TankBud

Lyretail hawkfish

Cyprinocirrhites polyactis

Also known as Swallowtail Hawkfish, Red Hawkfish, Soaring Hawkfish

SaltwaterFish

Lyretail hawkfish (Cyprinocirrhites polyactis)
Rickard Zerpe · CC BY 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–79°F
22–26°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
5.9 in
15 cm
Minimum tank
40 gal
150 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Middle
Diet
Carnivore
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Cirrhitidae
Origin
Indo-West Pacific reefs, from East Africa to Tonga, north to southern Japan, south to New Caledonia

Overview

The lyretail hawkfish is a plankton-picking hawkfish that swims in open water, and it suits a reef tank. It is easy to keep.

Did you know

The lyretail hawkfish is often mistaken for an anthias at the fish store, with a similar shape, color and open-water habit. The giveaway shows up at rest, when it drops down and perches on a rock like its hawkfish relatives. No anthias ever does that.

Caring for the lyretail hawkfish

Give the lyretail hawkfish at least 40 gal (150 L), so it has room to hold position in the water column. Offer open water above the rockwork, as well as ledges to retreat to when startled. Keep the lid secured, since it can jump like any hawkfish.

Keep the water at 72 to 79°F (22 to 26°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Feed mysis, finely chopped krill and other small meaty foods several times a day, to match its planktivore feeding style.

The lyretail hawkfish is the most easygoing hawkfish in the trade. It is one of the few considered genuinely reef safe, since it eats drifting plankton rather than ambushing shrimp and small fish. It is still a hawkfish at heart, so very small or delicate tank mates can occasionally get harassed. It will also defend a favorite perch.

Good to know

The lyretail hawkfish is an unusual hawkfish that behaves more like an anthias than a typical ambush percher. Its deep, compressed, yellow-to-orange mottled body and forked, lyre-shaped tail reflect that open-water lifestyle. It still carries the family's stiffened lower pectoral fin rays, and it lacks a swim bladder as an adult. It uses those fin rays mainly for brief perching, not as its main way of getting around.

In the wild

The lyretail hawkfish is found across the Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa to Tonga. It ranges north to southern Japan and south to New Caledonia and northern New Zealand. It lives on steep, current-swept reef slopes and drop-offs from about 10 m to over 100 m deep. Unlike most hawkfish, it hovers several meters above the bottom, often in loose groups, picking copepods and other zooplankton out of the current.

Common questions

What size tank does a lyretail hawkfish need?

A lyretail hawkfish needs at least 40 gal (150 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a lyretail hawkfish need?

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

What does a lyretail hawkfish eat?

A lyretail hawkfish eats mysis, finely chopped krill and other small meaty foods. Feed it several times a day to suit its planktivore feeding style.

How big does a lyretail hawkfish get?

An adult lyretail hawkfish reaches about 5.9 in (15 cm).

Related species