Birdwrasse ID - 8/1/05 Hi, <Howdy Corey, Ali here> I saw this fish on this month's tank of the month on Reef Central.  This fish is listed as a Bird Wrasse, Gomphosus varius.  Is this the scientific name for this particular wrasse or for the genus.  I looked up this name and found a variety of bird wrasse, none that looks like this one. Is there a more specific name for the pictured fish or is its color just a result of a random breeding? <See this link: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/wrasses/gomphosus/index.htm It is indeed a G. varius. Comes in many different color morphs.> Thanks, Corey <Have a great day Corey - Ali>

Marine species ID A big hello to you all, WWM crew...!   This one's from Portugal... Sorry to bother you, but just came out from my nearest LFS, and it seems I'm not able to identify in the net, a marine fish supposedly called "Gomphosus coeruleus". The "man" calls it also a "cleaner fish". It's around 8/9 inches long, body shaped like "Nemateleotris Magnifica",  dark blue or black color, and has a characteristic "proboscis". Can you please help me here? Thank you in advance. Luis Santos. <Sounds like Gomphosus caeruleus, what in the U.S. is commonly called a Bird Wrasse. And yours is a male. Our coverage is here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/wrasses/gomphosus/index.htm Bob Fenner>

Bird Wrasse I have a 4 year old male bird wrasse. He must be a Red Sea Bird Wrasse because he is a really deep azure blue. He has recently developed a large lumpy growth on the top of his beak-it is the same blue color as the rest of his body. Is this a normal thing for an adult bird wrasse? <Yes> No one in the Sacramento, CA area seems to have any adult bird wrasses. <Take a look on fishbase.org on the Net under the genus name "Gomphosus" for pix, more info.> Also, since he developed the growth he seems to sleep under his favorite rock almost all the time. He occasionally comes out to eat but he is not active like he use to be <Drinking more beer, falling asleep on the couch? This happens> (he used to take the food out of my fingers and now he seems a little disoriented (blind?) on one side or maybe the growth is interfering with his sight. Any help would be greatly appreciated. He is my favorite fish and I would hate to lose him. I'm guessing 4 years is not geriatric for this fish??? <A good long time for captivity, but records are likely into the teens of years for public aquarium specimens. Do look into soaking this animals foods in a vitamin supplement mix as an adjunct to nutrition. Such matters are discussed on WetWebMedia.com Bob Fenner>
Thank-you
Jean