Lightly Medicated | Scarlet Hawkfish (Neocirrhites armatus)

What “Lightly Medicated” means

This is the same animal as our non-quarantined listing, held briefly in our systems and given one short prophylactic course — a light treatment for ich and for internal and external worms — then observed eating in front of us before it goes home.

A light course knocks the parasite load down. It does not guarantee full removal, and we will not pretend otherwise. Ich is only killed in its free-swimming stage, and a short treatment window can miss cysts entirely; worm burdens can survive a single dose. Clearing an animal takes the full quarantine window — 40 to 90 days depending on the species — which is exactly what the Quarantined listing is for. This tier buys you a lower parasite load and a fish we have watched eat, not a cleared animal.

We condition the fish on our end. Every animal we medicate is brought back onto prepared food on our own systems and is eating before it leaves — in practice it is rare for a lightly medicated fish to ship out and arrive sick. Do the same at your end: get it eating in your aquarium before you count it settled.

When it ships

Plan on 5–7 days on our systems for the treatment course, and it does not leave until it is eating. If the animal is not already in our systems we source it first — allow up to two weeks for it to reach us before that clock starts. From the day you order, plan on roughly three weeks in total.

The guarantees

• Shipped orders: 24-hour live guarantee from confirmed delivery.
• In-store pickup: 7-day live guarantee — bring a water sample from your aquarium so we can test it before your livestock goes home with you.

Want the full program — treated, observed, confirmed eating, and covered for 28 days on pickup? That is the Quarantined listing. Run your own quarantine and just want the fish this week? The non-quarantined listing is cheaper still. The whole ladder is explained in Quarantined vs Non-Quarantined.

Hawkfish don’t have a swim bladder, which sounds like a design flaw until you realize what they do with that limitation: instead of swimming freely through the water column, they perch — using their thickened lower pectoral fin rays almost like tiny legs to prop themselves on a rock or coral branch and watch for food to drift by. Neocirrhites armatus, the Scarlet Hawkfish, is easily one of the most vividly colored small fish in the trade, and it spends most of its day doing exactly that from a perch in the rockwork, darting out for a meal and returning to the same spot. The behavior is equal parts endearing and effective.

It’s reef safe with corals and generally peaceful toward fish, though it will treat small ornamental shrimp — peppermints, sexy shrimp, cleaner shrimp juveniles — as a snack given the chance. Its native habitat runs across the Hawaiian Islands and the broader tropical Pacific, typically in areas with substantial coral cover and moderate-to-strong current where it can perch in the flow and ambush whatever gets pushed past.

Hardy once established, and one of the more forgiving small reef fish for someone stepping into saltwater for the first time. Feed frozen mysis, brine, and other meaty foods — it’s a visual feeder and will take prepared foods readily.

Scientific name: Neocirrhites armatus
Origin: Hawaiian Islands and tropical Pacific — outer reef slopes and coral-rich zones with moderate to strong current
Water parameters: Temp 72–80°F · Salinity 1.020–1.026 · pH 8.1–8.4
Tank requirements: 30 gal minimum; needs open rockwork perches and visual sightlines
Diet: Carnivore — frozen mysis, brine shrimp, other meaty foods; visual feeder that takes prepared foods readily
Compatibility: Reef safe with corals; peaceful with most fish; will eat small ornamental shrimp
Husbandry note: Provide multiple elevated perching spots in the rockwork — a hawkfish without good perch options becomes stressed and reclusive. Flat rock surfaces and branching corals at mid-tank height are ideal.