Harlequin Sweetlips

[ikon]

here she is..just picked her up at my lfs today, shes about 4" long and beautiful

 

[WILDER]

Wow never seen a fish like that before lovely.

 

[andywg]

They are a lovely fish, they undergo an amazing transformation too: from the above juvenile colours to this:

 

[ikon]

at what age do they change? how long in inches is the one in your picture?

 

[meso81]

I saw some of these today at PETCO....I DONT GET MY FISH THERE!!!!!!!! I get some supplements there some times.

But....


Please correct me if I am wrong, but isnt this fish not reef safe?



thanks

 

[ikon]

it wont eat corals but they say it will mess with inverts...

although i just witnessed him swim near my coral banded shrimp and the shrimp immediately scared him off with his claws. my 3" porcupine puffer hasnt touched the shrimp either in the few months that they have shared a tank.

case in point, every fish is different, if you live by the rules you'll never have fun

 

[meso81]

I was thinking about getting one....

I just dont want him to destroy my corals... or anemone, but I was informed that I have a condys and I dont think any fish is going to mess with it...

 

[ikon]

i have a condi also and he hasnt touched it. i have zoos, leathers, shrooms, and frogspawn and he hasnt touched them either.

 

[Lynden]

Meso81, be aware that this fish can reach 3 feet in length. They also tend to do poorly in captivity; is yours feeding yet Ter?

if you live by the rules you'll never have fun

Sweet!

 

[ikon]

in response to its feeding..

lfs told me the only trouble i might have would be getting it to eat once in my tank. he sold me some frozen prawn and the same day i got him (last night) i dropped a few by him and he ate them. this afternoon he ate them when i fed as well.

 

[dixaisy930]

What a great fish!

It makes me want to sell some of my organs on the black market and set-up a 200 gallon tank.

 

[andywg]

3 feet is a bit of an exageration. Reef Fishes and Fishbase have the max size as 72cm (around 28") with a recommended minimum tank size of 200 gallons.

I believe the change starts to happen from as little as 4-6". The adult pic above is likely to be in excess of 2 feet.

They are said to be somewhat finicky to get to feed in the home aquarium, but once started out the only problem most aquarists have is dealing with a 2 foot marine fish.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ooooh purdy

 

[Lynden]

2' or 3', either is monstrous for an aquarium fish. A "tankbuster".

FishBase provides more info on this fish. While it is not recommended for captive life, if one has an enormous tank they can be supported. I would probably get one if I had a tank big enough; I also think the adult form is still very pretty, just in a different way. The juveniles supposedly mimic flatworms.

-Lynden

 

[meso81]

Rgr that,

Its not worth putting it in my 55gal reef tank, I dont want to eventually have to find a home for it when it gets to big...