🐠 Saddleback Hogfish (Bodianus bilunulatus)
Marine Reef-Safe-As-Juvenile-Only Large Wrasse • White Body With Yellow Face & a Bold Black Saddle Marking • Genuinely Grows Very Large — Please Read Before Buying • Advanced Marine Fish
 
⚠️ Important Information — Please Read First
We want to be genuinely upfront on this one. This species genuinely grows very large, reaching up to 55cm (around 22") in the wild, and multiple expert sources genuinely recommend a minimum aquarium size of 150 to 300 gallons for a fully grown adult. As it matures, this species becomes genuinely unsuitable for reef tanks, consuming snails, worms, mussels, small fish, shrimp, and squid. Please only consider this species with a serious, concrete long-term plan for its truly large eventual size.
 
📋 The Saddleback Hogfish, also known as the Hawaiian Hogfish, Tarry Hogfish, Blackspot Wrasse, or Tuxedo Hogfish, undergoes a genuinely dramatic transformation as it matures. Juveniles have a white body with a bold yellow swatch across the face and a large black patch just before the tail. As the fish ages, the black patch retreats into a saddle-like marking behind the dorsal fin, red horizontal stripes develop across the body, and the yellow facial colouration fades while migrating into the fins.
Native to a genuinely wide range across the Indo-Pacific, including Hawaii, this species inhabits reef slopes at depths of 3 to 160 metres, with adults typically found in deeper water than juveniles.
We want to genuinely share a charming juvenile behaviour: young specimens are documented cleaning parasites off tank mates, making them a real benefit in a reef tank at this life stage. We want to be honest that this species can genuinely be shy when first introduced, becoming bolder with time, and it's genuinely known to blow water into the sand while foraging for food, sometimes burrowing for protection if frightened.
 
⚪⚫ Highlights
🎨 Dramatic Juvenile-to-Adult Transformation: White-yellow-black juvenile to red-striped, saddle-marked adult
⚠️ Genuinely Grows Very Large: Please read our disclosure above before purchasing
🧼 Genuine Juvenile Cleaner Behaviour: Documented cleaning parasites off tank mates when young
⚠️ Reef Safe Only as a Juvenile: Adults will consume snails, worms, small fish, and crustaceans
🏖️ Genuine Sand-Blowing Foraging: Blows water into sand to find food