Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Not Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Eastern Pacific Ocean: Galapagos to the coast of North America and the Gulf of California.
Size: 30 inches (75 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits rocky and coral coastal reefs and usually found at depths between 15 – 65 feet (5– 20 m) where it feeds on benthic hard-shelled invertebrate.
General Husbandry: Rarely seen in the trade having a whitish body with two horizontal dark brown bands beginning as one band at the snout, yellow tail and some yellow on the trailing dorsal and anal fins.
Best maintained in fish-only aquariums, as this species gets quite large and will rearrange bottom dwelling corals in its search for tasty bottom dwelling invertebrates. Provide hiding places and lots of open swimming area. Preferable tankmates are groupers, angelfishes, hawkfishes, moray eels, and moderately aggressive triggerfishes.
Requires a meaty diet, including fortified brine shrimp, mysis, black worms and other meaty type marine-based frozen foods, and should be fed two or three times per day.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Labroidei
Family: Labridae
Genus: Bodianus
FYI: Will annoy smaller peaceful species and eat those smaller than itself.
Will disturb sandbeds by blowing jets of water into it to find buried prey.
Usually sleep under rock shelves, on or under a coral branch, in a crevice, or directly on the sand surface.
Hardy species.
Do not have any similar colored species in the aquarium, as this species will become very aggressive towards it. One per aquarium.
Experience Level: Intermediate
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Diet: Carnivore
Coral Safe: Yes
Fish Safe: With caution
Invertebrate Safe: With caution
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Fish-only aquarium
Tankmates: Moderately aggressive
Minimum Tank Size: 300 gallons
Temperature Range: 68- 82°F (20 – 27°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
