Gnathanodon speciosus

(Forsskal, 1775)

Pilotfish, Golden Trevally

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

Size: 36 inches (90 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits fringing reefs, lagoons, reef flats, and outer reef faces and fore-reef slopes at depths between 3 – 50 feet (1 – 15 m) and feeds mainly by rooting out crustaceans, crabs, and clams in the substrate, and also consuming small fish. Usually found in small groups with juveniles swimming near larger floating objects close to coastal reefs, with adults more a loner, yet often piloting sharks, rays, and large groupers, hence their common name Pilotfish.

General Husbandry: Quite attractive, as juveniles have a bright yellow body with numerous different width vertical black bands, and yellow dorsal, anal, pectoral, and pelvic fins. As they grow larger, the yellow and black bans fade and it becomes an overall silvery color.

Very hardy, and quite attractive when small, however, grows fast and will outgrow most hobbyist aquariums quite rapidly and can easily weigh in when fully grown at 30 pounds (13.6 Kilo’s).

Best maintained in very large fish-only aquariums, especially those with lots of open swimming space, yet can disturb the substrate hunting for prey. As to diet, will take a wide variety of frozen and fresh meaty foodstuffs, including ornamental crustaceans and small fishes, and should be fed at least once per day. They do school and require lots of swimming space.

Not safe with small fish as it grows larger, nor benthic invertebrates.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Percoidei

Family: Carangidae

Genus: Gnathanodon

FYI: Regrettably, somewhat common in the trade!

Experience Level: Intermediate

Temperament: Peaceful (will eat small fish)

Diet: Carnivore

Coral Safe: Yes

Invertebrate Safe: No

Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+

Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium

Tankmates: Peaceful or non-aggressive

Minimum Tank Size: 200+ gallons

Temperature Range: 72 - 82°F (22 – 28°C)

Specific Gravity: 1.020 -1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5