Liopropoma Swalesi : Guide On The Deepwater Basslet, Liopropoma Swalesi

Scientific Name : Liopropoma Swalesi

Origin : Indo-Pacific

Difficulty : Easy to very difficult, dependant on a number of factors

Minimum Size Tank : 15 gallons

Temperament : Very shy

Temperature : 72 - 82°F

Reef Safe : Will not touch corals, smaller invertebrates will become lunch.

Maximum Size : 3.5 inches

Diet : Carnivore

Liopropoma Swalesi is a small deep water basslet commonly found around the waters of Indonesia. It looks other members of the genus Liopropoma, sleek, streamlined, with a body shape that resembles an arrowhead.

Orange stripes line its faded purple body horizontally while its snout is a dark grey. There is a single black spot on both its dorsal and anal fins.

It is reputed to be the shyest member of the genus. Common names include the Pacific Candy Basslet, Swalesi Basslet, Swale's Swissguard Basslet and my favorite, the poor mans Candy Basslet. That last description is in reference to Liopropoma Carmabi, the true candy basslet.

Telling the two apart is very easy. Liopropoma Carmabi lacks a black spot on the anal fin, costs ten times as much as Liopropoma Swalesi and has colors that are very striking. So striking that there usually at the top of the list for basslet enthusiasts.

They are an expensive fish as far as ornamental marine fish go, expect to pay between $80 to $120 USD for one. But the problem is in finding one in the first place as they can be rather uncommon.

Unfortunately Liopropoma Swalesi is considered one of the harder basslets to keep due to its shy disposition. It is my hope that this guide provides all the necessary information with regards to their requirements in a marine aquarium. In a nutshell, rearing of Liopropoma Swalesi is either going to be very easy or nearly impossible. Success depends on a number of factors that i will touch upon throughout the article.

The Swalesi Basset is a very shy, very reclusive fish. It will get along just fine with other fishes in the saltwater aquarium. Very small tankmates (Neon gobies, Sexy Shrimp) run the risk being eaten.

I introduced both of them at the same time and while there was some mild aggression between the two, life after a month is very peaceful. It remains to be seen if they will pair up in the end.

In the overview i mentioned how this fish would either be very easy or very difficult to keep in a saltwater aquarium. Their difficulty is greatly dependant on 3 things :-

• tank size
• Available caves for use as shelter
• Tankmates
  

They need "quiet" tanks to do well. Putting them in a small tank jam packed with fishes will spell doom for them. My swalesi basslets share their 15 gallon nano with a yashia goby and a randall's pistol shrimp. Thats it.

The genus Liopropoma are all deepwater cave basslets. As such, the rock scape in your saltwater aquarium MUST contain at least a few caves for them to take refuge in. These fishes do not do well in tanks with "open" scapes and will surely die in such settings.

Avoid housing them with aggressive fish, if there is any bullying they might refuse to come out of their hiding spots to feed. Which is a commonly reported case. They just find a dark spot, refuse to come out to feed and slowly wither away.

Members of genus liopropoma are all carnivores. They will actively scan their cave and the surrounding rock for small crustaceans to feed on.

They do not accept dry foods. Or at least, i haven't been able to get them on any. They have spit out just about every type of pellet i have offered. I've also tried dried shrimp and dried krill with no success. It is best to feed frozen foods only.

Offer the swalesi basslet a wide range of meaty foods. Frozen foods like Krill, Mysis shrimp and Prime Reef (A good blend of raw seafood) are all great choices.

Don't be worried if they don't feed right away, they require up to a week to adapt to their new environment. When trying to feed them initially, turn off your powerheads and put some frozen mysis shrimp into their cave. wait 10 minutes, then turn the pumps back and look for any floating pieces of mysis, there should be none. I have found that they are very receptive to mysis shrimp, probably because they recognize the shape.

As always, i advise you to stay away from frozen brine shrimp as they are nutritionally poor. If you insist on feeding them artemia go for an enriched type like "spirulina enriched brine shrimp" but it is my personal opinion that you're better off feeding them naturally superior foods like mysis shrimp or krill.

To date there have been no successfull rearings of liopropoma swalesi larvae by anyone. The longest anybody has reared their larvae is 15 days. It is thought that the genus Liopropoma has bi-directional juvenile gonads. This means juveniles have the potential to
become a male or a female but cannot revert back once they have sexually matured.

Spawning behaviour consists of the male circling the female and nudging her up the water column until they finally spawn. Very much like how dwarf angelfish spawn. The eggs have a drop of oil in them that enables it to float up to the surface. Where they presmably hatch and begin feasting on planktonic life that is ever present near the ocean surface.

While this fish may be beautiful, it certainly isn't for everybody. It especially isn't for you if :-

• You want a fish that you can see swimming out in the open everyday

• You have a small tank with many fishes and a high level of constant activity

• You have a tank with very little live rock or a rock scape that is too "open"