What dimensions for Longnose Hawkfish?

VR28man · Apr 28, 2020

So I am interested in maybe getting this fish waaaaay in the future, but I noticed wildly different tank size recommendations.

LA says 30 gallons (36x12x12???) while a TFH article says minimum 60 gallons (36x16x20?) and 100 gallons (48x24x24?) being much better.

What do people think, both in gallons and (more important IMO) dimensions?

Webslinger · Apr 28, 2020

both matter depending on fish, they aren't swimmers they are observers so any size/gallon tank will do..

Homebrewer · Apr 28, 2020

Webslinger said:
30 is fine, they aren't swimmers they are observers.

Agree, had one in a 30 cube a long time ago, did fine.

nereefpat · Apr 28, 2020

I would recommend a 40 breeder. About 3x1.5x1.5

Camaro Show Corals · Apr 28, 2020

Ive had one for years in my biocube29, very happy just peached all day.

mort · Apr 29, 2020

Whilst I agree with the above they do get a decent size so look better in a larger tank that gives them more space. Mine is 5" at least now and covers the whole tank (probably because it's full of gorgonian, so lots of places to perch).

pcon · Apr 29, 2020

I agree with @mort they can get surprisingly large, saw one at a public aquarium which was at least 6in. Mine gets surprisingly active in the evening swimming throughout my 75gal tank. And he is still small ~3.5in. I would lean towards at least a 40 breeder, or 60cube minimum and perhaps larger for one of the large mature specimens.

VR28man · Apr 29, 2020

mort said:
Mine is 5" at least now and covers the whole tank (probably because it's full of gorgonian, so lots of places to perch).

Your post is completely worthless......without pictures or a video!!!

Seriously, that's a very interesting setup that I'd like to see. (and honestly what i'd be going for if I ever had one of these fish).

I'd be interested to see other folks' setups as well.

.

Webslinger · Apr 29, 2020

I've had mine for 3 years, he might of grown an inch, He's 3-4 inches now. And always is around his rock perches. Only swims around when its feeding time. Or to chase the royal gramma if it gets to close to him.

joseph scott · Apr 29, 2020

Another thing to consider, when they get large they attempt to eat small fish, and people tend to have small fish in small tanks.

Webslinger · Apr 29, 2020

joseph scott said:
Another thing to consider, when they get large they attempt to eat small fish, and people tend to have small fish in small tanks.

What like when the fish is 20 years old? They are extremely slow growers. He can barely fit a mysis shrimp in his mouth

Bpfor3 · Apr 29, 2020

i had a pair in a 150, until one disappeared. Mine ignores bigger fish but is a terror to gobies or anything cylinder shaped. takes swipes at them till they jump. i also have a bunch of gorgonians and it is all over the tank. i would say the smaller the tank, the later it needs to go in to let less assertive fish settle in. Like most fish, greatly depends on the fish.

good luck!

VR28man · Apr 29, 2020

Thanks all. I've got a few other random tidbits:

From the R2R writeup (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/longnose-hawkfish-oxycirrhites-typus.55500/)

skinz78 said:
MIN. AQUARIUM SIZE - 20 US Gal. (76 L)

CAPTIVE CARE - The Hawkfish acclimates well to captivity, May be aggressive towards Firefishes, dart Gobies and fish with elongate bodies. If introduced at the same time more than one can be housed in a medium to large tank if they are a male, female pair, and if adequate hiding places are provided. Add both at the same time, if individuals fight they should be separated immediately, subject to being battered by other Hawkfish, may jump out of open top tanks.

Has anyone else found them aggressive with firefish?

From animal world: Found singly on the reef with one male presiding over a territory that will include 2 to 7 females. In the ocean they are often seen perching on black corals or gorgonians. Pelagic spawning has been observed for this species from field observations. They are strongly territorial.

This suggests that you can make a harem, if you sex them right and add them at the beginning. They seem to be protogynous hermaphrodites.

Finally, I would love to see more footage/pictures, but here's some footage (generally) from the wild. It seems they do perch on gorgonians and black corals as they say, but they sometimes also perch on rocks and even corals. (I count a dead table acro, and a mostly-dead tenuis-type acro as perches in some of these shots)

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)

Bpfor3 · Apr 30, 2020

YES! just found this out the hard way. mercilessly attacked two firefish. put them in a box for two days and the hawkfish ignored. as soon as i let them out, it attacked. one jumped. one has disappeared. if it shows up, ill pull. would not recommend. i worked hard on those filefish too. qt'd for 30 before adding them.

i got mine as a pair from live aquaria and they did fine with each other until one disappeared. (think it jumped0

|Tom the Bomb| · Apr 30, 2020

Just have a lid (jumpers) with tons of rock on low and high places for them to perch and a tank of at least 30 gallons

Bpfor3 · Apr 30, 2020

|Tom the Bomb| said:
Just have a lid (jumpers) with tons of rock on low and high places for them to perch and a tank of at least 30 gallons

i have a lid now too. GET A LID!

joseph scott · May 1, 2020

Webslinger said:
What like when the fish is 20 years old? They are extremely slow growers. He can barely fit a mysis shrimp in his mouth

I’m not sure we’re talking about the same kind of fish then. My pair are about four and a half inches long, and their mouths are an inch long. They eat huge chunks of food. When I got them a couple years ago they were about 2 inches long.

mort · May 1, 2020

I must admit I think they grow pretty quickly ime. I've never kept them with tiny fish or anything timid like firefish because they are predators after all. They are capable of taking good sized food items because even though their beaks are small, they are designed to get into coral heads/crevices and suck the prey item down.
I once had a cleaner shrimp that had a bad moult and died, so I added it to the hawkfish tank (waste not want not) and the hawk was able to fit a good portion of this full sized cleaner in its mouth. It's the reason I wouldn't trust them with shrimp or anything small.

VR28man · May 1, 2020

Bpfor3 said:
YES! just found this out the hard way. mercilessly attacked two firefish. put them in a box for two days and the hawkfish ignored. as soon as i let them out, it attacked. one jumped. one has disappeared. if it shows up, ill pull. would not recommend. i worked hard on those filefish too. qt'd for 30 before adding them.

i got mine as a pair from live aquaria and they did fine with each other until one disappeared. (think it jumped)

This is diappointing but not surprising. I like firefish but I found mine was easily intimidated by a royal gramma. If I go with a LNHF in the future I will probably then pair it with an RG instead of a firefish.

mort said:
I must admit I think they grow pretty quickly ime. I've never kept them with tiny fish or anything timid like firefish because they are predators after all. They are capable of taking good sized food items because even though their beaks are small, they are designed to get into coral heads/crevices and suck the prey item down.
I once had a cleaner shrimp that had a bad moult and died, so I added it to the hawkfish tank (waste not want not) and the hawk was able to fit a good portion of this full sized cleaner in its mouth. It's the reason I wouldn't trust them with shrimp or anything small.

Cool, good to know.