Longnose Hawkfish

Care at a glance

Overview

A hardy, semi-aggressive perching predator that spends its day sitting on rock or coral and pouncing on food. It is best kept one to a tank unless a mated pair is introduced together, and it will bully smaller, timid fish. It is reef safe with corals but will hunt ornamental shrimp, tiny crabs, and other small mobile inverts, so it earns a caution rating. Keep it well fed with meaty foods like mysis and chopped seafood a couple of times a day.

In the wild

In the wild the longnose hawkfish lives on deeper reef slopes and drop-offs, usually perched among sea fans and black coral where it wedges itself into branches to watch for passing prey. It has no functional swim bladder, so it does not hover in open water. It rests on live rock, coral, or the sand and moves in short darting hops. Give it plenty of rockwork with perches and overhangs, and a tight lid because it is a proven jumper.

Good to know

Oxycirrhites typus is the only species in its genus and is easily recognized by its long, forceps-like snout and the red cross-hatched pattern over a white body. The elongated jaw lets it pick small crustaceans from tight coral crevices. Like all hawkfish it lacks a swim bladder and relies on thickened lower pectoral fin rays to prop itself on the reef.

Did you know

It can swallow prey larger than its mouth by smashing the food against a rock first, and it will readily eat small cleaner shrimp, which is why it is trusted with corals but not with a shrimp population.

Related species

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  Pixy Hawkfish

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  Falco Hawkfish

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  Lyretail Hawkfish

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  Arc-Eye Hawkfish

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• 

  Freckled Hawkfish

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