| Common Name: |
Yellow Assessor, Assessor Basslet |
| Scientific Name: |
Assessor flavissimus |
| Size: |
Up to 3.5" |
| Origin: |
Western Pacific, Australia to Papua New Guinea |
| Natural Habitat: |
In the wild, assessors prefer caves and overhangs and are well adapted to swimming upside down, sideways or in any orientation that suits their surroundings. They can be found living singly, in pairs, and in small groups. |
| Feeding Requirements: |
Assessors are planktivores and not particularly
fussy about diet. Newly acquired specimens should be started on frozen
mysis / cyclops and can then be weaned onto dry foods if desired. They
should be fed daily. |
Difficulty Rating:
(1 = easy - 5 = hard) |
Assessors are among the very
hardiest fish available to the hobby, and individuals that aren't
damaged in transport rate a 1. |
Aggressiveness Rating:
(1 = shy - 5 = nasty) |
Assessors rate about a 2 in
aggressiveness - they almost never show aggression to fish other than
their own kind, and they're rarely intimidated by other small reef
fish. When other fish do decide to pick on them, assessors usually
sturdy enough to continue eating and remain healthy until the other fish
loses interest. |
| Captive Requirements: |
Assessors will do well in nearly any reef tank.
They need some live rock for cover and are adaptable to most
light/temperature/flow situations. Newly acquired specimens will be shy
at first, preferring to spend much of their time in the rockwork, and
wild caught specimens usually spend most of their time swimming
upside-down. Eventually they'll prefer to swim right-side-up and spend
most of their time swimming in the open. They grow very slowly, so
small specimens will do well in nano-reefs, but will need to be moved
into larger quarters as they grow. They're not especially active
swimmers so an adult should be comfortable in a 29g tank. They
shouldn't be kept with extremely aggressive fish due to their small
adult size and lack of defense mechanisms. |
| Optional Requirements: |
Assessors may be kept in pairs or trios in larger
tanks, but they do tend to squabble with conspecifics. There is no
apparent way to tell the genders apart, and they can reproduce in
captivity as mouthbrooders or by laying clutches of eggs. |
| Reef Tank Compatible: |
Absolutely - they have no interest in corals or
other invertebrates. |
| Notes: |
Assessors are a very attractive, very hardy fish that makes a
wonderful addition to tanks of any size, for aquarists of any experience
level. They're not imported very frequently and they have a low birth
rate in captivity, so they can be difficult to come by and command
fairly high prices. They're now being aquacultured commercially by ORA
in Florida! |
| Further Reading: |
Fishbase: Yellow devilfish
Bet You'll Love These Bettas
YouTube: Yellow Assessor Basslet (Assessor flavissimus)
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