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The Six Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia) is a highly popular, compact, and visually striking marine fish featuring an intense pinkish-purple body decorated with six horizontal, electric-orange stripes. It is instantly recognized by its striking crimson eyes marked with two white bars, and a prominent, dark ink-black eyespot (ocellus) on the upper base of its tail fin designed to confuse predators. Celebrated equally for its bold appearance and its tireless work ethic, this hyper-active hunter spends its entire day darting through tight rockwork channels searching for small pests, making it an excellent utility species for mature reef setups.
Tank Requirements
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons or larger; its tight-turning swimming style and small adult size make it a highly functional addition to nano and mid-sized reef layouts.
Aquarium Decor: Highly complex arrangements of live rock configured with an abundance of small tunnels, deep caves, and tight crevices; it requires a structural labyrinth to satisfy its constant hunting drive and to spin its protective mucus sleeping cocoon at night.
Temperature: 72°F – 78°F (22°C – 26°C).
Salinity (Specific Gravity): 1.020 – 1.025.
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4.
Care and Feeding
Diet: Carnivore; possesses a very rapid metabolism and a continuous predatory instinct. Supplement its ongoing rockwork hunting with daily offerings of meaty frozen foods like vitamin-enriched mysis shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, and high-quality marine pellets. It is an elite utility fish that actively consumes common aquarium pests, including bristleworms, flatworms, pyramidellid snails, and komia bugs.
Reef Safe Rating: Reef safe; it is completely harmless toward small polyp stony (SPS) corals, large polyp stony (LPS) corals, soft corals, and large ornamental invertebrates. However, hungry adults may occasionally harass very small, delicate ornamental shrimp or feather dusters.
Temperament: Semi-aggressive to aggressive; while it is completely safe around non-fish tank mates, it is notoriously territorial and bold. It will fiercely attack other members of its genus, similarly shaped fish, or small, docile newcomers (like firefish or small gobies) added after it has established its territory. To prevent severe bullying, it should always be introduced as one of the very final additions to the aquarium.
The Six Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia) is a highly popular, compact, and visually striking marine fish featuring an intense pinkish-purple body decorated with six horizontal, electric-orange stripes. It is instantly recognized by its striking crimson eyes marked with two white bars, and a prominent, dark ink-black eyespot (ocellus) on the upper base of its tail fin designed to confuse predators. Celebrated equally for its bold appearance and its tireless work ethic, this hyper-active hunter spends its entire day darting through tight rockwork channels searching for small pests, making it an excellent utility species for mature reef setups.
Tank Requirements
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons or larger; its tight-turning swimming style and small adult size make it a highly functional addition to nano and mid-sized reef layouts.
Aquarium Decor: Highly complex arrangements of live rock configured with an abundance of small tunnels, deep caves, and tight crevices; it requires a structural labyrinth to satisfy its constant hunting drive and to spin its protective mucus sleeping cocoon at night.
Temperature: 72°F – 78°F (22°C – 26°C).
Salinity (Specific Gravity): 1.020 – 1.025.
pH Range: 8.1 – 8.4.
Care and Feeding
Diet: Carnivore; possesses a very rapid metabolism and a continuous predatory instinct. Supplement its ongoing rockwork hunting with daily offerings of meaty frozen foods like vitamin-enriched mysis shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, and high-quality marine pellets. It is an elite utility fish that actively consumes common aquarium pests, including bristleworms, flatworms, pyramidellid snails, and komia bugs.
Reef Safe Rating: Reef safe; it is completely harmless toward small polyp stony (SPS) corals, large polyp stony (LPS) corals, soft corals, and large ornamental invertebrates. However, hungry adults may occasionally harass very small, delicate ornamental shrimp or feather dusters.
Temperament: Semi-aggressive to aggressive; while it is completely safe around non-fish tank mates, it is notoriously territorial and bold. It will fiercely attack other members of its genus, similarly shaped fish, or small, docile newcomers (like firefish or small gobies) added after it has established its territory. To prevent severe bullying, it should always be introduced as one of the very final additions to the aquarium.