Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indian Ocean: Endemic to the Red Sea.
Size: 5 inches (12 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits drop-offs, reef faces and outer reef slopes and usually found at depths between 85 to about 130 feet (25 – 40 m) where it feeds on zooplankton.
General Husbandry: Rarely seen in the trade, and quite attractive. Males have a red and white horizontally striped body, with the females an overall reddish orange body.
Moderately hardy 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.
If maintained in brightly lit reef aquariums, the acclimation timeframe may be lengthy.
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: 150 gallons
Temperature Range: 70 - 78°F (21 – 26°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
