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Fish Guide |  |
Family: Cirrhitidae (Hawkfish)
Natural Range: Red Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans
Depth: 10 to 98 ft. Size: 8.75 in. Jumps: Yes Space: 75+ gal.
Reef Safe: Yes Care Level: Easy Temperament: Aggressive
Diet: Fish, shrimp, xanthid crabs
Natural History: The Forster's Hawkfish is usually found in harems of 1 male and 3 females in reef areas rich in stony and fire corals or around boulders. It perches on ramose stony corals (Acropora, Pocillopora) and fire corals (Millepora). It usually feeds by waiting and ambushing prey.
Husbandry: Forster's Hawkfish will eat ornamental shrimp and may be aggressive toward other benthic fish introduced into an aquarium after it. It is best kept with more aggressive species of fish. Adults of this species exhibit a number of different color variants. It has a voracious appetite for fish, so it should only be housed with fish larger than it.
Reproduction: Short courtship rituals lead to spawning ascents, which ends in egg release into the plankton.
AKA: Freckled Hawkfish, Blackside Hawkfish