TankBud

Harlequin tuskfish

Choerodon fasciatus

Also known as Harlequin Tusk, Harlequin Tusk Wrasse, Harlequin Wrasse

SaltwaterFish

Harlequin tuskfish (Choerodon fasciatus)
Leonard Low from Australia · CC BY 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–79°F
22–26°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
11.8 in
30 cm
Minimum tank
125 gal
473 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Own kind
One per tank
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Carnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe with caution
Family
Labridae
Origin
Western Pacific reefs, from the Philippines and the Ryukyu Islands to New Caledonia and the Great Barrier Reef

Overview

The harlequin tuskfish is a big, bold showpiece wrasse for a large tank with sturdy tank mates. It is best kept by someone with a little experience.

Did you know

The harlequin tuskfish uses its bright blue tusks to pry snails and hermit crabs out of their shells. You can even hear it grinding away at hard prey.

Caring for the harlequin tuskfish

Give a grown harlequin tuskfish at least 125 gal (473 L). Add a deep sand bed to forage through and enough open rock and rubble for it to rearrange, which it does constantly while hunting.

Keep the water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Offer a varied carnivore diet of shrimp, clams, krill and other meaty foods several times a day. It is an intelligent, food-driven fish that soon learns to recognize whoever feeds it.

The harlequin tuskfish is bold and confident rather than truly aggressive toward other fish. It gets along with similarly sized, sturdy community fish, but it can be territorial with other tuskfish, so keep one per tank. It does not eat coral and generally leaves sessile invertebrates alone. It does hunt crabs, hermit crabs, snails and shrimp with its powerful teeth, so skip it if you plan a cleanup crew or ornamental shrimp.

Breeding harlequin tuskfish is hard. Bali Aquarich achieved the first documented captive breeding of the species in 2020, but nearly every one sold today is still wild caught.

Good to know

The harlequin tuskfish's genus name, Choerodon, comes from the Greek for pig tooth. It refers to the prominent, forward-pointing canine teeth that form the fish's tusks. Like other wrasses, it is a protogynous hermaphrodite that starts out female and can convert to male within a loose social group.

In the wild

The harlequin tuskfish is native to lagoons and seaward reefs of the western Pacific. It ranges from the Philippines and the Ryukyu Islands south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia, usually at 5 to 35 m.

Common questions

What size tank does a harlequin tuskfish need?

A harlequin tuskfish needs at least 125 gal (473 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a harlequin tuskfish need?

A harlequin tuskfish is comfortable at 72–79°F (22–26°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a harlequin tuskfish eat?

A harlequin tuskfish eats a varied carnivore diet of shrimp, clams, krill and other meaty foods. Feed it several times a day.

How big does a harlequin tuskfish get?

An adult harlequin tuskfish reaches about 11.8 in (30 cm).

How does a harlequin tuskfish breed?

Harlequin tuskfish are hard to breed. The first documented captive breeding came in 2020 at Bali Aquarich, and nearly every fish sold today is still wild caught.

Related species