Grouper id

[HAAAAAAAA]

My lfs sent me these pics of the two groupers, just wondering what these are?

They look cool so I thought of placing the order.

 

[Seansea]

NOt sure on first but believe 2nd to be bumble bee grouper. Gets 800 lbs

 

[HAAAAAAAA]

NOt sure on first but believe 2nd to be bumble bee grouper. Gets 800 lbs

The mouth is too long and narrow for it to be a bumble, they are quite different unless theres a similar species

 

[Mickle]

I can try helping you out. Do you know where they were imported from? The first one looks too stressed for me to see any details and the 2nd one gives off xanthic vibes

 

[HAAAAAAAA]

I can try helping you out. Do you know where they were imported from? The first one looks too stressed for me to see any details and the 2nd one gives off xanthic vibes

I really appreciate the help.

I'll be getting them both this Sunday so I can get some better pictures of them then, the location is kind of complicated since the three oceans are met together in that specific geography, such as the arabian sea, eastern bay of bengal and the southern indian ocean meet.

Xanthism seems to make the most sense for the second one, do you think the whole body might turn orange?

 

[Mickle]

I really appreciate the help.

I'll be getting them both this Sunday so I can get some better pictures of them then, the location is kind of complicated since the three oceans are met together in that specific geography, such as the arabian sea, eastern bay of bengal and the southern indian ocean meet.

Xanthism seems to make the most sense for the second one, do you think the whole body might turn orange?

I definitely believe it is a colormorph of some kind which makes it alittle tough but I may have found a candidate for the 2nd photo. What do you think of "Goldspotted Rockcod (Epinephelus coioides)"
Not my photos but see how the orange spots blend with the brown blotchiness, same as your individual. This is the only species I found in the area with that kind of pattern. I dont think he will fully turn orange, I think he will remain blotchy as he grows but I have no personal experience to speak of

The first photo is actually a lot harder for me to ID. I only have the white speckles on the fins to work with plus it may end up being a color morph aswell, so Imma wait for that better picture

 

[HAAAAAAAA]

I definitely believe it is a colormorph of some kind which makes it alittle tough but I may have found a candidate for the 2nd photo. What do you think of "Goldspotted Rockcod (Epinephelus coioides)"
Not my photos but see how the orange spots blend with the brown blotchiness, same as your individual. This is the only species I found in the area with that kind of pattern. I dont think he will fully turn orange, I think he will remain blotchy as he grows but I have no personal experience to speak of

The first photo is actually a lot harder for me to ID. I only have the white speckles on the fins to work with plus it may end up being a color morph aswell, so Imma wait for that better picture

I really appreciate the time and effort to look them up! Definitely will be sharing the pics when they are more comfy.

As for the second one, yeah I believe that you may be right, there are two variants of the coioides and the orange spotted one is the most common here, it might aswell be a rare xanthic of that specific species because he did say that he gets it sometimes.

As for the first, even the vendor said that it was his first time seeing it, and there are 3 oceans which meet there so no wonder why it may be tough to id it

 

[littlefoxx]

That first one looks like the grouper that people put in the dottyback group, I forget the name but its the same shape and color. Not sure though

 

[HAAAAAAAA]

That first one looks like the grouper that people put in the dottyback group, I forget the name but its the same shape and color. Not sure though

Do you mean the yellow dottyback? It does look a bit similar, but the grouper in the picture is around 8 to 10 inches according to my source.

Ive yet to see a dottyback grow past 8 inches in this colour, besides the nominal 4 inches and smaller.

 

[HAAAAAAAA]

Received him today and he looks awesome.

After seeing his patterns, he almost immediately reminded me of the "epinephelus coeruleopunctatus" I wonder if its a separate species or an actual xanthic version of the punctatus.

 

[HAAAAAAAA]

I definitely believe it is a colormorph of some kind which makes it alittle tough but I may have found a candidate for the 2nd photo. What do you think of "Goldspotted Rockcod (Epinephelus coioides)"
Not my photos but see how the orange spots blend with the brown blotchiness, same as your individual. This is the only species I found in the area with that kind of pattern. I dont think he will fully turn orange, I think he will remain blotchy as he grows but I have no personal experience to speak of

The first photo is actually a lot harder for me to ID. I only have the white speckles on the fins to work with plus it may end up being a color morph aswell, so Imma wait for that better picture

Or the second one might originally be an epinephelus areolatus, what do you think?

 

[Mickle]

Received him today and he looks awesome.

After seeing his patterns, he almost immediately reminded me of the "epinephelus coeruleopunctatus" I wonder if its a separate species or an actual xanthic version of the punctatus.

Is that a white band on the caudal peduncle? I cant tell if it is just the lighting or not. If so then it is 100% epinephelus coeruleopunctatus

as for the 2nd fish I think Epinephelus coioides still fits better. The spotting on epinephelus areolatus looks much larger and more honeycomb like

 

[HAAAAAAAA]

Is that a white band on the caudal peduncle? I cant tell if it is just the lighting or not. If so then it is 100% epinephelus coeruleopunctatus

as for the 2nd fish I think Epinephelus coioides still fits better. The spotting on epinephelus areolatus looks much larger and more honeycomb like

Looks like it , I really appreciate the help! Thanks a bunch! He's doing really well in the tank so far, besides my white eyed moray trying to smell him quite closely.

Its truly fascinating to see that there can be such morphs to a species

 

[Mickle]

Nice! He is very pretty. I like how sharp his head is too lol

 

[littlefoxx]

Do you mean the yellow dottyback? It does look a bit similar, but the grouper in the picture is around 8 to 10 inches according to my source.

Ive yet to see a dottyback grow past 8 inches in this colour, besides the nominal 4 inches and smaller.

Might have been what I was thinking of but I swear they were bigger! Lol maybe not. Hope you get an ID, they are cool groupers

 

[fish_collector]

@ISpeakForTheSeas