Common stinkfish
Foetorepus calauropomus
The Common stinkfish features a flattened body, vibrant yellow to brown coloration, and distinctive stripes along its sides.
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About the Common stinkfish
This is a southern-Australia dragonet with a super long tailfin and a sneaky camouflage look, and the males can actually show some really neat color and filament action when theyre feeling bold. The whole "stinkfish" thing is real too - they have a strong-smelling body slime that can taste bitter and may be toxic, so its not a fish you handle unless you have to.
Also known as
Quick Facts
Size
30 cm
Temperament
Peaceful
Difficulty
Expert
Min Tank Size
75 gallons
Lifespan
3-6 years
Origin
Australia (temperate southern Australia; eastern Indian Ocean)
Diet
Carnivore - tiny benthic foods (copepods, small crustaceans, worms); in captivity needs frequent meaty micro-foods and often struggles to convert to prepared foods
Water Parameters
14-26.2°C
8-8.4
8-12 dGH
Need a heater for this species?
This species needs 14-26.2°C in a 75 gallon tank. Use our heater calculator to find the right wattage.
Calculate heater sizeCare Notes
- Give it a big, mature marine tank with tons of rockwork and a couple real caves - they like to wedge in tight spots and will sulk (or jump) in bare setups.
- Keep salinity steady around 1.025-1.026 and run strong surface agitation; these guys get cranky fast if oxygen dips or salinity swings after top-offs.
- They are messy and the smell is not a joke when stressed, so oversize your skimmer and plan on aggressive mechanical filtration you can swap/rinse often.
- Feed meaty stuff after lights out: chopped shrimp, clam, squid, and silversides; train onto tongs so it eats before faster tankmates steal everything.
- Avoid housing with tiny fish and ornamental shrimp - if it fits in the mouth, it is food; also skip nippy triggers and big wrasses that will harass it in its hide.
- Best tankmates are calm, chunky fish that do not pick fights (think larger gobies, some angels, sturdier tangs), and give everyone plenty of personal space.
- Watch for skin damage and infections from scraping into rock and from poor water - if you see red patches or fuzz, fix water quality first and treat in QT, not the display.
- Breeding in home tanks is rare, but if you ever see paired behavior, add extra caves and keep feeding heavy; sudden diet cuts tend to trigger nasty aggression between them.
Compatibility
Good Tankmates
- Small, chill gobies (neon gobies, clown gobies) - they mind their own business and dont hassle the stinkfish. Give both plenty of little perches and hidey holes and they just sort it out.
- Peaceful blennies like tailspot or bicolor blennies - tons of personality, usually more interested in grazing than picking fights. Just make sure there are enough caves so nobody has to share a bed.
- Firefish and other shy dartfish - great match temperament-wise. Keep a lid on the tank though, because firefish are jumpy when spooked, especially if anything starts bullying.
- Cardinalfish (banggai or pajama) - calm, midwater hangers that wont outcompete or pester them. They are good for that mellow reef vibe.
- Small, peaceful wrasses like a possum wrasse or pink-streaked wrasse - they cruise around looking for pods and generally dont care about a stinkfish. Add them after the tank is settled so everyone has food options.
- Small reef-safe basslets like a chalk bass - usually sturdy and not too pushy. Watch for any one fish getting territorial in a tiny tank, but in normal space they coexist fine.
Avoid
- Dottybacks (especially orchid dottyback and the feistier ones) - they can be little purple demons and will chase a peaceful stinkfish right off its favorite spot.
- Most damsels (domino, three-stripe, etc.) - classic problem fish. They act tough, guard half the rockwork, and keep calmer fish pinned in a corner.
- Hawkfish - not always mean, but they are opportunistic and can harass smaller, slower fish and pick at tank mates when they feel like it.
- Big, boisterous stuff like triggers and larger aggressive wrasses - they bring chaos, outcompete at feeding time, and stress peaceful fish into hiding all day.
Where they come from
Common stinkfish (Foetorepus calauropomus) are one of those oddball deep-ish reef and rubble-zone fish that pop up as bycatch more than as a planned import. Think dimmer water, caves, ledges, and lots of time spent tucked in. If you like cryptic fish that act like little ambush goblins, this is that vibe.
They are not a "look at me" swimmer. Most of the time you will see a face in a hole, then a quick dart for food.
