Bodianus neilli

(Day, 1867)

Bay of Bengal Hogfish

Range: Indian Ocean: Maldives, India, Sri Lanka, and the Andaman Sea.

Size: 8 inches (20 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits shallow coastal reefs and turbid lagoon reefs and usually found at depths between 30 – 100 feet (10– 30 m) where it feeds on benthic hard-shelled invertebrate.

General Husbandry: Rarely seen in the trade with adults having the front upper of the body pink and the remaining cream-white, with red markings on the dorsal, anal and tail fins. Juveniles are black with white spots and black eyespots on the dorsal, pelvic and anal fins.

Can be maintained in fish-only or reef aquariums, which should provide hiding places and lots of open swimming area. Preferable tankmates are groupers, angelfishes, hawkfishes, 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.

Since they mostly feed upon worms and crustaceans, they pose a danger in reef tanks.

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: Reef or fish-only aquarium

Tankmates: Moderately aggressive

Minimum Tank Size: 75 gallons

Temperature Range: 74- 82°F (23 – 27°C)

Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5