The Oriental Sweetlips is also known as the Oriental Grunt or the Oriental Dogfish. They are not easy to care for and should only be kept by advanced aquarists. They are known as grunts because they make a grunting sound by rubbing their flat teeth plates together, which is amplified through their air bladders. They are also known for their large rubbery lips.

  As juveniles they are brown-maroon fish with white areas that have tan spotting. As adults they have a white body with thin black lateral lines across their body. They have yellow fins and yellow coloration on their face. They should be kept in a 125 gallon tank or larger because they can rapidly grow and become very large. You should also have plenty rocks and crevices for the Oriental Sweetlips to hid because during the day the spend most of their time hiding. They are peaceful fish and should be kept with other peaceful fish.   They have unique swimming pattern that makes them very desirable to aquarist. This swimming behavior is used to deter predators. They are hesitant eaters and will tank some work to get them to eat. When first introduced to your tank offer them live shrimp and worms at night since they are nocturnal and come out for food at night. Once they are acclimated to your tank be sure to feed them nutritional frozen foods like Mysis shrimp and Brine shrimp. They will feed on crustaceans like snails, shrimp and worms in your tank.  

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