Swaleis Basslet : An In-Depth Look At The Shyest Deep Water Basslet, Liopropoma Swalesi

Liopropoma Swalesi is a small deep water basslet commonly found around the waters of Indonesia. As with other members of the genus, it has a body that resembles an arrowhead, sleek and streamlined. Most specimens are in the 2 to 3 inch range, rarely topping 4 inches. They don’t enjoy popularity among hobbyists like the royal gramma (Gramma Loreto) does.

Its light purple body is streaked by horizontal orange stripes from its grey mouth to its tail. There is a single black spot on both its dorsal and anal fins.

It is commonly known as the shyest member of the Liopropoma genus. Common names include the Pacific Candy Basslet, Swalesi Basslet, Swale’s Swissguard Basslet and my favorite, the poor mans Candy Basslet. The last statement being in reference of the candy basslet (Liopropoma Carmabi).

Differentiating the two is an easy enough task. 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 they represent the holy grail among fans of this genus.

They are an expensive fish as far as ornamental marine fish go, expect to pay between $80 to $120 USD for one. Finding a specimen however, can be difficult as they are quite uncommon. Unfortunately Liopropoma Swalesi is considered one of the harder basslets to keep due to its shy disposition.

In a nutshell, rearing of the swalesi basslet is either going to be nearly impossible or very easy. Success depends on a number of factors that i will touch upon throughout this article.

The Swalesi Basslet is one of the shyest fishes you are likely to get. It does well with non-aggressive fishes. Small fishes and invertebrates like the sexy shrimp and neon goby will end up getting eaten.

This basslet is either very easy or very difficult to rear in captivity. The three most important factors towards success :-

* The size of your tank * Tank mates * Availability of caves for shelter

The Swalesi Basslets do better in smaller aquariums from 15 to 30 gallons. This is because in smaller aquariums they have fewer tank mates (well at least they should) and you have more control over the tank. Changes to the rock scape as well as removal of tank mates can be done with ease. Not so in a large 150 gallon tank. If you introduce a swalesi basslet into a tank of that size, you’re not getting it out. It is very likely that you will hardly see the basslet either.

They need “quiet” tanks to do well. By quiet i mean an aquarium with very little daily activity. Housing them in an aquarium with too many active fish will mean slow death for them. They should be in smaller aquariums that were designed just for them or tanks with very few tank mates. The genus Liopropoma are made of deep water 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.They may refuse to feed if they are constantly being harassed by an aggressive fish. Which happens all too often i might add. They just find a dark spot, refuse to come out to feed and slowly wither away.

Since they come from deeper water, they aren’t used to lighting levels as intense as is normally seen in aquariums. Don’t worry if you don’t see them too often after introduction. Give them time to slowly adjust.

All cave basslets are carnivores. They actively scan the rock work in and around their shelter for small crustaceans. Dry foods are not accepted. I’ve tried many types of pellets from a variety of brands, they spit them all out. I;ve also tried dried krill, dried shrimp, basically dried anything won’t work. Stick with frozen foods.

They should be offered a wide range of meaty foods. Offer frozen foods like Krill, Mysis shrimp and Prime Reef (A good blend of raw seafood). Don’t expect them to feed straight away, give them a few days to adapt to the aquarium. When feeding initially, turn off the pumps and put frozen mysis shrimp in 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.

Despite its beauty, this fish isn’t for everybody. This fish isn’t for you if you want a fish that you can see swimming out in the open everyday.