Upeneus vittatus

(Forsskal, 1775)

Yellowbanded Goatfish, Yellowstriped Goatfish

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Red Sea east to Hawaiian, Marquesas, and Society Islands, north to Southern Japan, and south to New Caledonia.

Size: 11 inches (28 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits muddy and sandy areas in lagoons and fringing reefs at depths between 15 - 300 feet (3 – 90 m) and mainly feeds on crabs, shrimps, and worms.

General Husbandry: Rarely ever seen in the trade, and has an elongated bluish white body with several yellow horizontal lines, and five or six black bands on its tail.

Best maintained in large fish-only aquariums with wide-open swimming and unencumbered substrate areas. 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 ornamental crustaceans in the aquarium, and possibly small fishes. Sinking shrimp pellets are also welcomed foodstuffs.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Percoidei

Family: Mullidae

Genus: Upeneus

FYI: Sometimes sold in the trade as the ‘Assorted Goatfish.’

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: 125 gallons

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

Specific Gravity: 1.020 -1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5