Hoplolatilus luteus

Allen & Kuiter, 1989

Yellow Tilefish

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Andaman Islands, Indonesia and Solomon Islands.

Size: 5 inches (14 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits boat channel muddy bottom areas between shore and reef areas and is usually found in depths between 50 – 150 feet (15 – 45 m) and usually no more than 10 – 15 feet (3 – 5 m) above the bottom substrate where they burrow for protection. They generally live in pairs and feed on zooplankton.

General Husbandry: Rarely seen in the trade and quite hardy having a yellow elongated body with a blunt head and a black spot on the upper gill plate.

Best maintained fish-only aquariums with subdued lighting, yet can also be maintained in reef aquariums, with both having low rocky crevices and caves to hide in when needing to do so. The aquarium should also have wide-open swimming areas and sandy areas to create burrows. A fast swimming fish that tends to dig under reef structures, live or inert.

If maintained with moderately aggressive tankmates, will remain in hiding during daylight hours and may not get its fair share of the food when its feeding time. If maintained with peaceful tankmates, will spend a good portion of its time in the aquarium open areas.

As to diet, products such as marine fish and crustacean flesh, clams, and other marine meaty foods should be enriched and finely chopped and fed several times daily.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Percoidei

Family: Malacanthidae

Subfamily: Malacanthinae

Genus: Hoplolatilus

FYI: Can be kept singly.

Requires covered aquariums, as they are excellent jumpers!

May undermine structures in the aquarium.

Best first introduced into a dimly lit aquarium.

Will eat smaller fishes and ornamental crustaceans.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Temperament: Peaceful

Diet: Carnivore

Coral Safe: Yes

Fish Safe: With caution

Invertebrate Safe: With caution

Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+

Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium

Tankmates: Peaceful

Minimum Tank Size: 50+ gallons

Temperature Range: 72 - 81°F (22 – 27°C)

Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5