🐠 Harlequin Sweetlip (Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides)
A Wriggling Brown-and-White Juvenile • Matures Into a Spotted Grey Adult With Big White Lips • A Showpiece for Large Tanks
 
📋 The Harlequin Sweetlip, also known as the Clown or Spotted Sweetlips, goes through a dramatic colour change. Juveniles are brown with large white blotches edged in black, and adults become pale greenish-grey with dense, close-set black spots and big white lips.
It ranges across the Indo-Pacific, from the Maldives and Mauritius to the Ryukyu Islands, the Great Barrier Reef, and Tonga, on coral-rich reefs. The juvenile is one of the most entertaining fish you can watch: it swims head-down, exaggeratedly undulating its fins in a mimicry of a toxic flatworm or nudibranch. It's a shy, docile species that does best with peaceful tankmates, and every Harlequin Sweetlip we ship is feeding well, with live saltwater feeder shrimp a great first food.
It's sold as a small, colourful juvenile but grows quickly to up to 72cm, so plan on at least 750L (200 gallons) for an adult. It's reef safe with caution: it will eat small crustaceans, small fish, and worms.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 A Dramatic Colour Change: Brown-and-white blotched juvenile to a spotted grey adult
🎭 Flatworm-Mimicking Juvenile: Swims head-down, fins undulating
🍽️ Ships Feeding Well: Every Harlequin Sweetlip we send is eating confidently
📏 Up to 72cm: Plan a spacious tank for the adult
🌿 Reef Safe With Caution: Will eat small crustaceans, small fish, and worms