Harlequin Tusk Captive Size

Zionas · Jul 19, 2023

Long-time owners of C. Fasciatus, have you found them to be slow growers or quick growers? How big do they normally get in captivity? Are they extremely active and are they a risk to small fish?

Jay Hemdal · Jul 20, 2023

Zionas said:
Long-time owners of C. Fasciatus, have you found them to be slow growers or quick growers? How big do they normally get in captivity? Are they extremely active and are they a risk to small fish?

I don't know how fast the juveniles grow, but as mid-sized to adult fish, they seem very slow growers. I acquired some adult Australian ones in 2014 and they have perhaps grown an inch or so (tough to judge) and are still under 12" long. They do like lots of open swimming spaces. Despite their gnarly teeth, I've not had issues with them and smaller fish, they are more invertebrate feeders. You may have seen this, but here is an article I posted here about them:

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/the-harlequin-tuskfish-–-all-dressed-up-but-anywhere-to-go.786/

Jay

Zionas · Jul 20, 2023

That’s interesting. How big were they when you got them? I assume if I get a juvenile 6-7” as an adult seems reasonable?

Jay Hemdal · Jul 20, 2023

Zionas said:
That’s interesting. How big were they when you got them? I assume if I get a juvenile 6-7” as an adult seems reasonable?

They are about 10" long and I think they came in at around 8". Size of fish is so tricky though - unless you measure them directly, it is really impossible to judge growth. So many times I have grown fish up in tanks and then moved them to a new, larger tank, only to see them "shrink" in size (grin).

There is one is this display (live underwater video feed). I watched for a bit, and saw it swim by after a couple of minutes.

Jay