Longnose Hawkfish Q's. Only interested in experienced replies please.

[scolley]

I'm considering a Longnose Hawkfish for my tank. But that has two potential conflicts. The tank is rimless, open top. And it has a wonderful population of micro sea stars; mimi-serpents as valuable CUC that I want to keep. Are either of these a problem with Longnose Hawkfish?

These fish have an interesting reputation. Such as people saying, "It'll eat any moving thing that it can get in it's mouth." And... "It's a wrasse, so jumping is inevitable."

But I'd appreciate it very much if respondents would speak from direct experience only. As in, "Mine jumped". Or, "It ate all my... "

I'm hoping to disentangle the observed facts from the myth and/or reasonable assumptions. Thanks.

 

[DopeCantWin]

Mine jumped out the back of the tank.

 

[Irishdolphin]

I've had one for about a year. I have a cover but often leave it open and it has never jumped. It never troubles any of the other tank mates including 2 fire shrimp and 2 peppermint shrimp. I do feed it some live dwarf shrimp (approx 0.5 inches long) which it loves as do many of the other fish in the tank. It loves perching on a high rock and surveying the tank.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I've had one for about a year. I have a cover but often leave it open and it has never jumped. It never troubles any of the other tank mates including 2 fire shrimp and 2 peppermint shrimp. I do feed it some live dwarf shrimp (approx 0.5 inches long) which it loves as do many of the other fish in the tank. It loves perching on a high rock and surveying the tank.

My experiences exactly.

 

[scolley]

Thanks for the replies from experience folks!

From your replies, it sounds like some jump. But unlike some other wrasses, it's not as if it's just waiting for the chance. Does anyone have any long term experience with one in an open top tank, and it did not jump?

Also, it's sounding like it is not a fish that will decimate small inverts in the tank. So my micro brittles might be safe. But without hearing from someone that had both microbrittles and a Longnose, that's just an assumption.

Thanks for the help! :thumbsup:

 

[DopeCantWin]

Thanks for the replies from experience folks!

From your replies, it sounds like some jump. But unlike some other wrasses, it's not as if it's just waiting for the chance. Does anyone have any long term experience with one in an open top tank, and it did not jump?

Also, it's sounding like it is not a fish that will decimate small inverts in the tank. So my micro brittles might be safe. But without hearing from someone that had both microbrittles and a Longnose, that's just an assumption.

Thanks for the help! :thumbsup:

I think mine survived, shrimp on the other hand not so much.

 

[snorvich]

Shrimp are at risk. I do not know about microbrittles; I keep those in my 40 gallon refugium.

 

[small alien]

I don't think its a wrasse. All fish can jump. Which is more important, rimless aesthetics or the fish?

 

[scolley]

All fish CAN jump. But not all fish DO jump. Some fish are certain to if given the chance. Some almost never jump. Some fall into the maybe, maybe not category. I'm trying to find out if the Longnose falls into that latter category.

I don't think its a wrasse.

I didn't think so either. Though I've noticed that it's been referred to that in some threads here.

Which is more important, rimless aesthetics or the fish?

That's valid question. But not one I care to debate in this thread. Sorry.

 

[scolley]

I think mine survived, shrimp on the other hand not so much.

Shrimp are at risk. I do not know about microbrittles; I keep those in my 40 gallon refugium.

What kind of shrimp are we talking about? I've got some Blood Reds that I'd hate to lose. And from what I've read, Longnoses generally don't bother large shrimp like those. Is that true?

As for smaller shrimp - like my one Sexy - I'd be happy for that to be recycled as food. I had a whole flock of those things, and tried to remove them later. One just could not be caught. No love lost there...

 

[ThreeMoneyJ]

I've had a longnose hawk in my tank (actually in 3 different tanks) for the last 4 or so years.

All tanks were open topped and he never jumped.

He has never bothered my CUC including peppermint shrimps, cleaner shrimps, snails, hermits, and lots of micro brittle stars.

He is always out in the open and never bothers any of the other fish.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

They can be jumpers, I lost 2 that way.
They can also be bullies towards any new fish when they get bigger.

 

[scolley]

I've had a longnose hawk in my tank (actually in 3 different tanks) for the last 4 or so years.

All tanks were open topped and he never jumped.

He has never bothered my CUC including peppermint shrimps, cleaner shrimps, snails, hermits, and lots of micro brittle stars.

He is always out in the open and never bothers any of the other fish.

