Can I keep a hawkfish

Cole.mormon · Mar 5, 2022

Can I keep a longnose hawkfish with a latticed butterfly a pair of clowns a blenny goby and neon dotty back

blaxsun · Mar 5, 2022

In what size tank?

Cole.mormon · Mar 5, 2022

Miami Reef · Mar 5, 2022

Cole.mormon said:
Can I keep a longnose hawkfish with a latticed butterfly a pair of clowns a blenny goby and neon dotty back

Lattice butterfly will not fit in a 60. Neon dottybacks are very aggressive - skip that one.

Lbrdsoxfan · Mar 5, 2022

Miami Reef said:
Lattice butterfly will not fit in a 60. Neon dottybacks are very aggressive - skip that one.

Agreed on both accounts. The Hawkfish itself will do fine in a 60.

Miami Reef · Mar 5, 2022

I think the hawkfish, clowns, and goby/blenny will work together in a 60 personally.

Geebs19 · Mar 5, 2022

Just don’t plan on inverts living in the tank long unless you keep him super fat and happy.

Cole.mormon · Mar 5, 2022

I already have the neon. Hasn't bothered anything

Cole.mormon · Mar 5, 2022

All fish are current

Lbrdsoxfan · Mar 5, 2022

Geebs19 said:
Just don’t plan on inverts living in the tank long unless you keep him super fat and happy.

This. Shrimp may be definitely short lived from my experience!

Miami Reef · Mar 5, 2022

Cole.mormon said:
I already have the neon. Hasn't bothered anything

It may or may not terrorize new fish (especially smaller ones).

I think you can add the hawkfish, but I’d seriously reconsider keeping the butterfly in that size tank.

ApoIsland · Mar 5, 2022

It would be fine. I have also kept a long nose for many years with inverts and no problems so I’m not sure where people are coming up with that as an issue. The hawk fish would have to be gigantic or the shrimp absolutely miniature to get eaten. The mouth is not large on those fish.

Lbrdsoxfan · Mar 5, 2022

ApoIsland said:
It would be fine. I have also kept a long nose for many years with inverts and no problems so I’m not sure where people are coming up with that as an issue. The hawk fish would have to be gigantic or the shrimp absolutely miniature to get eaten. The mouth is not large on those fish.

I've had my long nose go after a few different shrimp over the past year. Actually witnessed him dive bomb a cleaner shrimp and pieced it in into two. Also went after a fire shrimp, eventually killed it.

ApoIsland · Mar 5, 2022

How miniature were those shrimp? Or how huge is your hawkfish? I have had 3 diff long nose in 10 years and never witnessed that with anything other than a tiny ghost shrimp. Which the do love to demolish…

vtecintegra · Mar 5, 2022

I had two longnose hawks I had to get rid of in a 130. The older they got, the more aggressive they got.

Lbrdsoxfan · Mar 5, 2022

This is a photo from last year. This is my second long nose hawk since 2009, he's about 5 years old (since I got him in 2017) measures just at 4"

Lbrdsoxfan · Mar 5, 2022

vtecintegra said:
I had two longnose hawks I had to get rid of in a 130. The older they got, the more aggressive they got.

That's kinda where I am with my long nose, he's bigger than the older one I had. I put in a Falco hawk to hopefully tame his agression, not much has changed tho. I suspect he's going after hermits too, since he is fairly active at night.