CanadianReefer
Active Member
About 5" and I wouldn't say they grow exceptionally fast (or slow, for that matter)
Hawkfish?
- Thread starter LetItReef
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OP
OP
LetItReef
2500 Club Member
I'd go longnose, even though mine is only 2 inches long, he shows no aggressive tendencies. He does show amazing personality, however, and loves to sit and watch me from his little frag rack that I keep in the tank with only one frag on it for him to sit on. He is definitely one of the neatest fish I have ever kept!
My LFS always have Longnose in stock. Tempting.
nautical_nathaniel
Indecision may or may not be my problem.
I think they are like mini-falcos so while they probably wouldn't be able to fit a flame shrimp in their mouth, they might be a bit aggressive towards it. I think fundamentaly the big difference between longnose hawkfish and the rest of the hawkfishes is that the longnose hawkfish's mouth causes it to be more selective in its food and only go after smaller morsels, thus making it a more relaxed fish in aquariums. Mine eats copepods like a mandarin though, picking them off the rocks very selectively (he likes mysis and LRS nano frenzy the most though).
OP
OP
LetItReef
2500 Club Member
WOW! That's one mean Hawk. Thanks for sharing your experience. Btw, how big is your tank?
eatbreakfast
Fish Nerd
Geometric pygmy hawkfish are very peaceful and shy fish. They are actually an anthias. They don't have a swim bladder, so perch similarly to a hawkfish, but prefer smaller foods and aren't predatory.
A full grown longnose hawkfish can open it's mouth wider than a full grown flame hawk. Also, captive longnoses grow larger than their wild counterparts. Usually both flames and longnose hawks are pretty well behaved, but there are exceptions. I have had a large longnose catch and eat a 3" flasher wrasse.
kinetic
Valuable Member
Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish is tiny, and will usually disappear in a big tank. They are tiny and can barely eat a regular mysis shrimp. They’re also not technically hawkfish (anthias) but act and eat similarly. Very cryptic.
Empress
Valuable Member
Does anybody ever hand feed their hawkfish? I'll bet if their bellies were full a couple times a day with meaty foodstuffs they wouldn't be so tempted to dine on other fish/shrimps. After all, that's why they'll eat your fish in the first place.....cuz they're hungry. So keep them well-fed and decrease your chances of being murdered!
I don't have one, but I really want a longnose. Someone please talk me into it! [emoji225]
I don't have one, but I really want a longnose. Someone please talk me into it! [emoji225]
CanadianReefer
Active Member
I have a 300g system. Main display is 220g with an 80g sump.
I think he was the exception, but proves that it can happen sometimes. I wouldn't have even believed it was him until I saw it repeatedly with my own eyes.
Ever since I removed him from the tank, the remaining shrimp seem more relaxed and will come out a bit more. My Randall goby, on the other hand, will still barely pop his head out of his cave.
I'm hoping one day he'll feel a little safer.
CanadianReefer
Active Member
No - I wouldn't say so. Perhaps you'd have a bit more of a chance that he wouldn't go after things, but my fish are well-fed and it didn't matter... he killed things he didn't even bother to eat!
Empress
Valuable Member
I read your post. Bad fish!!
With so many beautiful fish available I'm better off just staying away from trouble-makers altogether.
If I only knew then what I know now, I would have stocked my tank differently when I started this hobby. Oh well. I still love my tank and everything in it. [emoji7]
coweyes298
Active Member
I have 100 gallon 48" x 24" 20". I got my flame hawk last June and he stays with me till now. Been through a velvet outbreak and he is the only two fish left. Treated with TTM two rounds and later copper/prazirpo and now he is back to my display. He is on a small side probably close to 2 ". I once had a cleaner shrimp and my flame showed no interest to the shrimp. Lost the shrimp due to other reason I guess.
Flame hawk is a guffy looking fish with two little eyes stays on top of their head and can be rolled separately. They perch on rocks all day and the way they swim is super hilarious.
Flame hawk is a guffy looking fish with two little eyes stays on top of their head and can be rolled separately. They perch on rocks all day and the way they swim is super hilarious.
lauderdalestunner
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My long nose hasn't bothered any shrimp
OP
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LetItReef
2500 Club Member
Good to know. What kind of shrimp do you have? Thanks!
lauderdalestunner
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Two coral banded, one fire and I had a cleaner but lost him...... don't think he was the culprit but my longnose was also very large and both were In the tank together
for a few + years.
for a few + years.
lauderdalestunner
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Mag float a little over 3"
I have Skunk cleaner shrimp and blood fire shrimp with my hawkfish and i don't have any issues with that. My little flame hawkfish is really shy and my flame angel, tangs and clownfish bullied him since I introduced him to my tank.
erk
Valuable Member
The only experience I have with hawkfish are the arch eye and geometric pygmy which isn't really a hawkfish.
The arch eye wasn't mentioned as an option, but as an idea of hawkfish attitude, it was extremely aggressive. It would dive bomb my firefish constantly even though it was the same size as them. I returned him to the LFS after it became clear he was becoming a detriment to the tank.
The geometric pygmy hawk is an awesome fish, but difficult to get to eat, at least in my experience. They are more of a nocturnal resident and choose to eat the pods in the tank. Mine was eating frozen mysis chopped finely, but after I moved it to my 40B, it became more reclusive and harder to feed. It stopped eating frozen and since the tank wasn't mature enough, the copepod population wasn't strong enough to support it. Lesson learned and I probably won't try one again until I have a tank large enough to support multiple pod eaters.
The arch eye wasn't mentioned as an option, but as an idea of hawkfish attitude, it was extremely aggressive. It would dive bomb my firefish constantly even though it was the same size as them. I returned him to the LFS after it became clear he was becoming a detriment to the tank.
The geometric pygmy hawk is an awesome fish, but difficult to get to eat, at least in my experience. They are more of a nocturnal resident and choose to eat the pods in the tank. Mine was eating frozen mysis chopped finely, but after I moved it to my 40B, it became more reclusive and harder to feed. It stopped eating frozen and since the tank wasn't mature enough, the copepod population wasn't strong enough to support it. Lesson learned and I probably won't try one again until I have a tank large enough to support multiple pod eaters.
