Greetings! ACE members
This is my second post on facts on philippine aquatic life, I hope that you will find this post interesting. If you have any questions regarding my post or anything else related to the hobby, feel free to ask.
Thanks
This is one interesting fish that i have just obtained last year, i got this from magallanes/manalili, it was sold to me at p15 it was caught along with scats. This fish was imported by the US and the UK, it appeared in the US in 2003. When i first saw this, the first thing that came into my mind is that this is related to the datnioides and after a few hours of research, i was right, they call this the Mangrove red snapper. The fish showed similar features to the siamese, indo and american tiger fish/perch, from eating to swimming behaviour, the likeness is remarkable.
COMMON NAME:
Mangrove red snapper
MANALILI/MAGALLANES NAME:
None
LOCAL NAME:
Isu, Ahaan, Aliso, Aluman, Batangal, Butangal, Chinarey, Comay, Dangdang, Darag-darag, Gingao, Haan,Kalumbang, Manarak-sarak, Mangagat, Mangngayat and Margay
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
Lutjanus argentimaculatus
ORIGIN:
Philippines, Indo-West Pacific: East Africa to Samoa and the Line Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, south to Australia. Has dispersed into the eastern Mediterranean (off Lebanon) via the Suez Canal but not well established there.
SIZE:
150 cm, published weight is 8,700 g and reported age is 18 years
DIET:
Carnivorous, eats mainly livefoods from fish to crustaceans, may accept thawed fish meat chunks.
NOTE:
This fish and other related species are considered brackish inhabitants they may tolerate pure freshwater but only in brief period of time. What i normally do when doing partial water changes is, i gradually add a small amount pure rock salt in the aquarium water. This fish will be uncomfortable when there is an abrupt change in the salinity of the water and may somtimes expell the food stored in their stomache. Creating a brackish tank is not that complicated, there are specific values as to what level of salinity is recomended, but you can always follow the range of the amount of salt that you can use, the range is between 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon. Mine is even less than the range that i have mentioned.
BREEDING:
group spawners, spawning occurs on reefs.
IDENTIFICATION:
This species has three related specimens under the same genus. This is even related to the Blackspot Snapper which is locally known as the Maya-maya. The related species are L. ehrenbergii, L. fuscescens and L. maxweberi
This is a picture of a Blackspot Snapper which is under the same genus as the Mangrove red snapper. I haven't verified the picture so bear with me if i have the wrong picture.