Yellowtail Hamlet

The Yellowtail Hamlet is an attractive Caribbean hamlet species characterized by its warm brown to olive body contrasted with a bright yellow caudal fin and rear body section, which gives the species its descriptive common name. The front portion of the body displays the typical hamlet pattern of subtle vertical bars on a brownish background, while the posterior third transitions to a vivid golden-yellow that extends through the entire tail fin. This two-toned color scheme creates a distinctive and appealing appearance. Like all members of the Hypoplectrus complex, it has a compact, robust body shape reaching approximately 5 inches.

In the wild, Hypoplectrus chlorurus is found throughout the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, including the Florida Keys, Bahamas, Belize, and Honduras. It inhabits coral reef environments at moderate depths of 3 to 25 meters, where it establishes territories around coral heads, sponges, and rocky reef structures. It is a solitary micro-predator that feeds by making short, rapid strikes from cover to capture small crustaceans, worms, and tiny fish. The hamlet species complex, to which this species belongs, is one of the most studied examples of potential ongoing speciation driven by color-pattern-based assortative mating in the marine environment.

In the aquarium, the Yellowtail Hamlet is an intermediate-level species that offers the same engaging personality and manageable size as other hamlets. It adapts reasonably well to captive conditions, becoming more confident over time as it learns to associate its keeper with feeding. A 30-gallon tank with well-structured live rock provides appropriate habitat. It is reef-safe with caution, as it may consume very small ornamental shrimp, but it poses no threat to corals or other sessile invertebrates.