanaka · 04/23/2006, 05:01 AM

heuerfan,
It is a hybridized specimen of Paracheilinus, having an aberrant caudal fin. It is not of P. filamentosus or of P. flavianalis. See attached photo, and you may find their differences. P. filamentosus has a slightly double emarginate caudal fin with long filamentous tips, but in P. flavianalis it is rounded. There are several lines in the center of the caudal fin of your specimen, and it is a feature of P. filamentosus. Also the stripes on side are broader, and are those of P. flavianalis. anal fin is almost entirely yellow (with blue dots), and it is of P. flavianalis, not of carpenteri or of mccoskeri (both have a red and yellow fin).
There are so many specimens between these two species imported and in nature photographed by divers, but I should say that this is only speculation, not by examination. Usually males of hybrids between these two species have two yellow spots on upper and lower parts of caudal peduncle posteriorly, but they cannot be seen in P. filamentosus.

Peter,
Perhaps I talked over with you but I cannot remeber on what episode, and I am sorry. Females are more less than males at retailers, because shippers think that almost all the aquarists hope to get males only; males are surely much more colorful.

rumor,
Flashers tend to stand up in a tank when it feels stress or slightly threat other Paracheilinus. Anyway the photos are so nice.

04/22/2006, 01:52 AM	#30
Capt'n T Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Colorado Posts: 170	Awesome thread..I will certainly be tagging along __________________ Teneele "The only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" Current Tank Info: 75g w/ 29g sump

04/22/2006, 06:10 AM	#32
Thurge Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 2,707	What kind of rules apply to mixing Flashers and Fairy wrasses? I have noted that reds and yellows are predominant colors in Flaher wrasses and I already have 3 Fairy wrasses in reds. I would like to add some Flasher wrasses in the future but I worry that any more red fish inthe complex will set off warfare. I already had to remove a C.punctatus that refused to get along with my Solerinsis, and I would like to try to avoid that in the future. thanks __________________ What have you done with my Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator Earthling? The memories of a man in his old age, Are the deeds of a man in his prime. Pink Floyd

04/22/2006, 02:29 PM	#34
snorvich Team RC member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Outlander Posts: 40,953 Blog Entries: 46	Thank you Hiroyuki for participating in the fairy thread and for establishing the flasher thread. For those who are unfamiliar, Hiroyuki is, in my opinion, perhaps the world's authority on fairy and flasher wrasses. I seem to recall that he is writing a book on these wonderful animals; I would certainly buy a copy tommorrow or whenever it is available. Does anyone have a reliable source of pairs of flashers? __________________ Warmest regards, ~Steve~

04/22/2006, 03:13 PM	#36
snorvich Team RC member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Outlander Posts: 40,953 Blog Entries: 46	Hiroyuki, On the fairy wrasse thread, you posted a table of species, availability, experience, and some locations. Is it possible for you to do a similar thing for flashers? __________________ Warmest regards, ~Steve~

04/22/2006, 06:34 PM	#40
snorvich Team RC member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Outlander Posts: 40,953 Blog Entries: 46	Buzzard, Nice pictures and very nice fish. Beautiful colors!! __________________ Warmest regards, ~Steve~

04/21/2006, 10:00 PM	#26
H.Tanaka Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Miyazaki City, Japan Posts: 613	moonpod, The Eightline Flasher Wrasse is a larer one and a slightly aggressive species for the genus. But you can keep it with other species of Paracheilinus and Cirrhilabrus together. heuerfan, Thank you for your kind invitation, but now I failed to submit it. They require my birthday but I cannot add it to the blanks... why? The reason why we call them the flashers is that they have an ability to flash like a strobe for a short moment. As far as I know only some genera of the wrasse (family Labridae), and Fairy Basslets, can do such behavior. I hope you to have many specimens of flashers soon.

04/22/2006, 12:39 AM	#28
H.Tanaka Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Miyazaki City, Japan Posts: 613	hauerfan, Really ? I clicked and could see the explanation of the web putfile.com only, so I said "thank you for your invitation"... then I thought that I could enjoy my video on reefcentral. Anyway I could not see your video clip of McCosker's Flasher there..... how to see it.

