Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Eastern Indian Ocean and Western Pacific: Andaman Sea to Loyalty Islands, north to Philippines, south to Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia.
Size: 3 inches (7 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits lagoons, harbors and outer reef slopes at depths between 6 to about 100 feet (2 – 30 m) and feeds on on planktonic crustaceans (copepods, mysis, and shrimp larvae), fish eggs and algae.
General Husbandry: Quite attractive and ocassionally available in the trade, with those collected in the Loyalty Islands, Fiji and New Caledonia having a yellow forehead, then a wide black slanted band, with the remaining body white. Those from other areas tend to have a greyish black head and frontal body, with the remaining body yellowish white.
Best maintained in aquariums having wide-open substrate swimming areas, as they tend to stay within several inches of the substrate in the wild.
Sometimes picked on by slightly more aggressive fishes.
As to diet, a meaty diet, e.g., live fortified brine shrimp and/or finely chopped various frozen or fresh meaty foods such as mysis, squid, fish flesh, shrimp, clam and plant material, e.g., flake foods, especially those containing Spirulina, and should also be offered several times daily.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Labroidei
Family: Pomacentridae
Subfamily: Pomacentrinae
Genus: Chrysiptera
FYI: Best maintained singly or in mated pairs.
Experience Level: Beginner
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet: Omnivore
Coral Safe: Yes
Invertebrate Safe: With caution
Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+
Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium
Tankmates: Peaceful
Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
Temperature Range: 74 - 84°F (23 – 28°C)
Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026
pH: 8.0 - 8.5
