Fourspot Hogfish

About

The Fourspot Hogfish (Bodianus diana) is one of the more personable wrasses you can bring into a saltwater system, combining a robust build with a color pattern that actually changes quite a bit as the fish matures. Juveniles are dark with scattered white spots that gradually give way to the warmer reddish and yellowish tones seen in adults. In the wild, this species ranges across the Indian Ocean from the reefs off East Africa out toward the Nicobar and Cocos-Keeling Islands, where it tends to favor the coral-rich zones of seaward reefs. There's even an interesting note linking adults to the mushroom coral Heliofungia actiniformis, though exactly what drives that association isn't fully pinned down. In the aquarium, it's a confident fish. Curious, active, and not particularly shy once settled. That confidence comes with a catch: it will make short work of smaller tankmates and most ornamental invertebrates, so thoughtful stocking is important. A well-established reef with large, hardy corals can work, but don't count on keeping shrimp or small crabs around for long. This is an intermediate-level fish, rewarding to keep for someone who plans their community with its predatory tendencies in mind.