Spotted Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides)

The Spotted Sweetlips or Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides is a saltwater fish that actually changes colors over its lifetime. Pictured at the top is a juvenile Spotted Sweetlips and below it is a fully grown exampe.  As you can see, when this fish is small its body is brown or tan and covered with white spots. As the Spotted Sweetlips grows older its whole body turns white, and it develops black dots. No one is quite sure why.  As you can see in the pictures, they have a lot of similar characteristics as the Clownfish, only they get much larger. Also known as the Clown Sweetlips or Harlequin Sweetlips, this fish is sometimes kept in an aquarium, but is not considered to be very easy to care for. They grow quite large for any aquarium growing to almost 2-1/2'. At least a 150 gallons aquarium is required for a fish this large. The following water conditions are acceptable, 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, and sg 1.020-1.025. As with most fish they should be given plenty of hiding spots, this helps reduce the fish's stress level. Spotted Sweetlips can be fed a variety of meaty foods, but in the beginning it is best to feed them live saltwater feeder shrimp to help them become comfortable with the aquarium. You can check out the Juvenile Spotted Sweetlips mimicking the poisonous flatworm  in the video below...


Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides by vcebollada