I did it again: Cirrhilabrus earlei

I'll tell everyone again; don't get the wrasses bug.

All the bad news first-

Some of you will recall this thread: http://www.3reef.com/forums/tropical-fish/now-ive-really-done-cirrhilabrus-lunatus-131166.html
An update here is in order before I progress.
The new female seemed to be doing really well. She was clearly beginning to get more comfortable in the tank, swimming in more open water. She was eating good, and was beginning to be more aggressive at feeding time. Then she disappeared, 15 days after she was added (yes, 1 day past the 14 day guarantee). I saw her briefly the next day at feeding time, then she went back into hiding. No one appeared to bother her at all, so this has been extremely frustrated. It's like she was forced into hiding by an aggressor, but through all of my great observe in the first 2 weeks, no one was paying her much mind. And it's rather unlikely someone would start without warning. So it's been nearly 3 weeks since I've seen her, and I doubt I'll ever see her again. Noted: Female lunatus are difficult. Meanwhile, the male is doing great.

The same weekend she went MIA, I lost my male Flame (C. jordani) of 2 years. This wasn't a terrible shock, as he was clearly getting older and had started to slowly get a little on the skinny side over the last 5-6 months. He managed to get some sort of bacterial infection on the side of his body about 2/3 of the way towards his tail, and he simply wasn't able to fight it off. And catching him for treatment would have been near impossible; he was one of my only wrasse which never trusted me much.

Now that we're all up to speed:

A female C. earlei will be arriving at my door tomorrow. This is been another dream fish of mine, but the price of them has historically been incredibly high. Well, recently Pacific Island Aquatics managed to secure some sort of agreement on C. earlei, and promised to reduce the price considerably. And that they did. Which made the price on them within my justifiable reach.

Since this is a species some of you have likely never heard of, a little background is probably in order. At this time, they are only know to the twilight reefs of Palau at about 80-90m. This makes these a deep-water fish; therefore collection is a bit more challenging. The species was officially documented/described recently by John Randall and Richard Pyle in 2001. In 2010, the first specimens were imported to the states. Up until late last year (2011), less than 10 had managed to make their way here. It was only in the later half of 2011 they began to trickle into the states in a more regular fashion, but still in small quantities.

Jim Gryczanowski was the man who received the first 3 (1M/2F) which hit the states. He keeps a 240g tank (which has been deemed as wrasse heaven). This is a picture of his male, shortly after acquisition:


And a more recent picture of the same male last year (photo taken by Tony Vargas):


This is, by far, the most fantastic terminal male I've seen of the species.

Here's an example of a younger male, which is owned by Brad Syphus:


And lastly, a photo of a nicer female, likely close to what I'll be receiving tomorrow :


Still stunning, but not as stunning. However, if you know wrasses, it's a matter of time before she'll end up looking more like the two boys above.

I'll add some quick shots of my girl tomorrow. And here I go...

 

Well hot damn!!! That has got to be the most beautiful fish I've ever seen!!! Congratulations on your new fish *high five*!

Am saddened by the loss of your others. Something that touches me deeply

 

Thank you much, on both accounts.

So many people claim they are THE most stunning Cirrhilabrus species. I can't wait to see for myself.

Also, my updated species of my collection:
Cirrhilabrus lineatus (M)
Cirrhilabrus rhomboidalis (M)
Cirrhilabrus lunatus (M)
Cirrhilabrus earlei (F)
Paracheilinus octotaenia (M; young)
Halichoeres timorensis (M/F pair)
Halichoeres melanurus (M)

 

Congratulations on getting one. I can't wait to see your pictures. From what you've shown us so far I have to agree it is a very stunning fish!

 

Congrats evolved

 

Congrats my friend. Well deserved!

 

Thanks guys.

 

Congrats on getting the gorgeous fish, sorry to hear on the others.

 

That is wonderful. Spectacular coloration.

She goes to a good home.

 

Outta curiosity did you pick up your 8 Line flasher as a female that transitioned? Or just sub-male from the start?