🐠 Longnose Hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus)
A White Body With a Red Crosshatch Pattern and Elongated Snout • A Documented Rock-Smashing Hunting Behaviour • One of the More Reef-Compatible Hawkfish
 
📋 The Longnose Hawkfish has a distinctive elongated snout and an eye-catching white body marked with a red crosshatch pattern, along with the characteristic hair-like cirri tufts on its dorsal spines shared by the hawkfish family.
It comes from a wide range across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to Mexico, inhabiting outer reef slopes, where it perches among gorgonians and black corals. Every Longnose Hawkfish we ship is feeding well.
A fascinating documented hunting behaviour: when prey is too large to swallow whole, this species will smash it against a rock to break it into manageable pieces before eating. It's one of the smaller, most reef-compatible hawkfish given its comparatively small mouth, though it will still eat small crustaceans and worms, including molting hermit crabs and feather duster worms. It can be aggressive toward firefish, dart gobies, and other similarly elongate-bodied fish, so tankmate selection matters. This species lacks a swim bladder, but is a capable jumper thanks to sudden bursts of speed, so a secure, tight-fitting lid is essential. It reaches up to 13cm, so a 150L tank suits it well.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 White Body With Red Crosshatch Pattern: A distinctive, popular nano hawkfish
🎯 Rock-Smashing Hunting Behaviour: Breaks larger prey into swallowable pieces
🌿 Reef Safe With Caution: One of the more reef-compatible hawkfish, given its small mouth
⚠️ Aggressive Toward Elongate-Bodied Fish: Avoid firefish and dart gobies
⚠️ A Jumping Risk: A secure, tight-fitting lid is essential