There are two female Labridens in the 180 gallon tank. In the wild dominant males out of breeding dress will assume this blue coloration. In the wild you won't see females get this coloration. However in an aquarium it apparently does. Very unusual behavior.
This particular male shares a 180 gallon tank with two females and an assortment of smaller (juvenile) target fish (Metynsis, a few Hogaboomorum, and a lone fredrichsthali). For the most part the fish is rather shy. in order to get these photos I turned all but their tank lights off. I moved back about twenty feet into the shadow and using a zoom lens, got the shots.
One of the tricks that I use to lure the fish into the flash set up is to drop a couple pieces of food into the area that I want them to swim. Not enough to feed them, but just enough to tease them into looking for more. In the wild the Labridens hunt for snails in the muddy bottom. They are used to sifting the debris to get to the food.
Most of my fish are large...and I feed them accordingly While this boy is big enough to eat (and does on occasion) the 9mm Xtreme Monster pellet...I also feed them a much smaller pellet, ensuring to put enough on the bottom...letting them do as they do in the wild. Here he is getting ready to pick up pellets off the bottom.
All in, it's really a very pretty fish. I have a few other photos that I will add to this post later. One of the interesting shots shows the color variation between the dominant female and the bride in waiting.
