Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Not Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Western Pacific Ocean: Papua New Guinea, Philippines, north to Southern Japan, south to the Great Barrier Reef.
Size: 23 inches (57 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits deep lagoons, outer reef faces and fore-reef slopes at depths between 15 – 200 feet (5 – 60 m) and feeds mainly on smaller fishes, but also crustaceans, worms and various other benthic invertebrates.
General Husbandry: Quite attractive as a juvenile, yet unattractive as an adult. Rarely ever seen in the trade, and if so, as a juvenile when it has a yellow body lined with blue horizontal bands, black eye band, elongated filaments on both the dorsal and anal fins, and a black patch on the caudal peduncle. However most of that diminishes when reaching adulthood.
Requires very large fish-only aquariums with wide-open swimming areas, and also caves and overhangs to take shelter if feeling threatened.
As to diet, will eat a wide variety of frozen and fresh meaty foodstuffs (chopped squid, fish flesh, shrimp, clam, etc.), including any ornamental crustaceans and small fishes in the aquarium, and should be fed several times daily.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Percoidei
Family: Lutjanidae
Genus: Symphorichthys
FYI: One per aquarium, simply because it needs a lot of open swimming area.
Experience Level: Intermediate
Temperament: Peaceful (will eat small fish/crustaceans)
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: 200+ gallons
Temperature Range: 72 - 84°F (22 – 29°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 -1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
