Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Andaman Sea to Solomon Islands, north to the Southern Japan, and south to the Great Barrier Reef.
Size: 5 inches (12 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits areas of coral heads and rubble patches and usually found at depths between 30 to about 130 feet (10 – 40 m) where it feeds on zooplankton.
General Husbandry: Occasionally seen in the trade, and quite attractive. Males have a pinkish orange body with a mid-body bright red vertical bar, and with the aft body somewhat yellowish. Females have a similar colored body, except lighter in color and with the aft body whitish.
Hardy and somewhat feisty, and best maintained in aquaria with some rocky caves and strong water movement that has a large unencumbered area for schooling, which will occur in the upper third of this area. Tankmates should be peaceful and all 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: Best maintained in small groups, with ‘only’ one male and eight or more females. If not maintained in a group, only one male per aquarium.
Can jump out of the aquarium, therefore some sort of cover may be necessary.
Experience Level: Intermediate
Temperament: Feisty
Diet: Carnivore
Coral Safe: Yes
Fish Safe: Yes
Invertebrate Safe: Yes
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium
Tankmates: Peaceful to moderately aggressive
Minimum Tank Size: 180 gallons
Temperature Range: 72 - 80°F (22 – 27°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
