Cetoscarus bicolor

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Facts
Latin name Cetoscarus bicolor - (Rüppell, 1829)
Local name Bicolour parrotfish
Family Scaridae - Cetoscarus
Origin East Indian Ocean, West Indian Ocean, Australia, The Red Sea, Indonesia, East Pacific, Central/West Pacific
Max length 90 cm (35.4")
As aquarium fish
Minimum volume 5000 l (1319 gal)
Hardiness Average
Suitable for aquarium Not suitable for home aquarium
Reef safe Not reef safe
Aggressiveness Unknown
Feed
Recommended Macroalgea (Eg. seaweed / nori)
Microalgea (Eg. spirulina)
Mostly Large polyp stone coral (LPS)
Small polyp stone coral (SPS)
Beware of
Demand a very large aquarium when fully grown

This species needs a very large aquarium when fully grown.

Exactly how big the aquarium should be is hard to say, but the size of this species is such, that it cannot normally be kept in a home aquarium.

Keep in mind
Heavy load

This species eats a great deal and demands an aquarium that can tolerate such a heavy load.

Requires plenty of space for swimming.

This species revels in swimming and requires an aquarium with ample space.

Hermaphroditic

This species can change gender from female to male.

When a male is needed, a female changes sex and takes on the role.

Effective algae-eaters

This species can eat large amounts of algae (relative to their size) from rocks, like green hair algae and filamentous algae.

As it doesn’t eat every algae type, in case of a specific algae plague, find out more precise information.

Descriptions and further reading
Description

Full grown males are blue green with pink markings.

Family description (Scaridae)

Parrotfish (Scaridae) are effective algae eaters for the reef, but some species will also live off rock corals.
Many of these fish will grow too big for most domestic aquaria, although there are some exceptions.

Parrotfish will generally eat a lot and often, which must be taken into account.
It is an advantage to have lots of algae in the aquarium which they can graze on. 

These fish will sleep in a mucus cocoon between stones. 

The species most often seen in tanks is Scarus quoyi, which is suitable for coral aquaria. It does have a large appetite, so the aquarium must have good filtration. 

FishBase
Aquarium trade Yes
Distribution Indo-Pacific: Red Sea to the Tuamoto Islands, north to the Izu Island, south to the southern Great Barrier Reef.
English common names Two-colour parrotfish
Bicolor parrotfish
Bicolour parrotfish
Red-speckled parrotfish
Danish common names Tofarvet papegøjefisk
French common names Perroquet bicolore
References and further reading

About references

Bob Fenner. Parrotfishes, Family Scaridae - Wet Web Media - (English)
Scott W. Michael. 2009. Wrasses and Parrotfishes (Reef Fishes Series Book 5) - TFH Publications / Microcosm Ltd. - (English)
Joshua Wiegert. Parrotfish: Good or Bad for the Hobby? - Tropical Fish Hobbyist - (English)