All fish / Malacanthidae

Purple Sand Tilefish

Hoplolatilus purpureus

Also known as purple tilefish, purple sand tile, purple tile fish, purple sand tilefish, ムラサキアマダイ, 紫似弱棘鱼

A slender tilefish with a soft lilac to violet body that often shades towards blue on the head and tail. In the wild it hovers above burrows on rubble slopes in fairly deep water, and keepers prize it for its unusual colour and calm, gentle nature in reef tanks.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

12 cm

Temperature

23 to 27 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

300 litres

Keep as

Singly or as a mated pair

Diet

Carnivore: mysis, enriched brine shrimp, chopped seafood and zooplankton fed several times a day

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

3 to 6 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Pacific: Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands

Breeding

It lives in pairs that share a burrow, but there are no reliable reports of it spawning in home aquariums.

Good to know

It is a notorious jumper, so a tight-fitting lid is essential, and it is shy and easily stressed by boisterous tankmates. Deep-water collection means many specimens arrive weak, so choose feeding fish and acclimatise them carefully.