Black-headed Leatherjacket

About

The black-headed leatherjacket (Pervagor melanocephalus) is one of the more recognizable filefish in the Indo-West Pacific, named for the dark coloring across its head that contrasts with the warm orange-red of its body and tail. It turns up on clear coastal reefs and outer reef slopes where invertebrate life is dense, and it tends to favor deeper sections of the reef rather than the shallows. In the wild, adults are usually encountered in pairs, which gives this fish a more intimate, social character than many filefish. Though solitary individuals do show up from time to time. It has a naturally secretive disposition, tucking into nooks and staying close to structure rather than cruising open water. For a marine fish, it sits at a fairly accessible care level, making it a reasonable choice for hobbyists who are newer to saltwater keeping but have a well-established reef or fish-only setup. As a carnivore, it needs a varied meaty diet. Worth noting is that filefish as a group can nip at corals and small invertebrates, so tank mate selection deserves some thought. Kept well, this species typically lives in the four-to-six-year range.