Sailfin Snapper
Symphorichthys spilurus
Also known as Blue-Lined Sea Bream, Hifin Snapper, Blue-Lined Sea Perch
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 73–81°F (23–27°C)
- pH
- 8.1–8.4
- Adult size
- 23.6 in (60 cm)
- Minimum tank
- 300 gal (1,135 L)
- Temperament
- Mostly peaceful
- Social behavior
- Solitary
- Tankmates
- Tankmates with caution
- Swim level
- Middle
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Breeding
- No record
- Rarity
- Rare
- Reef safe
- Not reef safe
- Origin
- Western Pacific and Eastern Indian Ocean
- Family
- Lutjanidae
Overview
A show fish for very large systems: hardy, alert, and quick to learn feeding time, but it eventually needs a tank in the several-hundred-gallon class. It takes chopped seafood, silversides, shrimp, and pellets, and it will eat any crustacean, snail, or small fish it can catch, so it belongs in a fish-only display rather than a reef. It is otherwise calm toward tankmates too large to swallow.
In the wild
Lives over sand and rubble near reefs in the western Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean, where adults cruise open bottom and juveniles stay near shelter trailing their long dorsal filaments. It forages along the sand for buried invertebrates. The aquarium should pair a broad open sand bed with rockwork at the edges and a secure lid, since a startled snapper bolts.
Good to know
Symphorichthys spilurus is the only member of its genus, a snapper in the family Lutjanidae described in 1874, and it reaches about 60 cm. The blue lines, yellow body, and banner-like dorsal filaments soften with age but stay distinctive. Farmed juveniles reared from wild-collected spawn settle into aquarium life far more easily than wild-caught adults.
Did you know
In Palau, adults gather in large spawning aggregations timed to the moon, a predictable event that lets aquaculturists collect eggs and rear this snapper without taking adults from the reef.
Common questions
What size tank does a Sailfin Snapper need?
A Sailfin Snapper needs at least 300 gal (1,135 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
What temperature and pH do Sailfin Snapper need?
Sailfin Snapper are comfortable at 73–81°F (23–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.
How big do Sailfin Snapper get?
An adult Sailfin Snapper reaches about 23.6 in (60 cm).
Where to buy
Some links may not be the exact species or variety.
…or ask your local fish store.
Appears in
Keeping Sailfin Snapper?
Track water tests, reminders and stocking fit.
Planning tankmates
See how Sailfin Snapper fits a stocking plan. Open the stocking calculator
Add to your site
Show this species on your own site: a shortcode for WordPress, or an HTML embed for anywhere else.
Related species
Bluespine Unicornfish
Naso unicornisSaltwater23.6 in (60 cm)396 gal (1,500 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
Vlamingi Tang
Naso vlamingiiSaltwater23.6 in (60 cm)359 gal (1,360 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)Map puffer
Arothron mappaSaltwater23.6 in (60 cm)238 gal (900 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
Spotted Unicornfish
Naso brevirostrisSaltwater21.7 in (55 cm)343 gal (1,300 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
Guineafowl puffer
Arothron meleagrisSaltwater19.7 in (50 cm)180 gal (680 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
Orbiculate batfish
Platax orbicularisSaltwater19.7 in (50 cm)185 gal (700 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)