Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Malayan Peninsula to the Philippines and northern Borneo.
Size: 2 inches (6 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits sheltered coral-rich reefs where its found in small groups at depths from 15 to 100 feet (5 – 30 m) where it feeds on small worms and crustaceans/zooplankton.
General Husbandry: Common in the trade and quite attractive having a bright yellow body with purple beginning on the snout and going onto the upper body to the area of the dorsal fin. Its eye is also surrounded by bright blue.
If kept with aggressive fishes, such as larger angelfishes, surgeonfishes, squirrelfishes and wrasses, it can be maintained, even in small groups quite successfully in any style aquarium, reef or fish-only. But, …in any aquarium with less aggressive fishes, such as damselfishes, anthias, gobies, anemonefishes, and even others in its own family, they will terrorize their neighbors. And of course, when stressing tankmates, they become open to diseases. It’s no doubt a very pretty fish, but something very chancy in most mixed company systems. Think twice before putting this in a reef aquarium!
As to diet, products such as marine fish and crustacean flesh, clams, and other marine meaty foods should make up the majority of their diet. Therefore a meaty diet such as enriched finely chopped fresh fish or shrimp flesh, and/or frozen carnivore foods should be fed daily.
Adult enriched live brine shrimp and/or black worms (Lumbriculus variegatus) will also be greedily accepted.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Percoidei
Family: Pseudochromidae
Subfamily: Pseudochrominae
Genus: Pictichromis
FYI: Moderately hardy, but prone to color loss.
Experience Level: Intermediate
Temperament: Feisty/Aggressive
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: Aggressive/larger
Minimum Tank Size: 20+ gallons
Temperature Range: 72 - 81°F (22 – 27°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
