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hawkfish or Neocirrhites armatus
belong to the family Cirrhitidae
They are indigenous to the Micronesian sub-regions of the
western Pacific Ocean. Significant populations exist in
Great Barrier Reef and the Ryukyu Islands where there is an abundance
of pocillopora and stylophora coral. These shallow water bottom
dwellers make their homes in hard coral formations.
Their descriptive name attributes to two distinct characteristics.
Flame is derived from their bright reddish orange coloration. They have
a dark often black horizontal stripe along the curvature of their upper
bodies. This stripe very much resembles a Mohawk. However the word hawk
refers to the darkened regions surrounding their eyes. These dark areas
are reminiscent to the black circles found around the eyes of many
This is a rather robust, disease resistant species. They make for
good additions to a community tank.
They generally ignore non-bottom
dwellers. They will however demonstrate territorial behavior toward
other bottom dwelling fish. It is therefore recommended that this be
the only bottom dwelling fish species in your aquarium. They can grow
to a maximum adult length of 4 inches and may live in excess of 10
Whether or not they make suitable marine reef fish depends on the
inhabitants in your tank. Their natural diet consists primarily of
crustaceans, snails and smaller mollusks. They also have an affinity
for hermit crabs. Coral is generally off the menu especially hard
coral. They will view these as a place of natural habitation. This is a
diurnal species. It will be most active during the day and will seek
shelter at night.
are protogynous hermaphrodites. They are all born as
females. If a group of females is introduced into an aquarium, the
largest most dominant of the bunch will undergo a morphological
transition into a male despite the fact that they are not known to
breed in captivity.