Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
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Parupeneus

Parupeneus crassilabris

(Valenciennes, 1831)

Doublebar Goatfish, Twobarred Goatfish

Not Reef Tank Suitable

Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Viet Nam to Southern Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef.

Size: 14 inches (35 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits lagoon reefs, reef faces, and fore-reef slopes at depths between 3 - 250 feet (1 – 75 m) and feeds during daytime and nighttime mainly on worms and crustaceans, and also small fishes.

General Husbandry: Rarely ever seen in the trade, with the juvenile having a yellowish-whitish body with two wide half height vertical brownish bands and a brownish patch around the eyes. Bands mostly dissipate as it grows into adulthood.

Best maintained in very large fish-only aquariums with wide-open swimming and unencumbered substrate areas and with several areas to hide when wanting to rest out of view of its tankmates. As to diet, feed a wide variety of frozen and fresh meaty foodstuffs (chopped squid, scallops, fish flesh, shrimp, clam, etc.) at least several times daily. Will also consume any ornamental crustaceans and small fishes in the aquarium.

Live glass/ghost shrimp, live black worms (Lumbriculus variegatus), and sinking shrimp pellets are also welcomed foodstuffs.

Taxonomy:

    Order: Perciformes

    Suborder: Percoidei

    Family: Mullidae

    Genus: Parupeneus

FYI: Mostly unsuitable for the average size hobbyist aquariums due to its physical size.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Temperament: Peaceful

Diet: Carnivore

Coral Safe: Yes

Invertebrate Safe: No

Fish Safe: With caution

Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+

Aquarium Environment: Fish-only aquarium

Tankmates: Peaceful or non-aggressive

Minimum Tank Size: 150+ gallons

Temperature Range: 72 - 82°F (22 – 28°C)

Specific Gravity: 1.020 -1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5

 Parupeneus crassilabris (Doublebar Goatfish, Twobarred Goatfish)
Photo © Robert Patzner
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