Bodianus loxozonus

(Snyder, 1908)

Blackfin Hogfish

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: French Polynesia north to Japan, and south to New Caledonia.

Size: 17 inches (48 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits clear lagoons and seaward reefs and usually found at depths between 10 – 130 feet (3– 40 m) where it feeds on benthic hard-shelled invertebrate.

General Husbandry: Rarely seen in the trade having a whitish lower body and orange-red upper body with numerous yellow horizontal lines, bluish horizontal lines on the upper face, and a large black blotch on the upper back that slants downward.

Best maintained in fish-only aquariums, as this is an aggressive species that also gets quite large. 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, including flake foods, and should be fed two or three times per day.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Labroidei

Family: Labridae

Genus: Bodianus

FYI: Can 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: 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/aggressive

Minimum Tank Size: 200 gallons

Temperature Range: 72- 82°F (22 – 27°C)

Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5