All fish / Scaridae

Bicolor Parrotfish

Cetoscarus bicolor

Also known as bicolour parrotfish, two-colour parrotfish, bicolor parrot fish, bicolour parrot, red sea bicolor parrotfish, カンムリブダイ, ikan kakatua, 双色鲸鹦嘴鱼

Juveniles are white with an orange band across the head and a black-edged orange spot on the dorsal fin, while terminal-phase males turn bright green with pink scale edges. It is usually bought for the striking juvenile colouring, and only public or very large private aquariums can keep an adult.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

50 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

2000 litres

Keep as

Singly

Diet

Herbivore: algae, nori, spirulina-based foods, with some meaty foods such as mysis

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 15 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Red Sea and Indian Ocean (East Africa to the Andaman Sea)

Breeding

It changes sex from female to male and spawns in open water on reefs, releasing floating eggs. It has not been bred in home aquariums.

Good to know

It grows to about 80 cm in the wild, bites and scrapes coral with its beak-like teeth, and is not reef safe. It needs a huge system, and small juveniles often fail to adapt to captive diets.