LAX Wholesaler, Quality Marine recently got in a pair of the yet to be described Nahacky’s Wrasse that were promptly sold for a hefty a price. Named after Tony Nahacky, these fish were only recently discovered. The collection of these specific ‘variants’ has been extremely limited and usualy occurs at depths of over 100ft in [...]
LAX Wholesaler, Quality Marine recently got in a pair of the yet to be described Nahacky’s Wrasse that were promptly sold for a hefty a price. Named after Tony Nahacky, these fish were only recently discovered. The collection of these specific ‘variants’ has been extremely limited and usualy occurs at depths of over 100ft in the waters of Fiji.
I first laid eyes on this species in Rhinelander, WI in the aquarium of wrasse aficionado Kevin Kohen, Director of LiveAquaria. Kevin’s fish was collected by Tony Nahacky’s operation in Fiji, making the common name of Nahacky’s Fairy Wrasse all the more fitting. Despite Tony’s Fiji operation, there is also a Tongan variant that usually takes the same Nahacky moniker, along with the often referenced place holder of Cirrhilabrus sp.1.
Both the Fijian and Tongan fish draw close similarities to Cirrhilabrus bathyphilus from Vanuatu, but are suspected to be separate species. Hiroyuki Tanaka had been working on the description of these Wrasses in 2006 and 2007, but there has yet to be any final word [see RDO for more info].
Cirrhilabrus sp.1 from Tonga. Note the elongated first dorsal spine. Many thanks to Kevin Kohen for his wrasse wisdom and to LiveAquaria for providing these images.
If you look at the first and second image showing the fish from Fiji and compare to the Tongan triumvirate above, you can see the Fijians lack the black elongated first dorsal spine that whips back towards the caudal on its counterpart. Despite the elongated dorsal spine distinction, the color patterns vary greatly among both variants, ranging from splashes of yellow, black, orange, purple, and a white / pale blue color (K. Kohen, pers. comm.).
Described or not, Nahacky’s Fairy Wrasse is a stochastically colored beauty for the Cirrhilabrus lovers around the world. Expect to see this at fine retailers such as the wrasse loving Diver’s Den in the near future.
