Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus

Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus, commonly known as the Coral hawkfish, is a medium-sized hawkfish. They've a white to pinkish base colour with many large irregular red to brownish spots on them. The spots become smaller on the head and in the caudal fin.The first few dorsal fin spines have tiny hairs on them called 'cirri'.

These fish usually pick one or a few spots on rocks or corals where they observe the aquarium. Although they can sometimes be seen in groups in nature, we recommend to only keep one hawkfish in a tank, unless a proven pair can be found, because they can be very aggressive towards other hawkfishes if not enough hiding spaces are available. Most other fishes are ignored, but do watch out with small docile species though. In nature their main diet consists of crustaceans and small fish. They're not shy at all and will eat about any meaty food (preferable crustaceans like mysis, gammarus and krill) you offer. They can even be hand-fed after a short while in the tank. Except for resting on a coral, which some corals can't handle, they're reef safe, but do watch out with fish, shrimps and crabs that fit their mouth!