04/22/2006, 01:01 AM	#29
Madoktopus Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: London Posts: 462	h.tanaka- no they were in the same tank which was divided by a screen when the screen was removed they fought to the death.

04/22/2006, 03:15 AM	#31
H.Tanaka Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Miyazaki City, Japan Posts: 613	Madoktppus, I am sorry; did they show any attacking behavior while they were divided ? For example, one of them "stood up and danced slowly" with all the fins spread just side of the screen or dashed to it when another one appeared ? There will usually be a sign just before an attack exhibited by the attacker. Tow specimens among the four of P. cyaneus, 7cm showed a serious fighting and made one of them severely wounded to death. They showed a fighting pose (3); they spread all fins and turned blue or white (2). When they fought the colors just turned to the normal ones (1).

04/22/2006, 01:08 PM	#33
scchase Premium Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Aurora CO USA Posts: 1,402	I picked up this flasher yesterday and sorry my photos arent as good at yours but maybe you can help me ID it here they are This is with the flash and the best I could get for detail color is way off and here is the best representation of the normal nonflashing colors basically the entire body of the fish is a dark purple and I havent been able to get anything even close off of fishbase. Thanks Scott

04/22/2006, 02:42 PM	#35
H.Tanaka Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Miyazaki City, Japan Posts: 613	Thurge, Yes, there should be a rule for introducing new individuals, but we cannot see exactly what will happen when new comers are added. scchase, It is patience to take shots of flasher wrasses in display, because they swimm rapidly on occasion and rarely spread their fins. After spreading fins they will soon fold. snorvich, Thanks for your comment, but now I still am preparing the book; now I have a CD version that is not for sale yet, and I am so sorry. There are so many undetermined specimens now, but I am sure to show several new species or subspecies from now, and these should be included in the CD.

04/22/2006, 04:55 PM	#37
Buzzard Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Harvard, MA Posts: 227	Great fish, great thread! Here are my 2 flashers.... Blue Flasher McCosker Flasher

04/22/2006, 05:08 PM	#38
H.Tanaka Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Miyazaki City, Japan Posts: 613	The List of Paracheilinus species - Availability in Japanese Market - Availability; very common to scarce at retailers/ * has never been sold in Japan My Experience; ?? I have been keeping more than three specimens/ 1 or 2; I have kept a few until now/ X has never experienced Paracheilinus angulatus fairly common ?? Paracheilinus attenuatus scarce (only from Kenya) 1 Paracheilinus bellae scarce (only from the Marshalls) X Paracheilinus carpenteri very common ?? Paracheilinus cyaneus common ?? Paracheilinus filamentosus very common ?? Paracheilinus flavianalis very common (only from Indonesia) ?? Paracheilinus hemitaeniatus * Paracheilinus lineopunctatus common ?? Paracheilinus mccoskeri very common (from the Maldives & Kenya) ?? Paracheilinus octotaenia rather rare ?? paracheilinus piscilineatus scarce X Paracheilinus rubricaudalis very rare (only from Vanuatu) ?? Paracheilinus togeanensis * - Written by Hiroyuki Tanaka, CCP-Laboratory March, 2006

04/22/2006, 05:11 PM	#39
H.Tanaka Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Miyazaki City, Japan Posts: 613	Buzzard, Thanks for your very nice pics, and I hope you to post more fish photos of your favorite. P. mccoskeri will be shown in this column soon together with very similar carpenteri and flavianalis.

04/22/2006, 07:56 PM	#41
heuerfan Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New Hyde Park Posts: 1,249	Wow, beautiful wrasses people, keep them coming! Gotta bet my hands on a blue flasher again! Tanaka- going to find another way to show you that video!

04/22/2006, 08:53 PM	#42
H.Tanaka Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Miyazaki City, Japan Posts: 613	Now I show the next species, Paracheilinus mccoskeri; McCosker's Flasher Wrasse. It ranges the Indian Ocean, from Kenya, South Africa, islands of Indian Ocean, and east to Andaman Sea. A photograph of a male was taken in Bali (aquarium release?). It is closely related to P. carpenteri and P. flavianalis. It reaches some 75mm. Kenya specimens are rarely seen in market, and most will be shipped from the Maldives. The photo shows a male in display, and the species has only one filament (yellow) on dorsal fin, a red area on outer 2/3 part of anal fin with blue spots.

