Paracirrhites arcatus is a carnivore that ambushes prey from its perch. Stomach contents in nature consist mainly of shrimp, small fishes, crabs, and other crustaceans, and that predatory habit carries directly into captivity. Expect a hearty, opportunistic feeder that quickly learns to watch for activity at the surface and darts out to seize anything of suitable size.

Offer a varied menu of meaty marine items: mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, chopped marine fish flesh, chopped crustacean flesh, clam, live marine foods, and prepared frozen carnivore rations. Two feedings per day suit this species and help keep it from testing tankmates and invertebrates between meals. Rotating several food types rather than relying on a single item supports better long-term condition and color.

This is a solitary, territorial fish that claims favored resting and lookout sites and defends them, at times confronting fishes considerably larger than itself. Aquarium experience ranges from aggressive to highly aggressive, and even accounts that place it among the more moderate hawkfish still warn of trouble with shy or undersized companions. Keep only one per aquarium unless a deliberately managed compatible pair is available, and do not house it with other hawkfish. Introduce it after more vulnerable community fishes are established, and choose robust tankmates too large to be swallowed. Small, timid species are poor choices.

Reef compatibility requires judgment. Corals themselves are generally left alone, though repeated perching can irritate sessile invertebrates at the chosen resting spots. Mobile invertebrates are a different matter: ornamental and cleaner shrimp, crabs, snails, tubeworms, and other crustaceans are all at risk, and anemones and small fishes have been reported as targets as well. Coral tolerance does not make this hawkfish a candidate for a display built around small ornamental invertebrates, so plan the livestock list around a predator that perches within striking distance of the rockwork.