Plectorhinchus albovittatus

(Ruppell, 1838)

Twostriped Sweetlips, Giant Sweetlips

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Red Sea to Fiji, north to Southern Japan, and south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia.

Size: 40 inches (100 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits deep reefs and sea mounts as adults at depths between 6 – 150 feet (2 – 45 m), with juveniles found on estuaries and inner-reef areas and all feed on shrimp, crabs, snails, worms and various other benthic invertebrates and small fishes.

General Husbandry: Occasionally seen in the trade, and quite attractive and hardy as a juvenile, however undergoes a dramatic color and physical size transformations as it grows into adulthood, usually resulting in a rather drab looking huge specimen!

The juvenile has a yellow body with two lengthwise black bands, and as it moves into adulthood, becomes massive and drab grey with small black spots and black edged fins.

Requires a very large fish-only aquarium with wide-open swimming areas and several caves/hiding areas. As to diet, newcomers are often easy to get feeding as they accept most aquarium foods, e.g., a wide variety of frozen and fresh meaty foodstuffs (chopped squid, fish flesh, scallops, shrimp, clam, etc.) and should be offered several times daily. Any ornamental crustaceans and small fish in the aquarium will also be consumed.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Percoidei

Family: Lutjanidae

Genus: Plectorhinchus

FYI: Usually seen as juveniles in the trade, however, they grow fast and soon outgrow most hobbyist aquariums.

May stir up the substrate looking for food.

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: 300 gallons

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

Specific Gravity: 1.020 -1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5