Royal Pencil Wrasse

Severns' Pencil Wrasse (Pseudojuloides severnsi), also commonly known as the Yellow-Striped Pencil Wrasse or Severns' Wrasse: 1. Appearance & Coloration Coloration: Males are exceptionally striking, featuring a vibrant turquoise to emerald-green upper body contrasting with a bright reddish-orange or salmon-pink lower half. A brilliant neon yellow stripe runs horizontally along the midsection from the snout all the way to the tail, bordered by delicate blue accent lines. Females and juveniles display a more uniform, soft reddish-orange or pink coloration with subtle pale markings. Morphology: True to the Pseudojuloides genus, they have an elongated, highly streamlined, torpedo-shaped "pencil" body built for rapid darting and effortless movement through the water column. Size: They grow to an adult size of about 4 to 4.5 inches (10 to 11 cm). 2. Native Origin & Habitat Geography: Widely distributed across the Indo-West Pacific region, including Indonesia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and parts of the Great Barrier Reef. Environment: Typically found inhabiting coastal and outer reef slopes, particularly around transition zones where coral reefs meet wide expanses of fine sand and rubble fields. 3. Tank Requirements Minimum Tank Size: Requires an aquarium of at least 50 to 75 gallons to provide adequate swimming lanes and space for foraging. Substrate: A fine sand bed (at least 2 to 3 inches deep) is mandatory. Like other pencil wrasses, Pseudojuloides severnsi dives headfirst into the sand to sleep every night and to seek instant refuge when startled. Always avoid rough crushed coral substrates, which can scrape or injure their slender bodies. Tank Cover: A secure lid or tight mesh screen top is essential, as pencil wrasses are prone to jumping when spooked. 4. Diet & Feeding Natural Diet: Active micro-predators that constantly scour sand beds and rock surfaces searching for copepods, amphipods, tiny isopods, and benthic worms. Captive Diet: They can be somewhat delicate during initial introduction and heavily rely on a well-established aquarium with a robust population of live microfauna. Once settled, they should be trained to accept a varied carnivorous diet including frozen mysis shrimp, cyclops, enriched artemia, and high-quality prepared micro-pellets. Feed 2 to 3 times daily. 5. Reef Compatibility Status: Reef Safe with Caution Behavior: Perfectly safe with corals, clams, and passive sessile invertebrates. However, their constant hunting behavior means they will actively consume and gradually deplete your tank's beneficial copepod and amphipod populations. 6. Temperament & Tank Mates Temperament: Peaceful, active, and occasionally skittish, especially during the first few days in a new system while they establish their routine of diving into the sand. Compatibility: Excellent community reef fish that mix well with peaceful tankmates like flasher wrasses, fairy wrasses, gobies, and dartfish. Avoid housing them with aggressive, fast-swimming bullies or boisterous bottom-dwellers that will outcompete them for food or intimidate them into hiding.