Nathan Hill reports on an unusual find spotted at Finest Aquatics, Widnes, that will appeal to the keeper of rare but predatory marines.
THE MORE COLOURFUL basslets are the type of fish that I covet, but know I’ll never own. Sure, the Swiss guard, Liopropoma rubre, can be picked up for just shy of £200 these days, but that’s still beyond my single-fish budget. Then you have the likes of the candy basslet, Liopropoma carmabi, which currently looks to be a steal at around £2000.
No surprise then, that when I was inexorably drawn to the rainbow basslet, Liopropoma fasciatum, pictured here, I learnt that I’d have to part with £345 to purchase it. Expensive tastes, I guess.
To this day, the exceptionally rare rainbow basslet remains something of an enigma. Few have been caught, fewer still have been kept, and the fish only exploded onto the hobby scene back in 2014, where it was immediately ranked as Reef Builders’ Fish of the Year. Despite being described in 1980 (the type specimen had been caught in 1973 and sat on for years), it somehow remained elusive to the hobby—most likely due to distribution.
At a glance, the rainbow basslet looks superficially similar to the wrasse basse, Liopropoma eukrines, another fish with a price tag that could drag you down kicking and screaming. But visually, the key difference is that the prominent black marking on eukrines forms a wedge that widens from snout to tail, while fasciatum has a uniform bar. But more importantly, there’s a whole continent between the two species: L. eukrines being found on the Western Atlantic, L. fasciatum found on the Eastern Pacific, from California down to Peru.
It’s easy to see why it made Fish of the Year. The colours follow that same Liopropoma heritage, which my picture does little justice to. The reds and yellows are almost volcanic, while the blue fin edging is electric.
In the wild, rainbow basslets like things deep, being found between 20 and 250 metres down. The type specimen was caught during a shrimp trawl at a depth of 240 metres.
Here, they bond themselves to their rocky surroundings, refusing to venture far from the caves, crevices, or rubble they choose as their homes. That makes capture difficult, though a few are reportedly snagged on hook and line.
Curiously, in the home setting they’re reported to be quite bold. When I photographed this on
