Bodianus pulchellus
Bodianus pulchellus lives naturally in the western Atlantic from Bermuda and offshore reefs east of the Carolinas to Honduras and northern South America, including the Antilles. These fish also live along the coast of Brazil and on the island of São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea. Although the fish can be found at depths from 18 to 110 meters, the bulk of them live at depths up to 25 meters. The content of these fish is quite simple and they can be recommended even to novice aquarists.
Bodianus pulchellus is colored a brilliant red with a horizontal white stripe in the middle of the body and a bright yellow spot on the rear dorsal fin and in the tail region. Some specimens have dark spots in the rear part of the dorsal fin and on the tips of the pectoral fins. In nature, the Cuban boar beauty reaches a size of about 27 cm, in aquarium conditions, their size usually does not exceed 15 cm.
Bodianus pulchellus is one of the most common and hardy guban species. These are active fish that are always on the move, so keep them in a spacious aquarium (minimum aquarium volume of 500 liters), which has plenty of room for free swimming. In the aquarium should be placed rocks and piles of large stones, among which the fish will spend most of their time in search of small crustaceans. Young fish are very often looking for small parasites on the body of other fish.
Keep Bodianus pulchellus can be kept singly in both species-specific and general aquariums, such as with angelfish. It is known that some specimens of Bodianus pulchellus in search of food overturn corals and hunt for crabs and shrimp, so releasing fish in a reef aquarium should be careful, as some fish can cause damage to corals.
Water parameters: temperature 24-28° C, acidity pH 8.0-8.4, salinity 1.020-1.024. Water filtration and aeration is necessary.
In natural conditions, fish feed on small mollusks and crabs. In aquarium conditions, Cuban boar beauties are fed frozen seafood, shrimp, scallops, mussels and pellets designed for marine fish. The fish should be fed at least 2 times a day.
Reproduction
Bodianus pulchellus does not breed under aquarium conditions, although we have information on their breeding in very large aquariums. All fish are shipped to local retail outlets from their natural habitat.
