Calloplesiops altivelis

Calloplesiops altivelis, commonly known as the Comet fish, is a beautiful medium-sized fish which is known in the hobby for years. This is not strange, because besides their appearance they're very hardy fish, are reef safe and have interesting behaviour. These dark brown fishes have white spots all over their body. As they mature the spots get smaller and more numberous and line up more. The spots on the edges of the dorsal, caudal and anal fin will become blueish and the most notable characteristic is probably the eye spot on the back half of their body.

These fish hide in crevices and under ledges around the reef most of the day and hunt at night. When a predator is spotted, it dives into a hole and leaves its tail out. This tail mimics the head of a moray eel and scares predators away. Because they're nocturnal, it's best to feed them when the lights are dim or off. Especially in the beginning you might notice they're very shy and only take live food when the light is low. Once acclimated, they're best fed with all kind of meaty live and frozen food and usually learn to eat flakes and pellets as well over time. Be carefull with adding small shrimps to the tank, other than that, these fish should pose no problem to other fish or corals.