Are Hawkfish easy to keep? Jumpers?

[laverda]

I would not count on LiveAquaria selling true pairs.

 

[ThRoewer]

I would not count on LiveAquaria selling true pairs.

Yeah. They put a male and female together and voilà you got a pair. These guys are not like anemonefish in the regard that male and female actually need to form a bond. With hawks it's more like with bluestripe pipefish: male + female = pair.
Calling those bonded pairs is a bit of an exaggeration.

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[Zionas]

Alright, so it’s okay if I put two clowns of any species, introduce them at the same time in a tank, and they’ll get along even if they’re the same size?

But for hawks, it actually has to be a male and a female as they don’t change genders?

 

[laverda]

Alright, so it's okay if I put two clowns of any species, introduce them at the same time in a tank, and they'll get along even if they're the same size?

But for hawks, it actually has to be a male and a female as they don't change genders?

I think you need to reread what has been said already.
Two clowns of the same species, is ok if they are smaller. A female maroon clown is not likely to tolerate another type of clown and will often kill another maroon clown. Best to stick with two smaller clowns that are the same type.

He was saying any two hawks can become a pair.

 

[djryan2000]

Easy to keep - yes.
Jumpers - not particularly.

The biggest issue with them is that they are predators and will eat whatever they can swallow. Shrimp and small fish won't last long with a hawkfish in the tank.
The only ones I would consider are the the longnose and the flame hawkfish because they they are relatively small and have smaller mouths than the rest of the gang.
The longnose is probably the safest of all the hawkfish.

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+1 to long nose safety. Majority of what users have said on other forums have said their long nose isn't predatory on cleaner shrimp. But.. there could be a bias there.

I don't know about the others but long noses can jump - all the guides I've read say keep a lid!


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[Zionas]

My tank will have an acrylic top. I love the look of the Flame Hawk! It's so adorable especially when it's a pair! Really cute.

My LFS sells them 3-5 cm usually. Heard they get up to 4 inches or 10cm. So if I take two juveniles of the same size, put them in the tank, they might chase each other for a few days but then become a pair?

Will it be safe? I read a couple of people who wrote that they wouldn't pair Flame Hawks in a tank less than 120 or even 150 gallons. Is that true?

 

[Silly clownfish]

I have had 3 flame hawks over the years. Always with a full glass canopy and the little plastic tabs around returns and cords. 2 of the 3 managed to jump. One of them after over 19 years in the tank. The first I think may have been started by loud noises, the second I suspect my rabbit fish was trying to compete under the tube that comes down from my auto feeder and the hawk managed to jump up the tube.

Easy keepers, great personality, always out and about. Just jumpers when startled.

I never had any of hawks jump when I was cleaning the tanks, etc. only overnight or I was otherwise not there. Not like the flashers wrasse I had that repeatedly jumped when I was cleaning or opened the lid to feed. That one often jumped into the canopy with a thud, or the overflow. It was persistent in trying to get out.

 

[Zionas]

Pretty long-lived I see. I’m surprised that your second one got startled by a Rabbitfish because Rabbitfish tend to be pretty peaceful themselves, even skittish. Two skittish fish, interesting. I’m thinking of keeping a pair, maybe that’ll make them feel safer and not be startled as easily and therefore less prone to jumping. My tank will have a lid regardless.