Hawkfish compatability

[Mr.Tan]

So a buddy of mine is tearing down his work tank and cant transfer his hawkfish and lawnmower blenny to his other tank because of the big undy trigger in it so he is going to give them both to me.. But before i put them in i wanted to check and make sure yall think the hawkfish will be ok.. I have a purple psuedochromis and coral beauty along with a coral banded shrimp... Will the hawkfish be ok? Its a 30 gallon tank with a good amount Rock work that it can hid and perch on... So, will the spotted hawkfish be ok? Im really just worried about my coral banded shrimp as he is large and been in forever

 

[SkullV]

It's going to be hit or miss with the shrimp. Everything else will be fine.

 

[Mr.Tan]

hmm, not the answer i was looking for haha...I mean, is there a chance it will be ok? I suppose i could try and if it doesnt work just take it to the LFS and donate it (since they are dumb and don't give store credit for fish).

 

[SecretiveFish]

I will preface to say I have not had that type of hawkfish, but I have a longnose hawkfish and a swallowtail hawkfish in a 150 gallon tank with an extremely large coral banded shrimp and a bunch of hermit crabs. All have been fine.

However depending on the actual type of spotted hawkfish (Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus, aggressive, or Cirrhitichthys aprinus, semi-aggressive) and with your tank not being as large, there is a very good chance that your shrimp will be forfeit. Your odds are better if the hawkfish is a Cirrhitichthys aprinus.

 

[Mr.Tan]

yeah I am unsure of which specific kind of spotted hawkfish and I doubt my friend knows either... I think its probably safe to say I should pass on it, I dont want to risk my coral banded being destroyed, hes the life of my tank!

thanks for the input.

 

[frankpayne32]

Some hawkfish can be extremely territorial. I had an arceye hawkfish that would not allow me to add any fish after him. He left all the fish alone that were in there before him but tried to kill every new addition. He is no longer in the tank...

 

[Mr.Tan]

I wouldn't be adding any other fish in the tank after him, as i already have 3 fish in so if i added him and the blenny that would take my total up to 5 fish in my standard 30g tank... I am really not to worried about the fish, I mean i know he probably won't bother the already current fish residents, its more the coral banded shrimp. I dont want to risk him being killed!

 

[SkullV]

Basically, if you like your shrimp enough that you would be upset if you lost it do NOT add the hawkfish.

 

[frankpayne32]

I wouldn't be adding any other fish in the tank after him, as i already have 3 fish in so if i added him and the blenny that would take my total up to 5 fish in my standard 30g tank... I am really not to worried about the fish, I mean i know he probably won't bother the already current fish residents, its more the coral banded shrimp. I dont want to risk him being killed!

I don't mean to be negative but I think five fish in a thirty gallon is probably pushing the limits. Not that it couldn't be done but your maintenance will probably be pretty high keeping the water quality up.

 

[Mr.Tan]

I don't mean to be negative but I think five fish in a thirty gallon is probably pushing the limits. Not that it couldn't be done but your maintenance will probably be pretty high keeping the water quality up.

i have a good setup that keeps it clean (filter, skimmer, good cleanup crew) and I do regular water changes every week... they aren't big fish, and the amount of waste they produce isn't high at all. thanks for your concern though


the hawkfish didn't make it into the tank, my friend kept it. i got his blenny and thats it.

i often think its weird how different saltwater fish amounts is different then fresh... i used to keep 13 freshwater fish in this tank back before i made the switch and it was no problem at all. living space was good and i never did a single water change in the 2 years it was running. just added tap water and changed filters... and i never had any fish die

 

[125mph]

I had a small pixy hawkfish (about 2 inches) and he attacked my blenny any time he saw it. Bit him a few times too. The cleaner shrimp I had was fine though.