Not Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Viet Nam to Southern Japan and south to the Great Barrier Reef.
Size: 14 inches (35 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits lagoon reefs, reef faces, and fore-reef slopes at depths between 3 - 250 feet (1 – 75 m) and feeds during daytime and nighttime mainly on worms and crustaceans, and also small fishes.
General Husbandry: Rarely ever seen in the trade, with the juvenile having a yellowish-whitish body with two wide half height vertical brownish bands and a brownish patch around the eyes. Bands mostly dissipate as it grows into adulthood.
Best maintained in very large fish-only aquariums with wide-open swimming and unencumbered substrate areas and with several areas to hide when wanting to rest out of view of its tankmates. As to diet, feed a wide variety of frozen and fresh meaty foodstuffs (chopped squid, scallops, fish flesh, shrimp, clam, etc.) at least several times daily. Will also consume any ornamental crustaceans and small fishes in the aquarium.
Live glass/ghost shrimp, live black worms (Lumbriculus variegatus), and sinking shrimp pellets are also welcomed foodstuffs.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Percoidei
Family: Mullidae
Genus: Parupeneus
FYI: Mostly unsuitable for the average size hobbyist aquariums due to its physical size.
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: 150+ gallons
Temperature Range: 72 - 82°F (22 – 28°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 -1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5