Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: East Africa, Maldives, and Indonesia.
Size: 5 inches (14 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits coastal drop-offs and usually found in small groups at depths between 80 to about 300 feet (25 – 90 m) where it feeds on zooplankton.
General Husbandry: Fairly common in the trade, and quite attractive, with males having one or two spots on the dorsal fin, reddish body, and sometimes with a pinkish head that fads to red as it grows into adulthood, and also pinkish horizontal irregular lines from the head to the tail. Females are pink with a yellow dorsal, anal and tail fin.
One of the more shy species in this family and best maintained in dimly lit aquaria since this is a slightly deep collected species, yet maintainable in brightly lit reef aquariums, yet will be quite shy and take longer to acclimate. Aquarium should also have several rocky caves and strong water movement, and have a large unencumbered area for schooling, which will usually occur in the upper third of this area. Tankmates should be peaceful and all tankmates should be last to enter the aquarium.
As to diet, will eat most regular aquarium foods, e.g., finely chopped various frozen or fresh meaty foods such as mysis, squid, fish flesh, shrimp, clam, etc., and should be offered at least twice daily and dispensed upstream so water currents carry food to their location.
Sometimes difficult to get feeding, and if so, fortified live adult brine shrimp may be necessary until they accept other types of aquarium foods, e.g., frozen foods and fresh marine fish and invertebrate flesh.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Percoidei
Family: Serranidae
Subfamily: Anthiinae
Genus: Pseudanthias
FYI: Can be maintained in small groups, e.g., one male and three females. In smaller aquaria, one per aquarium.
Can jump out of the aquarium, therefore some sort of cover may be necessary.
Experience Level: Intermediate
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet: Carnivore
Coral Safe: Yes
Fish Safe: Yes
Invertebrate Safe: Yes
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium
Tankmates: Peaceful
Minimum Tank Size: 125 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 - 80°F (22 – 27°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
