The Marble Wrasse, Halichoeres hortulanus, is a large Indo-Pacific labrid found from the Red Sea and eastern Africa through Southeast Asia and Micronesia to southern Japan, Australia, and the central Pacific islands. Juveniles are striking in a completely different way than adults, wearing contrasting black-and-white bars or mottling accented with yellow and carrying a distinct eyespot on the dorsal fin. As the fish matures it develops the checkerboard pattern that gives the species its name, produced by dark markings on each scale, while the head turns green and is overlaid with pink-orange to red striping. Yellow highlights appear along the back and fins, and coloration continues to shift with growth and with the differences between males, females, and juveniles. Adults reach roughly 10 inches, so this is a centerpiece animal rather than a filler fish.

Plan on a 125-gallon aquarium as a conservative adult minimum, with genuine open water for cruising and lengthy laps along the front glass. Build the rockwork with crevices and loose rubble the fish can pick through, and understand that it will shift small pieces and occasionally overturn unsecured items while hunting, so glue or wedge corals and stack rock so it cannot be toppled. A fine, soft sand bed is not optional: published depth guidance ranges from two to three inches up to at least four inches, and the deeper end of that range is the safer choice for a fish of this size. Cover the aquarium completely with a tightly sealed lid, since startled individuals jump. Stability matters more than tinkering, and newly added specimens may stay buried in the sand for several days before emerging to feed.