Setting up their tank
This is an expert fish mostly because of two things: getting them eating reliably, and keeping them stable long-term. They do best in a mature, boring, consistent reef-style system where nothing swings fast.
Give them a rockscape with real shelter options. Not just one cave - a network of tight cracks and overhangs so they can pick a "front door" and still retreat deeper if they feel spooked. Low to moderate flow around the hideouts helps them feel secure, but you still want strong overall filtration because they are messy eaters once you have them going.
- Tank size: I would not bother under 40 gallons, and 55+ is nicer just for stability
- Aquascape: lots of live rock with shaded crevices; leave a couple of clear feeding lanes
- Lighting: they do not care about bright light, but they love shadowed zones
- Filtration: oversize skimmer and good mechanical filtration you can clean often
- Lid: tight-fitting - startled cryptic fish can surprise-jump
Do not add one to a brand-new tank. You want a system that has been running steady for months, with a pod and microfauna population already established.
What to feed them
Feeding is the whole game. Expect the first couple weeks to be all about getting a response at the same spot, at the same time, with the same tool. I use a feeding tube or long tweezers so the food lands right at the cave mouth without getting stolen.
Start with stuff that smells like food. Live foods can save the day if the fish arrives thin. Once it is taking food confidently, you can usually transition to frozen and then to a rotation.
- Best starters: live ghost shrimp, live blackworms (rinse well), live enriched brine (as a bridge, not a staple)
- Frozen staples: mysis, chopped shrimp, chopped clam, squid, krill (sparingly)
- Prepared: some individuals learn to take sinking carnivore pellets, but do not count on it at first
- Feeding style: target feed at the hideout; keep the food moving a bit like it is alive
Train a routine: lights dim, powerheads to feed mode, food delivered to the same "door" every time. After a week or two, they often start showing up early like they know the schedule.
If it is not eating, do not just keep dumping food in. You will nuke water quality fast in a marine tank, and this species does not forgive dirty water.
How they behave and who they get along with
They are sit-and-wait predators and they act like it. Mine spent most days wedged into rock, watching everything, then suddenly turning into a missile at feeding time. They are not typically "mean" in the chasing sense, but anything that fits in their mouth is on the menu.
Tankmates should be calm, not hyper-competitive at feeding, and too large to be considered food. Also avoid fish that constantly investigate holes and crevices, because they will stress each other out.
- Good fits: larger peaceful fish (bigger wrasses that do not pick caves, rabbitfish, tangs in larger tanks), sturdy midwater fish that do not steal every bite
- Bad fits: tiny gobies/blennies, small ornamental shrimp, very aggressive dottybacks, hyper-fast feeders that make target feeding impossible
- Inverts: assume small shrimp may disappear; snails and urchins are usually fine
Do not pair with other cryptic ambush predators in a cramped rock pile. You can end up with a fish that never comes out to eat because it is getting bullied off its own cave.
Breeding tips
Breeding in home aquariums is not something I would plan around with this species. If they do spawn, you are likely dealing with tiny pelagic larvae that need specialized live plankton cultures and a dedicated rearing setup. Most of us are just trying to keep them fat and stable.
If you ever see pairing behavior (two adults sharing a territory without constant fighting), that is already a win. Document it and keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible.
Common problems to watch for
The big three are starvation, stress from tankmates, and water quality. A stinkfish that is not eating can look "fine" for a while, then it suddenly is not. Watch body shape more than behavior. You want a nice, filled-out look behind the head, not a pinched, hollowed profile.
- Refusing food: try live prey, reduce competition, dim the lights, target feed closer to the hideout
- Getting outcompeted: feed tankmates first on one side, then target feed the stinkfish on the other
- Crypt-related stress: add more caves and visual breaks; reduce rock-moving and hands-in-tank time
- Parasites on arrival: quarantine if you can; observe breathing rate and skin condition closely
- Bacterial issues after shipping: frayed fins, redness, lethargy - act early rather than waiting
If you can quarantine, set it up like a tiny cave system, not a bare glass box. A piece of PVC plus a few rock-like hides (inert) makes a huge difference in whether they settle and eat.
Be careful with "reef safe" assumptions. Even if it ignores corals, a hungry stinkfish can absolutely reduce your cleanup crew over time, especially small shrimp.
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