Coral hawkfish, also called as Pixy hawkfish , Sharp-headed hawkfish and its scientific name Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus are know for t...
Coral hawkfish, also called as Pixy hawkfish , Sharp-headed hawkfish and its scientific name Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus are know for their habit of swooping down from above on to their victims, in a similar way to birds of prey.
CORAL HAWKFISH DESCRIPTION:
Coral hawkfish is a haremic and sometimes solitary species that is found in coastal lagoons and outer reefs at a depth between 1 and 40 m. They are widely distributed in the tropical Indo-Pacific; the central Gulf of California to northern Peru and all the offshore islands. This species can grow up to 13 cm in length.
These fish have a moderately compressed oval, white to pink coloured body that is covered in small to large red and brown spots and squares, head with smaller red to brown spots and blotches; dorsal and tail fins with rows of small red-brown spots. The fish’s dominant reddish coloration becomes blotched on the lower part of its body. It makes an interesting aquarium occupant. These fish an be distinguished from similar species by having spots rather than lines under the eye.
Long pectoral fins enable these fish to rest securely on a rocky perch so that, although they may sway in the current, they will not be swept away by the swell. This is very important, because hawkfish lack a swim bladder and so have difficulty in maintaining their buoyancy in the water.
In nature, most hawkfish will live in harems of about 7 females to one male. They are hermaphrodites. They will change into females when sexually mature. If it is needed the hawkfish can change their sex back as well. If the male in the harem dies then one of the females will change sex and become the new male.
Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus are pelagic spawners and the spawning pair ascend into the water column occurred over a distance of 0.3 to 1 m.
CORAL HAWKFISH CARE:
Coral hawkfish can be maintained in reef or fish-only aquariums, which should contain various rocky areas where the species can take shelter if needing it, or perch/sit on and watch the activity of other tankmates or see where food enters the aquarium. They need a tank size of minimum 30 gallons with water temperature of 25-26 °C, alkaline (pH 8.1-8.3) with specific gravity of 1.020-1.024. Make certain that the tank is well covered, as these fish are accomplished jumpers and can dart upwards with incredibly powerful bursts of speed. They will eat meaty marine food for carnivores, crustacean flesh, mysis shrimp, fresh or live and frozen preparations. Feed small amounts 3 times per day to maintain condition.
Like other hawkfish, the Pixy Hawkfish is not an active swimmer, preferring instead to ambush its prey. It should not be housed with crustaceans in a reef aquarium, since its sharp teeth can make easy work of even a crab’s shell. They will mainly stick to the bottom of tanks or sit on top of ornaments. They should have enough hides in the tank because at night they like to hide away from the rest of the fish.
Coral hawkfish is a carnivore and can be aggressive towards smaller and similarly-sized fish, so avoid stocking with these small dottybacks, grammas, pygmy angelfishes, small butterflyfishes, sand perches, gobies, and dartfish. If you're going to keep these fish in a tank with other species, make sure that only semiaggressive and larger fish like Angelfish and Tangs are the only companions for Coral Hawkfish. Tankmates should be of similar size and temperament, and ensure that there are a decent number of visual barriers amongst the decor.
They are also aggressive to their own kind and while they live in groups in nature, you should only keep one per tank. This is a confident and somewhat pugnacious species which should be the last fish added to the aquarium; males can be especially territorial.
Like other marine ornamental fish caught in the wild and kept in captivity, Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus can develop health problems related to several factors encountered along the “chain of custody”, from capture to aquaria. For this reason, its introduction in the confined environment of the aquarium always has to be always carried out with careful acclimation and ensuring a readily available proper diet and suitable environmental parameters.
BUY CORAL HAWKFISH AND RELATED PRODUCTS:
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