Need help Identifying a tang
- Thread starter rolyguy7
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He looks gray in the photo -- is he really gray or is he blueish and the light messes the picture?
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rolyguy7
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I just got him. I think he’s dark due to stress. I haven’t seen him color up just yet.
He looks like a bit like a Kole tang. If he is brand new, it may affect his coloring -- they generally have a slight striping. He actually might be a hybrid. The place you bought him from didn't know?
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rolyguy7
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Just took a few other pictures. They sold it to me as a Fowelri, but it clearly isn’t. It doesn’t have the Fowelri markings. I had it shipped to me. Closest I can find based on its markings it could be a Dussumieri I think.
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Is he small? He could be a juvenile.
Coral4coral
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Lavender tang
I wondered the same thing, but he doesn't have dark markings by his tail and his side fins are yellowish.
4FordFamily
Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
I think it does look like a lavender tang. However, young/small acanthurus tangs are very hard to ID. I’d need a photo without all the blues so overpowering, perhaps even with them off, to have a better guess. Lavender tangs exhibit a wide range of coloration, so looking at photos can be confusing, particularly as juveniles/subadults.
Making matters worse, even I struggle with some bristletooth tang vs juvenile acanthurus ID as they can look quite similar until a closer look.
And that’s definitely not a fowleri. It COULD be a young dussumieri.
Making matters worse, even I struggle with some bristletooth tang vs juvenile acanthurus ID as they can look quite similar until a closer look.
And that’s definitely not a fowleri. It COULD be a young dussumieri.
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rolyguy7
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Got some more pictures with more whites on. Let’s see what you guys think. What do you guys think?
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Ctenochaetus binotatus, 100% not a lavender for several reasons most importantly the mouth though you can barely see it in the pics the last pic of the first set shows the characteristic v shape in the mouth that all Ctenochaetus posses, very distinct feature.
4FordFamily
Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
I agree that it’s not a lavender tang, but binotatus have bluish eyes, rather than yellow. Based on the fin structure it could be a bristletooth, perhaps striatus particularly in the photo below:
https://www.ephotozine.com/photo/ctenochaetus-striatus--striped-bristletooth-tang--9782935
You may be right that it's a bristletooth tang. Here are some other photos for reference: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1163268
It's also found in similar waters to the Fowleri (as is the Ctenochaetus Binotatus) so it could be mixed up or ID'd improperly pretty easily.
Ctenochaetus sp. Not for sure which one, since it's not one of the common ones.
binotatus has blue eyes, not yellow. Maybe C. marginatus or striatus.
binotatus has blue eyes, not yellow. Maybe C. marginatus or striatus.
Can you message me the supplier you used? I just received an order yesterday -- 1 bag had the wrong fish in it, and I had ordered two Nassarius snails and ten Turbos -- but I received ten Nassarius and two Turbos. Three bags had animals that were messed up. The supplier is extremely well thought of on this forum and this was my first problem with them so I do not want to use their name publicly. Sometimes these things happen. But I'm just curious if you ordered your tang from the same place.
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rolyguy7
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I got it ordered through a local distributor. Wasn’t purchased online.
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rolyguy7
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I think you got it right on the money. Definitely looks like the stripped bristletooth tang. Only thing it’s colors are very dark still so it made it difficult for me to ID. Thanks a bunch bud!
4FordFamily
Tang, Angel, and Wrasse Nerd!
Yeah, no problem! It's always tough to ID the less common bristlooth and acanthurus. Even for me, it takes some time and comparison for say 10% of the requests -- this was one!
Striatus was my first guess but I have never seen one with the yellow in the fins like that despite having had a large one in the past either way it is one of the two for sure
Striatus was my first guess but I have never seen one with the yellow in the fins like that despite having had a large one in the past either way it is one of the two for sure
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