Plectorhinchus vittatus

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Oriental Sweetlips

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: East Africa to Samoa, north to Southern Japan, and south to New Caledonia.

Size: 34 inches (84 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits reef channels and outer-reef faces and slopes and spends the daytime in caves and under ledges at depths between 6 to 150 feet (2 – 45 m) and feeds at night on shrimp, crabs, snails, worms and various other benthic invertebrates and small fishes.

General Husbandry: Occasionally seen in the trade, with the juvenile having a black and white body and the adult a whitish body with black horizontal lines and black spots on the yellow dorsal, anal, pelvic and tail fins.

Requires a very large fish-only aquarium with wide-open swimming areas and areas/caves to take shelter during daytime hours As to diet, newcomers are sometimes shy and difficult to get feeding, therefore require fortified live brine shrimp and/or live glass/grass shrimp to get feeding. Once accepting aquarium foods, a wide variety of frozen and fresh meaty foodstuffs (chopped squid, fish flesh, scallops, shrimp, clam, etc.) can be offered and fed several times daily. Any ornamental crustaceans and small fish in the aquarium will also be consumed.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Percoidei

Family: Lutjanidae

Genus: Plectorhinchus

FYI: Usually seen as juveniles in the trade, however, they grow fast and soon outgrow most hobbyist aquariums.

May stir up the substrate looking for food.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Temperament: Peaceful

Diet: Carnivore

Coral Safe: Yes

Invertebrate Safe: No

Fish Safe: With caution

Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+

Aquarium Environment: Fish-only aquarium

Tankmates: Peaceful or non-aggressive

Minimum Tank Size: 300 gallons

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

Specific Gravity: 1.020 -1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5