Twospot Hogfish

Care at a glance

Overview

A generally peaceful nano fish that adjusts quickly once settled, though it can be shy at first and may bother very small, docile tankmates or square off with another hogfish sharing the tank. It is considered reef safe and is one of the few hogfish sold specifically as a nano reef option, leaving corals, clams, and ornamental shrimp alone, though it will pick through sand and rubble for the odd small worm or bristleworm as it forages. Feed small meals of mysis, brine shrimp, and other finely chopped meaty foods several times a day, since it naturally sifts through sand and rubble looking for food all day long.

In the wild

A deep water species found on rubble and sand well below the range of most reef fish in the trade, typically 30–60 m and recorded as deep as 85–110 m on some reefs. It needs at least 114 litres (30 gallons) with plenty of live rock to hide in and a tank tall enough to give it a real water column, since it comes from a dim, current-swept part of the reef and does not appreciate bright lighting. Keep the aquascape full of nooks, since this small hogfish likes to duck out of sight between feedings.

Good to know

Bodianus bimaculatus is a protogynous hermaphrodite, changing from female to male if a group loses its dominant male. It is bright yellow to orange with two dark spots at the base of the dorsal fin, the source of both its common name and its species epithet bimaculatus, Latin for two spotted. Adults max out around 10 cm, making it one of the smallest hogfish in the aquarium trade.

Did you know

Most of the reef fish sold in the hobby come from the top 30 metres of the reef, but this little hogfish has been recorded more than 100 metres down, deep enough that specialty collectors sometimes use mixed gas diving to reach the populations that supply the aquarium trade.

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