All fish / Haemulidae

Yellowbanded Sweetlips

Plectorhinchus lineatus

Also known as lined sweetlips, diagonal-banded sweetlips, yellow-banded sweetlips, striped sweetlips, oblique-banded sweetlips, goldman's sweetlips, ムスジコショウダイ, 条纹胡椒鲷, 黄带胡椒鲷

Adults are pale fish marked with bold diagonal black lines and yellow fins, while juveniles look quite different, being dark with white blotches. It is kept for its striking looks and calm nature, mainly by public aquaria and owners of very large reef or fish-only systems.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

45 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

1500 litres

Keep as

Singly or a small group in a very large system

Diet

Carnivore: shrimp, mysis, krill, chopped seafood and sinking marine pellets

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 15 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Pacific: Indonesia and the Philippines to Japan, Australia and Melanesia

Breeding

It scatters pelagic eggs in open water and has not been bred in home aquariums. All specimens in the trade are wild caught.

Good to know

Grows to around 50 to 70 cm in the wild and outgrows almost all home tanks, so only buy it with a huge system in mind. Juveniles often refuse food at first and will eat small crustaceans and fish.