Grouper Fish

Groupers are another of those misnamed fish, since in the wild they live completely alone, one per cave - the original hermit! In an aquarium, you should not attempt to keep two of the same species together, and it is also unwise to try and keep two of any sort of groupers together. They are exceedingly hardy, nitrite-tolerant, easy to feed and disease-resistant. The grouper likes to lurk at the cave entrance, just darting out occasionally to warn off intruders or to grab a passing meal. Feed this carnivorous fish on solid chunks of food, such as mussel meat and lance fish, and make sure that its tank mates are larger than the grouper's mouth. Furnish the aquarium with an overhang large enough to accommodate your chosen fish. Groupers grow quite rapidly - in the tropics they are regarded as a prime food fish.

Closely related to the groupers are the snappers, another very large food fish. Snappers are shoaling fish that swim very powerfully and with great agility, making them difficult to catch, even in a tank. They are very hardy, nitrite-tolerant and easy to feed. Snappers grow very quickly and are capable of doubling their size in a few weeks. They are not particularly aggressive, but their very size precludes them from the average home aquarium. Avoid buying juvenile emperor snappers (Lufthansa seabed), for example, because they soon outgrow their tank.

The panther fish, Coronado, grouper (Chronicle hive) is suitable for an aquarium containing triggers and lionfish. It is a little less solitary than other groupers. Another untypical grouper is the marine beta (Calliopes & veils), a beautifully marked, lowbrow swimmer.