Marine Monster Review: Cephalopholis urodeta

SourAngelfish

Dovii
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2021
376
645
105
Cephalopholis urodeta/V-tail Grouper

This is a pretty new grouper to me but I’ve determined it to be one of, if not the best species for beginners wanting to get into saltwater predators. It’s not very well known so I figured I would introduce it to everyone…

This species unlike some of the other Cephalopholis, this species grows relatively small. Maxing out at 11 inches in the wild and rarely exceeding 8-9 inches in aquaria, this is an awesome candidate for a single species 75g plus. If you are wishing to keep it with other fish, it has proven to be not very aggressive, but does eat fish up to half its size. This is great as some of the other more commonly sold groupers get huge and are quite aggressive.

These guys aren’t picky either, eating just about any meaty foods. Market shrimp, silversides, squid, etc.

Just an overall lovely fish that I wanted to share and a great option for beginners when stores often offer groupers exceeding 24 inches.

6EBA3239-972B-459E-83AE-769A4C27F917.jpeg
 

kno4te

MFK Moderator
Staff member
Global Moderator
MFK Member
Dec 24, 2005
18,487
20,972
480
USA
Nice color and potential size for a grouper.
 

xenacanth9

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Apr 19, 2021
1,532
2,409
154
Cephalopholis urodeta/V-tail Grouper

This is a pretty new grouper to me but I’ve determined it to be one of, if not the best species for beginners wanting to get into saltwater predators. It’s not very well known so I figured I would introduce it to everyone…

This species unlike some of the other Cephalopholis, this species grows relatively small. Maxing out at 11 inches in the wild and rarely exceeding 8-9 inches in aquaria, this is an awesome candidate for a single species 75g plus. If you are wishing to keep it with other fish, it has proven to be not very aggressive, but does eat fish up to half its size. This is great as some of the other more commonly sold groupers get huge and are quite aggressive.

These guys aren’t picky either, eating just about any meaty foods. Market shrimp, silversides, squid, etc.

Just an overall lovely fish that I wanted to share and a great option for beginners when stores often offer groupers exceeding 24 inches.

View attachment 1472678
I've been tempted into doing saltwater lately... Thank you for the suggestion
 
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