Yellow Assessor – Pick Up In Store Only

Yellow Assessor – Pick Up In Store Only

Assessor flavissimus

Key Characteristics:

• Vibrant Coloration: As its name suggests, the Yellow Assessor is a striking, bright yellow all over its body. It often has reddish-orange outlines on its dorsal and anal fins, and sometimes a subtle reddish-orange stripe from the eye to the gill cover.
• Size: They are relatively small fish, growing to about 5.5 – 7.6 cm (2.2 – 3 inches) in length.
• Unique Swimming Behavior: One of their most fascinating traits is their tendency to swim upside down, especially when under ledges, in caves, or in crevices. This is a natural adaptation to their preferred habitat.
• Temperament: They are generally considered peaceful to moderately peaceful, especially compared to some dottybacks (though they are not actually dottybacks; they belong to the family Plesiopidae, or “prettyfins”). They can be territorial, especially towards other assessor species or similar-looking fish, and particularly if they establish a specific crevice as their home.
• Lifespan: With good care, they can live for several years in a home aquarium.

Habitat and Distribution:

• Natural Range: The Yellow Assessor is native to the Western Central Pacific, with its distribution including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and areas around Indonesia and the Philippines.
• Preferred Environment: In the wild, they inhabit coral reefs, favoring caves, crevices, and underhangs. They often form small groups in these sheltered areas.

Diet and Feeding:

• Carnivorous/Planktivore: Their natural diet consists primarily of small zooplanktonic crustaceans.
• Aquarium Diet: They are generally not difficult to feed in captivity. Offer a varied diet of:
  • High-quality marine flakes and pellets.
  • Frozen foods such as mysis shrimp, brine shrimp (preferably enriched), cyclops, and finely chopped marine seafood (like squid or fish).
• Feeding Frequency: Feed small amounts 2-3 times a day to ensure they get enough food and to reduce potential competition.

Aquarium Care:

• Tank Size: A minimum of 30 gallons (around 100 liters) is recommended for a single Yellow Assessor. If you plan to keep multiple individuals, a larger tank (55+ gallons) with ample hiding places is necessary to minimize aggression.
• Water Parameters:
  • Temperature: 22-26C (72-79F)
  • pH: 8.1-8.4
  • Salinity: 1.020-1.025 specific gravity
  • Alkalinity (dKH): 8-12 dKH
• Aquascaping: Provide plenty of live rock with numerous caves, overhangs, and crevices. This will allow them to exhibit their natural upside-down swimming behavior and establish territories.
• Reef Safe: Yes, they are considered excellent additions to reef aquariums as they will not bother corals or most invertebrates.
• Compatibility:
  • Best kept as a single specimen unless in a very large tank with many hiding spots.
  • Choose peaceful to semi-aggressive tankmates. Avoid very aggressive fish that might bully them, and also extremely timid fish that might be outcompeted for food or stressed by the assessor’s activity.
  • Good tankmates might include other peaceful gobies, blennies, wrasses, and some smaller damselfish (though be cautious with other damselfish).
  • Avoid keeping them with their close relatives, the Blue Assessor (Assessor macneilli), in smaller tanks, as territorial disputes are highly likely.
  • As with any fish, monitor interactions carefully when introducing new inhabitants.
• Maintenance: Regular water changes and consistent water quality are essential for their health.

Breeding:

• Like their blue counterparts, Yellow Assessors are mouthbrooders, with the male typically guarding the eggs in his mouth.
• While not commonly bred in home aquariums, captive breeding has occurred.

• Origin:Great Barrier Reef

• Adult Size:

• Social: Peaceful with similarly sized fish

• Care: Easy