Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Cocos Keeling Islands east to Indonesia, Philippines, north to South China Sea, Taiwan, Southern Japan and south to Caroline Islands.
Size: 16 inches (40 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits seaward reefs and estuaries rich in algae and usually found at depths between 3 - 130 feet (1 - 40 m) where it feeds mainly upon algae and some benthic invertebrates.
General Husbandry: Occasionally seen in the trade, with a whitish body having numerous golden/brownish spots.
Best maintained in well-established fish-only or reef aquariums with wide-open swimming areas, and preferably containing some algae growth.
Even though technically an omnivore, they are excellent herbivores and require a large amount of vegetable matter in their diet. In fact, they are one of the better hair alga consumers. Requires a varied diet made up of mostly vegetable matter, especially some Spirulina flake and some nori (dried seaweed/kelp). Should receive at least several feedings per day.
May be difficult to feed in the early days in the aquarium and if so, live enriched adult brine shrimp should be offered several times daily. Also, live macroalgae, e.g., Caulerpa is good at enticing new inhabitants to feed. Over time, it may learn to also accept various frozen herbivore foods.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Acanthuroidei
Family: Siganidae
Genus: Siganus
FYI: Keep in mind they have venomous dorsal and anal fins, similar to lionfish, and care must be taken in their handling.
Not totally safe with some soft corals, such as Xenia.
Easy to feed, quite active, none aggressive, and resistant to poor water quality.
One per tank unless a mated pair.
May chase other herbivores in the aquarium.
Experience Level: Intermediate
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet: Omnivore/herbivore
Coral Safe: With caution
Fish Safe: Yes
Invertebrate Safe: With caution
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium
Tankmates: Peaceful to moderately aggressive
Minimum Tank Size: 180 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 - 82°F (21 - 27°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
