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Panther Grouper, Cromileptes altivelis, is a beautiful, graceful addition to the home aquarium, if given the proper space to extend its flowing fins. As it hovers, its body displays an almost Clownfish like fluidity with its slow, undulating movements. Its white body with vivid black spots makes it a sure showpiece for the home aquarium. With the potential to grow to over a foot in length, the Panther Grouper should be kept only in larger aquariums. In the wild it darts through the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific fulfilling its role as an opportunist predator while its spots act as camouflage to help prevent it from becoming a meal to even larger, more aggressive predators. In the home aquarium, it has little interest in corals, but may likely dislodge corals as it darts after its next meal. Crustaceans, being part of its natural diet, will likely be eaten. It welcomes a diet of smaller live fish -- upon which it can prey with a sudden, unexpected burst of speed -- and frozen krill or other meaty prepared foods. Because "high input" fish are also "high output" fish, an excellent filtration and biological system should be in place prior to introduction. Groupers should only be kept with other aggressive carnivores such as Triggers and Eels.
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