Pixie Hawkfish

Facts about the Pixie Hawkfish. The Pixie Hawkfish is a brightly colored fish popular in the aquarium trade. The name can actually refer to several different species from different parts of the world.

The Pixie Hawkfish, Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus, is part of the Cirrhitidae family. The Pixie Hawkfish is also called the Coral Hawkfish and Spotted Hawkfish.
This Pixie Hawkfish species looks a lot like the Cirrhitichthys aprinus. The Cirrhitichthys aprinus is also called the Spotted Hawkfish.
The Spotted Hawkfish native to the Indo-Pacific and is also called the Spotted Coral Hopper, Coral Hopper, Coral Hawkfish and Sharp Headed Hawkfish. That species is also a predator but tends to float along reef surfaces.

The Pixie Hawkfish has an off-white or light blue body with large red spots. The Pixie Hawkfish, Cirrhitichthys oxycephalus, has large reddish-orange spots on its body, with the spots being larger on the top of the body than those on the sides before fading to a white bottom side of the body. The front fins are white. The back fins and tail have brown spots.
The Pixie Hawkfish has reddish orange spots along its body that are equal in size except for more splotching on the top of the body. The Pixie Hawkfish have more numerous, small spots on the checks. The Pixie Hawkfish have more fins and spines on their back, and orange spots on the tail.

These Pixie Hawkfish are usually two inches long, and they have a maximum size of three inches. This is true of all species going by the name Pixie Hawkfish.
All Pixie Hawkfish are semi-tropical, needing water between 74F and 82F. The Pixie Hawkfish are saltwater fish that do best when the water pH is between 8.1 and 8.4.

This Pixie Hawkfish species is a carnivore. Feed them marine meats like diced mussels and fish, frozen preparations for carnivores and live feeder shrimp. The Pixie Hawkfish can be fed enriched mysis shrimp or chopped table shrimp. They will eat decorative shrimp and crustaceans.
The Pixie Hawkfish are reef compatible with caution. They will harass smaller fish. The Pixie Hawkfish will harass and may eat small goby fish, fire fish, and small wrasses. They will not eat hermit crabs. The Pixie Hawkfish are aggressive toward their own species. These fish are territorial with other hawkfish. You need at least 60 gallons of water if you have more than one. The Pixie Hawkfish are compatible with tangs, puffers, damselfish, clownfish, basslets, blennies, angel fish, parrot fish, and file fish.
The Pixie Hawkfish uses its fins like arms to move along the surface of coral. The Pixie Hawkfish will wait on the coral until prey approaches.

The Pixie Hawkfish is native to Central America. The Pixie Hawkfish is native to the Indo-Pacific, found from the Marquesas Islands to Columbia to the Galapagos to the coast of South Africa. The Pixie Hawkfish need ledges to perch on and caves to hide in.

The term Pixie Hawkfish can refer to several species, one from the Indo-Pacific and one from the Caribbean being the most common.