Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Sri Lanka to Line and Tuamotu Islands, north to Southern Japan, and south to Rowley Shoals and Lord Howe Island.
Size: 4 inches (9 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits areas of rubble on lagoon and seaward reefs at depths between 3 to about 70 feet (1 – 20 m) and feeds on zooplankton, benthic invertebrates and algae.
General Husbandry: One of the more attractive and commonly seen in the trade species in this genus, having a neon blue body with a yellow belly, caudal peduncle and tail. The amount of yellow on this species depends upon the area of collection.
Best maintained in small groups of at least five to seven members and non-aggressive tankmates.
As to diet, will eat most regular aquarium foods, e.g., live fortified brine shrimp and/or finely chopped various frozen or fresh meaty foods such as mysis, squid, fish flesh, shrimp, clam, etc., and plant material, e.g., flake foods, especially those containing Spirulina and offered once or twice daily.
Taxonomy:
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Labroidei
Family: Pomacentridae
Subfamily: Pomacentrinae
Genus: Pomacentrus
FYI: Even though quite passive and will ignore other fish in the aquarium, larger aquariums, e.g., 50 gallons and above for this species, provide far more openness for small shoals to ‘peacefully’ coexist.
If maintained in groups of less than mentioned above, they tend to be over dominate of each other and may force some members into hiding. The bigger the group, the less intergroup picking on each other exists.
May pick on/annoy other species in this family.
Experience Level: Beginner
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Diet: Zooplanktivore/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
