Two Band Or Triple Bar Goatfish?

Parupeneus crassilabris is a very cool fish with a lot of common names. Once upon a time, it was most commonly called the Two Banded Goatfish and nowadays it's more commonly called the Triple Bar Goatfish. Apparently, everyone's math got better, and we realized that it actually has three dark bars. In the interest of fairness, the band through eye is sometimes more of a large spot. This fish is also called all the variations of these names you can think of like Double Bar, Three Band, etc. On top of all these names it often gets called Panda, Thicklipped, and Yellow Stripe, these names are often in conjunction with one of the Two/Three, Bar/Band descriptors. In house, we call it the Triple Bar Panda Goatfish.

All the Goatfish are called Goatfish because of their beards, which are actually a pair of barbels they can sense food with a lot like Catfish, but the Goatfish barbels are pointed down into the sand. In the wild, they'll swim around all day looking for small fish and invertebrates hiding in the substrate to eat. Parupeneus crassilabris is found all over the Indo-Pacific, but they are replaced by other species in their complex in the Indian ocean and central Pacific. They're frequently found in groups, near coral and rock reef edges where there is sand to hunt and reef to hide in. They've been documented in water as deep as 250 feet but are collected much more often in shallower water.

Goatfish are often added to aquariums to help turn over the sand, and while they won't exactly turn it over constantly like a Valenciennea genus Goby, they will help stir the sand up keeping that top half inch or so well oxygenated. They'll do this job all day long, and so we recommend having large, but not necessarily deep sand bed for them. Substrate should be soft, and the rockwork of the display should be planned for giving maximum footprint to open space while still offering good hiding places for the fish. Triple Bar Panda Gobies get pretty large, up to a foot long. Panda Triples that big are pretty rare, but they're likely to get at least eight inches long. They like to be kept together, and we suggest you plan for at least three; you can keep them singly, but they acclimate better in groups. This means they're going to need a pretty big tank, we'd recommend 180 gallons, with an emphasis on footprint over depth. You want the six-foot length, and more would be better if you have a larger group.

Parupeneus crassilabris isn't all that sensitive to different water chemistry parameters, water quality or even flow requirements. They'll need the water to the in the pH 7.8-8.4 range, specific gravity in the 1.020-1.026 range and the temperature between 70 and 78. Focus on stability of these numbers rather than the actual parameter. They'll be fine in both super high flow and low flow. Keep nitrates under 10ppm (and lower is almost always better).

Where most hobbyists run into difficulty with Goatfish of all types is getting them enough food. These are very active fish, with high caloric demands and they eat all day long in the wild. Triple Bar Panda Goatfish will need a minimum of three meals a day, and we'd suggest more if you can work it out. They'll eat just about anything, and in house we feed them a mix of Gamma Foods that changes day to day, but will include Mysis, Krill Superba and Pacifica, Bloodworms, Chopped Mussel and Chopped Prawn. Once you can get your Goatfish to accept Nutramar Complete Pellets, getting them enough food is easier because you can automate a couple feedings. Larger fish won't need so many feedings per day, but when they're under four or five inches, they seem like bottomless pits. Feed them a lot, then feed them again.

Triple Band Panda Gobies are just as peaceful as the Panda in their name. They'll get along with pretty much everything that they don't eat. Most fish will ignore them scooting around the bottom of the aquarium. We would only caution you about keeping them with really aggressive fish, and fish/inverts that are small enough to become meals. They'll happily crunch down ornamental shrimp, hermit crabs and even small snails. They'll even eat Bristleworms that are small enough. Which leaves us on the topic of if they are reef safe. Well, they're unlikely to directly bother your corals, but they also don't care if those corals are in their way, so sand bed corals like Fungia and Trachyphyllia will get turned over and be the worse for it. They are very likely to harass and eat clams. Most sources will tell you they are not reef compatible. Our opinion is that they could be reef compatible, but there are some caveats. They eat a lot, so they poop a lot and they're a bull in the fine China shop. If you want to try these in your reef tank, you'll need to make pragmatic choices about what other fish, corals and inverts you keep with them.

Goatfish are something completely different in the marine aquarium. They bring intense energy to the often-forgotten bottom of the tank. They're useful for eating nuisance inverts and do a great job at mixing up a shallow sand bed. They're super peaceful, have a very unique look to them and are fun to watch. If you've got a big enough aquarium and can get them enough food, you should absolutely think about getting yourself a few Triple Bar Panda Goatfish.