Thank you. This is a description of ideal behavior that I was hoping to hear about. Why do you think that was the case for you? Toss of the coin, and you got a "good" one? Or maybe tank dynamics - like either a very big tank, or very peaceful tank mates (leading to calm, non-jumping behavior)?

They can be jumpers, I lost 2 that way.

And thanks for that, even if it is not what I'm hoping to hear. Same question though... do you have any insight into why yours jumped? Aggressive tank mates? Small tank?

Any insights into what makes the difference in the jumping behavior would be most welcome.

Thanks folks. Great discussion.

 

[scolley]

They can also be bullies towards any new fish when they get bigger.

Great bit of insight there. Thank you. Fortunately I'm hoping this will be just about my last fish. One more might be added shortly after the Longnose (if I get a Longnose). But if I do, I'll look for a juvenile so as not to run into that problem. Thanks!

 

[ThreeMoneyJ]

The 3 tanks that I have had mine in were a 65, 100, and now 120 gallon. Tank mates are mostly peaceful, but he has lived with a tang, pygmy angel, and several dottybacks all of which are fairly boisterous.

I've added several smaller fish after he was in the tank and he has never bothered any of them.

This is the only hawk that I have ever owned so I cannot compare to others. I'm not sure if I got lucky or not. I do keep the tank well fed which I feel always helps with aggression.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

No clue why they decided to evacuate the premises.
Large tank & had been there a while.

 

[scolley]

ThreeMoneyJ and Vinny Kreyling - thanks for the additional info!

From what you are saying, the jumping sounds like a coin toss. FWIW, that's consistent with what I gathered as I tried to research Longnoses here. Some people brought it up as a caution, while others did not.

Could be frequent feeding keeping aggression down. Or it could be the dynamics with particular fish. Or maybe just the fish itself - some individuals being more inclined to jump than others.

I'm at a crossroads now. I will not purchase a fish that I KNOW will jump. That's why I've got no pygmy wrasses, though they are so beautiful. But others that "might" jump, like my Neon Goby and my Orchid Dottyback, don't jump in my tank. So it's a gamble.

Thanks a mill' for the insight folks. If I decide to try, I'll definitely post here - along with the results.

 

[ilikefish34]

Mine did great for a couple of years before jumping. It was in a 175 gallon that had a canopy but it landed on the bracing that surrounded the entire tank (similar to euro-bracing).

This fish was kept with a mix of dwarf angels and tangs along with a pair of percula clowns, basslets, gobies and a Flame Hawk (they were almost inseparable). The only aggression that I ever witnessed were the squabbling amongst the little angels.

I also had two cleaner and two fire shrimp that were in the tank before either of the hawkfishes and they were fine. The shrimp that were added after the hawkfish seemed to disappear rather quickly.

As to the question of whether this fish "can" jump vs "do" jump... after my own personal experience and working for a lfs in my younger days, I would say that these fish do jump. I believe that it's a matter of time. Mine would almost leave the tank going after pellets that had not broken the water surface tension. At the lfs, we kept one in each of our two display reefs that were 125 gallons and uncovered. The fish load was minimum, with a single yellow tang in one and a purple in the other and both tanks had a goby and a mandarin. Both tanks had their Longnose Hawfish to randomly jump out and perish... both had been in their respective tanks for over a year.

Great fish with great personality but they, IME, are jumpers yet plenty of hobbyist keep Hawkfish, Anthias and wrasse species in their rimless aquariums anyways. I think it gets back to the debate that, as you have mentioned, will not be made here.

Good luck with whichever direction you go in and Happy New Year to all!
Mike

 

[scolley]

ilikefish34 - what a great post. Thank you. That's really the extra info I needed for a decision. PLUS it's a good reference for the community regarding the true nature of these fish. Not speculation, but observed fact.

It sounds like the variability of the shrimp cautions (sometimes fine, often not), could be due to WHEN the shrimp are added - as you observed. If so, my bloods should be fine. However...

Your insights about jumping make it sound like it's not a question of "if", but "when". And while I'll not debate the ethics of taking a chance here, my own personal decision is to not introduce a fish that "will" jump. And if it's only a matter of time, I'll let whatever fish I might have gotten potentially have a longer life in some other reefer's covered tank. So no Longnose Hawkfish for me.

Thanks for the great post! And thanks to all for the great shared experiences.

 

[MikeandNicole]

I had one for about a year. It ate snails, a fire shrimp, and a pair of cleaners before it decided to jump. It was housed in a nano with a cover that had a 1" gap. The shrimp pre-dated the hawk; the hawk inevitably struck when the shrimp were molting.