Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Marianas east to the Pitcairn group north to Southern Japan, and south to the Great Barrier Reef. Mostly collected from the Cook Islands.
Size: 3 inches (7 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits areas near caves and coral rubble along steep drop-offs and channel walls, and usually found at depths between 85 to about 400 feet (25 – 120 m) where it feeds on zooplankton.
General Husbandry: Rarely seen in the trade, and quite attractive, with males having a purplish red body with yellow spots on the head and along the back. Females have a similar colored body, yet with solid yellow on the back, and yellow dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins.
Shy and best maintained in dimly lit aquariums, as this is usually a deep water collected species, along with some rocky caves and strong water movement. Tankmates should be peaceful species and those that prefer low light aquariums, and all tankmates should be the last to enter the aquarium.
If maintained in brightly lit reef aquariums, may be extremely shy, difficult to feed, with the acclimation timeframe lengthy.
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, with only one male and several females.
A cooler water species.
Can jump out of the aquarium, therefore some sort of cover may be necessary.
Experience Level: Intermediate/Professional
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: 100 gallons
Temperature Range: 68 - 76°F (20 – 24°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
