Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Papua New Guinea to Tonga, and the Great Barrier Reef.
Size: 3 inches (7 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits holes and crevices in rocky and coral reefs and is usually found between depths of 15 to 100 feet (5 – 30 m) where it feeds on smaller fishes and crustaceans.
General Husbandry: Rarely seen in the trade with the male highly attractive having a bright red body and fins with a black eyespot of the dorsal, but the female quite drab having a pale yellowish body.
Can be maintained in reef or fish-only aquariums having some rocky hiding places/crevices to take shelter, as this species is somewhat secretive. Best housed with larger more moderately aggressive fishes, such as angelfishes, surgeonfishes, and rabbitfishes.
As to diet, products such as marine fish and crustacean flesh, clams, and other marine meaty foods should make up the majority of their diet. Therefore a meaty diet such as enriched chopped fresh fish or shrimp flesh, and/or frozen carnivore foods should be fed once daily.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Percoidei
Family: Pseudochromidae
Subfamily: Pseudochrominae
Genus: Cypho
FYI: Not safe with smaller fishes, tubeworms and ornamental shrimp, nor is it safe with ‘any’ fish that has red in its color.
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: 30+ gallons
Temperature Range: 72 - 81°F (22 – 27°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
