Tobaccofish

The tobaccofish is a small, active sea bass of the genus Serranus found on reefs and rubble slopes of the western Atlantic and Caribbean. Its tan body marked with a bold orange saddle and yellow belly makes it an appealing subject for fish-focused marine aquaria. Like other Serranus basslets it is a simultaneous hermaphrodite and a capable, opportunistic predator. Keep it in a mature reef-conditioned system with stable salinity, alkalinity and reef-appropriate pH, plenty of live rock and open hunting space. It is generally hardy but semi-aggressive: it will eat small fish, shrimp and other mobile invertebrates, so choose tankmates of similar size and avoid ornamental crustaceans. Offer a varied carnivore diet of mysis, chopped seafood, and enriched frozen foods several times weekly. One specimen per tank is usual to avoid conspecific squabbling.