04/22/2006, 09:00 PM	#43
H.Tanaka Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Miyazaki City, Japan Posts: 613	This male (6cm) came from Kenya coast, with an unusual anal fin; the red area covers much of the fin, and with a few blue spots. Also its pelvic fins are partly red. Other features are almost identical in coloration to males from the Maldives. Not treated as a new species by ichthyologists.

04/22/2006, 10:55 PM	#44
Palani Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Corvallis Posts: 89	Hey Tanaka, I got a question for you. I've got this juvenile flasher of some sort. It's a red, with white belly. It has stripes on it that are broken. Just like the picture you posted above of the McCosker. It has no hint of yellow yet, so is it likely that it could be that guy? I tried to id it with the fariy wrasse book, I don't recall who wrote it, but this is the closest thing that I could find.

04/22/2006, 11:13 PM	#45
H.Tanaka Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Miyazaki City, Japan Posts: 613	Palani, It is just difficult to tell who's juvenile. Juveniles of P. mccoskeri, carpenteri and flavianalis are almost identical in appearance, but if yours came from Indian Ocean it should be mccoskeri. P. carpenteri comes from northwestarn Pacific, and flavianalis only from Indonesia and Western Australia. Any photo ?

04/22/2006, 11:28 PM	#46
heuerfan Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New Hyde Park Posts: 1,249	This was my first flasher wrasse, this i believe is a Carpenteri? Unfortunately i didn't realize they were jumpers at the time so he did not make it.........

04/23/2006, 12:21 AM	#47
Peter Schmiedel Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Brussels, Belgium Posts: 1,628	HI Hiroyuki, good the read you here and I hope on day we can "convince" you to visit us in Germany as discussed last year I have one question. To me it looks like you mostly keep males only? At least I only rarely have seen females on your pictures - in fact I am not sure I even have seen one. I would expect that they show much more coloration if kept together with females? Here in Europe the biggest problem is to find females followed by the fact to match the femals to the correct species which is often impossible Take care! __________________ Have a nice day Peter Current Tank Info: 300g main tank, several others

04/23/2006, 12:45 AM	#48
H.Tanaka Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Miyazaki City, Japan Posts: 613	heuerfan, It is a hybrid between P. flavianalis x filamentosus. Talk to you later. Peter, I have kept some of females but it was difficult to obtain those together with male specimens of the same species. Talk also to you later and now I will leave here for two hours.

04/23/2006, 04:29 AM	#49
rumor Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 30	Hi all, Found a tank full of these in a LFS today . So here they are in quarantine under 6500K FL, the blue doesn't seem to be very pronounced though. Still accclimitising I suppose.

04/23/2006, 05:01 AM	#50
H.Tanaka Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Miyazaki City, Japan Posts: 613	heuerfan, It is a hybridized specimen of Paracheilinus, having an aberrant caudal fin. It is not of P. filamentosus or of P. flavianalis. See attached photo, and you may find their differences. P. filamentosus has a slightly double emarginate caudal fin with long filamentous tips, but in P. flavianalis it is rounded. There are several lines in the center of the caudal fin of your specimen, and it is a feature of P. filamentosus. Also the stripes on side are broader, and are those of P. flavianalis. anal fin is almost entirely yellow (with blue dots), and it is of P. flavianalis, not of carpenteri or of mccoskeri (both have a red and yellow fin). There are so many specimens between these two species imported and in nature photographed by divers, but I should say that this is only speculation, not by examination. Usually males of hybrids between these two species have two yellow spots on upper and lower parts of caudal peduncle posteriorly, but they cannot be seen in P. filamentosus. Peter, Perhaps I talked over with you but I cannot remeber on what episode, and I am sorry. Females are more less than males at retailers, because shippers think that almost all the aquarists hope to get males only; males are surely much more colorful. rumor, Flashers tend to stand up in a tank when it feels stress or slightly threat other Paracheilinus. Anyway the photos are so nice.