Lyretail Hogfish (Bodianus anthioides)

The Lyretail Hogfish or Bodianus anthioides looks like someone took two complete different fish and put them together. The front of this fish looks much like the standard Goldfish with its red and orange face. Take a look at the back of this fish though and you will see an amazing display of white and red with polka dots.

This saltwater Hogfish from the Labridae family can grow to about 8" in maximum length. This combine with the fact that they can be aggressive towards others in the aquarium make an aquarium of no less than 75 gallons acceptable. The Lyretail Hogfish should be provided plenty of hiding spaces as well. This will help keep them from becoming overly aggressive. Water temperatures of 72-78° F with a sg of 1.020-1.025 and a PH level of 8.1-8.4 is recommended. When young these fish will simply munch on parasites on its tank mates. After it becomes larger it should be fed meaty foods such as snails, worms, mussels, and small fish. In the wild this fish has the unique ability of blowing water onto the bottom sandy bottom to uncover its meal. It may even blow water over the sand to uncover food.