Coral Trout Grouper

[kreblak]

I found a picture of a Coral Trout Grouper (Cephalopholis miniatus) in an aquarium book I was reading, and I must say it was quite a cool fish. The only problem is that there was no information other than the picture caption. I am hoping that one of you grand aquarists has kept one.

How big do they get?
What do they eat?
How aggressive are they?
What species are they incompatibale with?
Where can I get one?

 

[redpaulhus]

Think big - maybe not HUGE like a panther grouper, but big.
About 15 inches or more as an adult...
How big is your tank ?
Any small tankmates ?
Miniatus Grouper's will usually eat anybody they can fit in thier cavernous mouths...

Also, the thing I found really interesting (I like cryptic fishes) is that these will often be very shy fish, especially compared to other groupers. Many people rarely see their miniatus except at feeding time...

As for your other questions -
They eat anything and everything - but I had great luck with fresh scallops, fresh fish, frozen krill, frozen silversides, and frozen "Formula One".

They're not aggressive in terms of beating on a fish they can't eat, but they are aggressive in terms of " Hey, I'm bigger than you - Get in My Belly !!"

They're incompatable with smaller fish, or ornamental shrimps.

Any good LFS should be able to get you one.

 

[kreblak]

This fellow would have to go into a large tank. I knew they got fairly big, but I wasn't thinking 15 inches. The pic I saw was of the fish with its mouth wide open...quite a set of teeh that critter has. It looks like a salmon colored barracuda with blue polka dots! My current tank is 46 gallons. Maybe when I get that 1100 gallon tank I have been looking at

 

[Bugotus]

Dude, I had one in a 65gal. for 5 years. he was my best friend, i liked him better than my dog. I left for college and gave him to my cousin to keep. My uncle left the heater set on high in the tank and went on a business trip.... fried his ass. This fish knew me, I would walk in the room and he would practically jump out of the water. He would let me touch him at the top of the water, and he wouldnt swim away. His orange and blue dot's were awesome and would slightly change in contrast depending on either the light or his mood. Whatever it was it was cool. If you can get one of these fish do it! I actually got mine when he was small and almost dead from a fish store for a discount and nursed him back to life. At the time I had a percula clown and a coral beauty. And a toad fish(chesapeake bay fish that can live in anything) but as the grouper got bigger he never messed with the smaller fish, it was like he never saw them as prey. I kept him well fed. I fed him bull minnows from the bay id catch right off my pier. He would eat 3 and be good for a couple days. I never starved him so he may have eatin my others if not tended to. Man get one if your looking for a kick ass predator fish, and maybe a friend

p.s. in the small amount of time my cousin had the fish, My aunt is said to have cried when my uncle killed it, she fell in love with it too.

 

[kreblak]

Really....in a 65 gallon? Well I just might have to go ahead and see what I can do about getting myself one of these fish. Oh, and I concur on the toadfish's ability to live in anything. I caught one once and decided to keep it for bait. It was then placed in a bucket that had been previously used for motor oil storage. Not only did it live for more than 6 hours, it was still fiesty when I tried to catch it!

 

[OrionGirl]

Keep in mind that a 65 has a much diffeent footprint--they are as deep (front to back) as a standard 90 gallon tank. The miniatus at my LFS is about 9 months old, and he's about 9-10 inches. In a huge tank, no one aggressive in with him (a lion, a red hawk, and huge batfish), but he spends all his time hiding behind the coral. Very shy fish--though cool looking.

 

[MonoSebaelover]

Generally once they get some size to them they become a bit more brave. I think a 65 is a bit small for a full grown adult. They will need at least a 100 gallon when full adult. They are very neat fish but are generally pretty expensive. I have a White spot grouper that comes out at feeding time and sometimes whenever I approach the tank. I also have a Clown (Leaflip) Grouper that is much more brave. Hope this helps and good luck with whatever you decide about the Miniata Grouper.