Malacanthus brevirostris

Guichenot, 1848

Quakerfish

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Red Sea to Panama and Columbia, north to Southern Japan and Hawaiian Islands, and south to Lord Howe and Austral Islands.

Size: 12 inches (30 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits open areas on outer reef areas and 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 and feed on small fishes and bottom dwelling invertebrates.

General Husbandry: Rarely seen in the trade with this species having a slender elongated body and an overall pale bluish body.

Best maintained fish-only aquariums with subdued lighting having wide-open swimming areas and large flat rocks on the substrate for it to burrow under. 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: Malacanthus

FYI: 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.

One per aquarium.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Temperament: Peaceful

Diet: Carnivore

Coral Safe: Yes

Fish Safe: With caution

Invertebrate Safe: With caution

Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+

Aquarium Environment: Fish-only aquarium

Tankmates: Larger, yet peaceful

Minimum Tank Size: 100+ gallons

Temperature Range: 72 - 79°F (22 – 26°C)

Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5