Hoplolatilus purpureus

Burgess, 1978

Purple Tilefish

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Philippines south to Indonesia, and east to the Solomon Islands.

Size: 5 inches (13 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits rubble covered reef bottoms near steep seaward slopes and is usually found in depths between 100 – 200 feet (30 – 60 m) and usually no more than 10 – 15 feet (3 – 5 m) above the bottom substrate where they burrow for protection and feed on zooplankton.

General Husbandry: Occasionally seen in the trade with this attractive fish having a purplish body with the upper half somewhat darker then the bottom half and the tail lobes edged in red.

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: Requires covered aquariums, as they are excellent jumpers!

May undermine structures in the aquarium.

Best first introduced into a dimly lit aquarium.

Sometimes difficult to get feeding, and if so, fortified live adult brine shrimp, black worms (Lumbriculus variegatus) or glass/grass shrimp will be necessary to get it feeding.

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