Sweetlips

The grunt family includes sweetlips as a type of fish. Their big, full lips make them stand out, and they come in many bright colors. People think they are one of the hardest ocean fish to keep in an aquarium because they are so big and have a hard time adjusting to life in a tank. So, only aquarists with a lot of knowledge should keep them.

Where They Come From: Sweetlips are from the Indo-Pacific Ocean.

Color

There are many shades of brown, yellow, gray, black, and white in most tank sweetlips. They are striped and have spots in a lot of different ways.

Take care of and maintain

The biggest problem for people who want to raise sweetlips in aquariums is that they are very big. Most species grow really quickly and can get over 3 feet long. Because of this, they should only be kept by expert aquarium keepers who can give them aquariums that are big enough. Like most grunt species, sweetlips are active at night and like tanks that are dimly lit and have lots of cracks and holes to hide in. Most of the time, they hide during the day and come out at night to eat.

Just like grunts, sweetlips are pretty calm fish that do well in community pools with other big fish. These fish live in pairs or small groups in the wild. In the tank, they should be kept with at least four other fish. Most experts say that sweetlips should be kept in bigger groups because they can sometimes pick on weaker fish when they are kept with fewer of them. People who keep sweetlips in reef tanks should be careful because they will often eat any crustaceans or worms they find.

When it comes to food, shrimp, clams, and worms are the best things for sweetlips.

Breeding

Not a lot is known about how to breed sweetlips in a home tank. All grunts, including sweetlips, spawn at sea. When they do this in the wild, they throw thousands of eggs into the water.