The Paracheilinus mccoskeri or the Mccosker’s Flasher Wrasse is a pleasure to behold. This species is not only low maintenance but gives your aquarium a graceful look. These are hardy species of fishes and can adjust and adapt to your established aquarium easily.
Their natural habitat includes the reefs of the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean. So in an aquarium, they prefer warm waters and bright surroundings.
The Mccocker’s Flasher Wrasse is dazzling and vibrant and captivates almost everyone who takes a look at it. The males are vibrant to a greater extent than the females. The males have an orange body with a deeper orange tint as you look higher up on their body.
The hue is almost golden at the belly button. On the body and fins of the fish, there are many blue lines. These bright blue lines make these species unique. McCosker’s flasher wrasse has a red and blue anal fin. The dorsal fin of this species is magnificent and is adorned with red, yellow, and blue patterns. The female of the species has a more subdued color and lacks the male’s massive dorsal and anal fins.
Size of Mccosker’s Flasher Wrasse
These species of fish can grow up to the size of 3 to 4 inches. The males tend to be a bit bigger, whereas the females are smaller than the males. The breed’s juvenile isn’t quite as colorful or showy as he will become as an adult.
Before they reach full maturity, the fish are lighter, more orange in color, with purple lines running down their sides and the dorsal region of the fish. In addition, juveniles have a white mark over their eye that fades as they get older.
As they grow older, their colors shift, with the ladies becoming more pinkish and the males growing redder. Both genders’ blue lines become iridescent and highly stunning.
Diet of Mccosker’s Flasher Wrasse
The Flasher Wrasse comes across as a carnivorous fish. In their natural reef habitat, they feed on zooplanktons. In an aquarium, you must feed them protein-rich foods, that too in small sizes.
With these species, you will have to give them food multiple times a day, and they require relatively few meals. Make sure their food is cut finely. They usually respond well to dietary changes, so don’t be afraid to try new foods.
These attractive species need protein to grow. They should be given a diet that includes Mysis or brine shrimp, as well as fine marine flake or pellet food.
You can also opt for clam, mussel, squid, oyster eggs, and copepods. Additionally, you can give them seaweeds, veggie-based flakes, and pellets as well. With all these, they will get the protein and nutrients that they require.
Care of Mccosker’s Flasher Wrasse
These species don’t demand much in terms of maintenance. They are easy to maintain and hardy as well. Although this doesn’t mean that you don’t pay attention to them.
Tank size of Moccosker’s Flasher Wrasse
Moccosker’s Flasher Wrasse comes from the warm reef waters and therefore needs plenty of areas to swim. You can keep them in a tank of 30 to 40 gallons if you don’t have a large tank. But the recommended tank size for them would be 50 gallons or if it’s bigger than that it’s better.
As these fishes give a magnificent look to the aquarium with their vibrant and unique colors, having a harem is best.
So a 50-gallon tank is the minimum size if you want to keep more than one.
Temperature and Water Parameters of Moccosker’s Flasher Wrasse
As mentioned before they come from warm waters, they prefer temperatures ranging between 72℉ to 79℉. They find this range of temperature to be perfect. The pH levels must be between 8.1 to 8.4 and the dKH levels must be 8 to 12.
The salinity levels preferred by them are around 1.020 to 1.024. Maintain these parameters in the aquarium for these species and smoothness will be written in their existence.
Tankmates for Moccosker’s Flasher Wrasse
The Flasher Wrasse are peaceful fishes and are not aggressive. So if you are thinking of mixing them with other species, they must be of the same temperament and behavior.
Keeping them with aggressive species will never come to be fruitful. They will get bullied.
Can Moccosker’s Flasher Fish be kept with their kind?
It is alright to keep these species of fish with their kind. Although, you should not keep two males in a single tank. You can keep one male with several other females.
In this case, they will be perfectly fine. If you are thinking of introducing one of them in your tank, having a single male is best. You should also add the male and the female together.
Tank setup for Moccosker’s Flasher Wrasse
The first thing that you can do for these species of fish is to provide them with plenty of areas to swim, meaning a bigger tank.
You must provide them with a sandy substrate with live rocks. These species love to burrow themselves in the sand, so a sandy substrate is required. They need some places to hide as well. Although they might require places to hide, they are expert jumpers as well.
They will jump off the aquarium at any chance or opening that they see. So a lid is mandatory if you have a Flasher Wrasse in your aquarium.
Gear up the aquarium with all the needed pieces of equipment. They favor bright light as they come from bright areas, so light is needed in your tank.
Breeding of Moccosker’s Flasher Wrasse
Like other Paracheilinus species, McCosker’s flasher wrasse is a protogynous hermaphrodite. These are the type of species where every fish is born of female sex and change their sex to male when the need arises.
If the dominant female’s group’s male falls prey to a predatory fish, the dominant female will evolve into a male.
It might take as little as 10-14 days for a girl to turn into a man. The flasher wrasse of McCosker lives in harems. One male and a group of females make up each harem.
Male subordinates can occasionally be found in a group. Male McCosker’s flasher wrasses are bigger and more colourful, thus sexing them isn’t difficult.
The breeding of this fish purses with a mating dance then follows the spawning. They get the name of ‘flasher’ because of this dance.
The male swims back and forth a group of females and flashes their fins towards them. Both fish will move swiftly upwards in the water column during spawning, releasing eggs and milt. The river will carry these until the fry are able to swim independently.
Is breeding of Moccoskor’s Flasher Warsse possible in an aquarium?
In aquariums, nothing is known about these species’ reproduction. They’ll require a taller and larger tank because they have an entire ritual of dancing and spawning for breeding. So, if you wish to breed your Flasher Wrasse, familiarise yourself with a tank similar to their requirement.
Disease that can affect Moccoskor’s Flasher Wrasse commonly
In the case of these species of fish, Monogenean Flukes, which are small transparent worms that nibble at the skin and eyes of wrasse, can be a problem.
They may also be infected with Cryptocaryon and other internal parasites, which may be treated before introducing them to your aquarium.
There are some things that you must do before adding Moccoskor’s Flasher Wrasse in your established aquarium.
Before a day or two in the quarantine tank, give your wrasse a little swim in freshwater with a pH level that matches your tank. In the quarantine tank, he can be treated with Praziquantel to help eradicate any diseases or germs.
The Moccoskor’s Flasher Wrasse is an excellent aquarium addition. They make your aquarium stand out with its beauty while requiring little upkeep. If you have this species, you will see flashes of lovely fins swimming across your tank.
Because they are robust, they may rapidly and readily adapt to your existing aquarium. If you provide them with ideal tank conditions and protein-rich diets, they will live happily ever after. They are very gentle and do not like to annoy other species of fish. You must, however, maintain them with tranquil fish.
