reef fool
Active Member
Hawkfish are a small, predatory family of fish that spend most of their time on coral, live rock, or branches of the reef. Although hawkfish are reef safe in the respect that they will not harm corals, most of them will devour small ornamental shrimp. They use their pectoral fins to 'sit up' and watch for prey, and when they see it, swoop down and devour it quickly. They can sit motionless for several minutes until the prey shows itself. I have observed them endlessly hunting pods and mysis shrimp amongst the live rock in my reef tank.
They will accept just about any frozen or dried food and are considered a very hardy addition to most SW tanks. They stay relatively small too, with max sizes from 3.5" to 6". From what I have read, hawkfish should be kept one per tank, but I also read that longnose hawks can be kept in male/female pairs with close observation.
There are several types of hawkfish that are common in the home aquarium. I have had experience with both the flame hawk and the longnose hawk. I will give a little info on my experiences with both of them and hopefully everyone else can give info and experience on the others. Please feel free to add any info and experiences (as well as pictures) with these entertaining fish.
Flame Hawkfish - Neocirrhites armatus - Max Size 3.5"
This cool little guy caught my son's eye at the LFS and was the first hawkfish added to my reef. They almost look injured when they swim because they just hover at odd angles waiting for food. They also perch themselves on just about anything to rest and watch for food. I caught this guy knocking turbo snails off the glass as well as hermit crabs off of the LR. I assume he was trying flip them over and to eat them, but I never caught him in the act. The day I saw him swimming around with a cleaner shrimp sticking out of his mouth, was the day he went back to the LFS and I got a longnose in exchange.
Longnose Hawk - Oxycirrhites typus - Max size 5"
I have had a longnose hawk in my reef for several months now. Actually 2 of them.
The first thing is to cover the top of the tank tight. They tend to go "carpet surfing". My first longnose jumped out after about 4 months in my 46 gal. bow tank. I found him crisp on the floor.The only hole open was about the size of a half dollar and he must have found it.
They are always on the prowl for food. Perching on power heads, lettuce clips, heaters and picking at the LR for a pod or a mysis shrimp.
At feeding time, mine hovers in the front of the tank, staring up at the surface and waiting for the food to hit the water. One day when I was reaching into the tank to fix a coral that the damn turbo snails knocked over, my longnose jumped up and hit my arm.
After having a longnose hawk in my reef tanks for roughly 7 or 8 months now, I have yet to see them even look at one of my shrimp. Nor has he bothered any other inverts in my tank. I have 2 cleaners, 2 fire shrimp, 4 peppermints (3 very small ones), and a Coral Banded shrimp. All of which have been in my tank for 6 months now.
I highly recommend this hawk to anyone wanting a hawk for a reef tank.
Other common hawkfish are the Arch Eye, Falco, and Spotted hawkfish. All of these are awesome looking, very hardy, aggressive carnivores that will make a great addition to most tanks, but will more than likely snack on just about any ornamental shrimp in your tank. I will leave descriptions as well as experiences to those who have these other awesome hawks.
Here is a pick of my longnose hawk:
They will accept just about any frozen or dried food and are considered a very hardy addition to most SW tanks. They stay relatively small too, with max sizes from 3.5" to 6". From what I have read, hawkfish should be kept one per tank, but I also read that longnose hawks can be kept in male/female pairs with close observation.
There are several types of hawkfish that are common in the home aquarium. I have had experience with both the flame hawk and the longnose hawk. I will give a little info on my experiences with both of them and hopefully everyone else can give info and experience on the others. Please feel free to add any info and experiences (as well as pictures) with these entertaining fish.
Flame Hawkfish - Neocirrhites armatus - Max Size 3.5"
This cool little guy caught my son's eye at the LFS and was the first hawkfish added to my reef. They almost look injured when they swim because they just hover at odd angles waiting for food. They also perch themselves on just about anything to rest and watch for food. I caught this guy knocking turbo snails off the glass as well as hermit crabs off of the LR. I assume he was trying flip them over and to eat them, but I never caught him in the act. The day I saw him swimming around with a cleaner shrimp sticking out of his mouth, was the day he went back to the LFS and I got a longnose in exchange.
Longnose Hawk - Oxycirrhites typus - Max size 5"
I have had a longnose hawk in my reef for several months now. Actually 2 of them.
The first thing is to cover the top of the tank tight. They tend to go "carpet surfing". My first longnose jumped out after about 4 months in my 46 gal. bow tank. I found him crisp on the floor.The only hole open was about the size of a half dollar and he must have found it.
They are always on the prowl for food. Perching on power heads, lettuce clips, heaters and picking at the LR for a pod or a mysis shrimp.
At feeding time, mine hovers in the front of the tank, staring up at the surface and waiting for the food to hit the water. One day when I was reaching into the tank to fix a coral that the damn turbo snails knocked over, my longnose jumped up and hit my arm.
After having a longnose hawk in my reef tanks for roughly 7 or 8 months now, I have yet to see them even look at one of my shrimp. Nor has he bothered any other inverts in my tank. I have 2 cleaners, 2 fire shrimp, 4 peppermints (3 very small ones), and a Coral Banded shrimp. All of which have been in my tank for 6 months now.
I highly recommend this hawk to anyone wanting a hawk for a reef tank.
Other common hawkfish are the Arch Eye, Falco, and Spotted hawkfish. All of these are awesome looking, very hardy, aggressive carnivores that will make a great addition to most tanks, but will more than likely snack on just about any ornamental shrimp in your tank. I will leave descriptions as well as experiences to those who have these other awesome hawks.
Here is a pick of my longnose hawk:
I plan to replace him soon, I may go with a flame this time around.
