Axil-Spot Hogfish (Bodianus axillaris): Breeding Notes

Bodianus axillaris is an Indo-Pacific hogfish with strikingly different juveniles and adults. It is oviparous, forming pairs to spawn pelagic eggs, and is not bred at home.

Overview

Bodianus axillaris, the axilspot hogfish, reaches about 20 cm standard length and ranges across the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and South Africa to the Marshall, Marquesan and Tuamotu islands and Japan. Wikipedia records adults in clear shallow lagoon and seaward reefs at 1 to 8 metres, feeding on hard-shelled molluscs and crustaceans. Juveniles are blackish with white markings and act as cleaner fish.

Sexing

Wikipedia notes males show reddish-brown fronts with white rears and prominent black spots, while females and juveniles are blackish with white flank markings. As a protogynous hogfish, dominant females transform into terminal males, so the largest, most strongly marked fish is generally male.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

The species is oviparous and forms distinct pairs when spawning. The pair rises off the reef to broadcast eggs and milt into open water. This pelagic ascent demands swimming room and has not been documented under aquarium conditions for this species.

Egg & Fry Care

The eggs are pelagic and disperse into the plankton, where larvae develop before settling onto the reef and adopting the cleaner-fish juvenile phase. No documented home protocol exists for raising the larvae, so the species is wild-caught.

Common Challenges

Adult size, a diet of hard-shelled invertebrates that endangers tank inverts, protogynous sex change and pelagic spawning all stand in the way of captive reproduction. Pairing is risky and the planktonic larvae cannot be reared with standard gear.