🐠 Diana's Hogfish (Bodianus diana)
An Ornate Reddish-Orange Body With White Checkered Spotting • A Sand-Blowing Forager Using Its Snout • One of the More Aggressive Large Wrasses
 
📋 Diana's Hogfish, also known as the Red Diana Hogfish or Spotted Hogfish, has an ornate reddish-orange body patterned with white checkered spotting, particularly along the dorsal fin.
It comes from the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to the Marshall Islands, inhabiting seaward reef slopes at depths of roughly 6 to 50 metres. A charming natural history detail: juveniles have been documented living among the tentacles of the mushroom coral Heliofungia actiniformis for shelter. Every Diana's Hogfish we ship is feeding well.
A characteristic hogfish behaviour: this species uses its snout to root through sand, often seen blowing jets of water into the substrate to unearth buried prey. It's hardy and will readily accept most large, meaty foods once settled. This species is not reef safe, and will consume worms, snails, small bivalves, and crustaceans as it matures. It's one of the more aggressive large wrasses, and should only be housed with robust, similarly assertive tankmates that won't be bullied or seen as prey, and should be the only one of its kind in the tank, given its territorial nature toward similarly coloured or patterned fish. It reaches up to 25cm, so a 470L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Reddish-Orange With White Checkered Spotting: An ornate, striking hogfish
🌊 Sand-Blowing Foraging: Blows water into substrate to unearth hidden prey
🪸 Juvenile Coral Association: Young fish documented sheltering among mushroom coral tentacles
⚠️ Not Reef Safe: Will consume worms, snails, and small crustaceans
⚠️ Aggressive: Best kept with robust, similarly assertive tankmates