New Guinea Wrasse

The New Guinea Wrasse is a rare and exquisitely colored species that displays a beautiful combination of blue and pink markings across its body. Males develop particularly vivid coloration with bright blue facial markings and pink to red body tones, while females show more subdued but still attractive coloration. This species is uncommonly seen in the aquarium trade, making it a prized find for wrasse collectors.

Like other Anampses species, the New Guinea Wrasse is classified as expert-only due to its extremely challenging feeding requirements. This species is a specialized micropredator that feeds almost continuously on tiny benthic organisms in the wild. The transition to prepared aquarium foods is notoriously difficult, and many specimens fail to thrive in captivity despite the best efforts of experienced aquarists.

The New Guinea Wrasse is a sand sleeper that buries itself in the substrate at night, requiring a fine sand bed of at least two inches. A mature reef aquarium with abundant live rock, a thriving copepod and amphipod population, and ideally a connected refugium is essential for any chance of long-term success. Despite its care challenges, this species is completely peaceful and reef safe, making it a desirable but extremely demanding addition for expert aquarists with well-established systems.