Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Not Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: China and Japan south to Indonesia.
Size: 5 inches (12 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits silty coastal reefs and is usually found between depths of 10 to 100 feet (3 – 30 m) where it feeds on small worms and crustaceans/zooplankton.
General Husbandry: Rarely seen in the trade, having several different color forms. Sometimes a greyish body with a reddish belly, other specimens have a yellow belly, some are overall whitish with all having a black horizontal band on the upper body and a dark eye band from the snout to the gill area.
Best maintained in fish-only aquariums having some rocky hiding places/crevices to take shelter, as this species is secretive and also aggressive. Cannot be trusted with anything less dominating than large eels, angelfishes, surgeonfishes, groupers, squirrelfishes, snappers, triggerfishes and rabbitfishes. Even then, it may nip larger tankmates.
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: Pseudochromis
FYI: Will eat bristleworms.
Experience Level: Intermediate
Temperament: Aggressive
Diet: Carnivore
Coral Safe: Yes
Fish Safe: With much caution
Invertebrate Safe: With caution
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Fish-only aquarium
Tankmates: Moderately aggressive/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
