🐠 Blackspot Hogfish (Bodianus opercularis)
A Red-and-White Candy-Stripe Body With a Black Gill Spot • A Rare, Premium-Priced Deep-Water Species • A Sand-Blowing Forager Using Its Snout
 
📋 The Blackspot Hogfish, also widely known as the Candy Stripe Hogfish or Candy Cane Wrasse, has an eye-catching slender body patterned with alternating red and white horizontal stripes, and a distinctive black spot on the gill cover that gives the species its scientific name.
It comes from the Indian Ocean, from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba south to Madagascar and Mauritius, east to Christmas Island, inhabiting deeper reef slopes at depths of roughly 35 to 75 metres. Every Blackspot Hogfish we ship is feeding well.
A fascinating natural behaviour: like other hogfish, this species uses its snout to root through sand, and is often seen blowing jets of water into the substrate to unearth buried prey. It's rare in the aquarium trade given its deep-water habitat, and tends to command a premium price when it does appear. It's reef safe with caution; it poses a real risk to worms, snails, small bivalves, and crustaceans once mature. It's territorial toward similarly coloured or patterned fish, and should be the only one of its kind in the tank, and it's also a capable jumper, so a tight-fitting lid matters. It reaches up to 18cm, so a 190L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Red and White Candy-Stripe Pattern: A striking, iconic hogfish
💎 Rare and Premium-Priced: A real deep-water species, uncommon in the trade
🌊 Sand-Blowing Foraging: Blows water into substrate to unearth prey
⚠️ Reef Safe With Caution: Poses a real risk to worms, snails, and small crustaceans
⚠️ Territorial: Should be the only one of its kind in the tank