Species name: Oxycirrhites typus
Common names: Longnose hawkfish, Longsnout Hawkfish
Family: Cirrhitidae
Order: Perciformes
Class: Actinopterygii
Maximum length: 5.1 in
Minimum tank size: 30 gallons
Hardiness: Easy. The longnose hawk is quite hardy and disease-resistant. They are among the hardiest of all marine fish.
Aggressiveness: Semi-aggressive. This is one of the least aggressive of the family. However, their territorial nature can make them aggressive. They are best added last to a tank. Do not keep with other hawkfish and especially not other longnose hawkfish unless they are mated pair.
Reef Compatibility: With caution. It will eat small fish and crustaceans. It should not be kept with smaller, less aggressive species.
Distribution: Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and South Africa to the Hawaiian Islands, north to southern Japan, south to New Caledonia. Eastern Pacific: Gulf of California to northern Colombia and the Galapagos Islands
Diet: Carnivorous. They can easily adapt to a wide range of aquarium foods. Will accept any meaty offering such as chopped shrimp, enriched mysid, live feeder shrimp, smaller fish, crabs, snails, etc. Planktonic crustaceans are also its favorite food.
Additional information:
The Longnose Hawkfish, also known as Longsnout Hawkfish is one of the two most popular hawkfish species (along with the flame hawkfish), and is in high demand by aquarists.
The Longnose Hawkfish is from the Indo-Pacific and Eastern Pacific where it can be found on outer reef slopes exposed to strong currents at depths of 30 to 330 feet. It is often observed perched on gorgonians (sea fans) or black coral, waiting for its prey.
The Longnose Hawkfish are white with horizontal and vertical red lines. The body is elongated and comes between 4.4 inches and 5.1 inches generally. They have a very long needle nosed snout and a tuft of cirri near the tip of each dorsal fin spine.
It is white with a “grid pattern” of horizontal and near-vertical red lines. They have large pectoral fins which they use to perch on rocks, corals, and substrate.
Adult males are usually larger and have black fringing on their pelvic and caudal fins. All Longnose Hawkfishes begin life as females and become males later on.
The Longnose Hawkfish should be housed in a tank with rocks and/or corals to perch on and places to hide. Space and clean water is a necessity for this species’ survival. Ideally, water temperature should be at 72-78° F, specific gravity at 1.020-1.025 and pH at 8.1-8.4. The tank should be completely covered, to prevent the Long-Nose from jumping out.
