Bristletooth Tang ID?

[gunflintcamper]

So we got this guy cuz he has a unique white tail...he was just labeled ‘bristletooth’.

Is that his official name?

A ‘white tail bristletooth’ is reddish.

Is he a ‘bristletooth with a white tail?’

I don’t know why I care. He just seems like he deserves a special name.

 

[Zionas]

Can you show him under normal lighting? Is his body a deep red?

 

[nereefpat]

@4FordFamily

I don't think that's a bristletooth (Ctenochaetus) tang, but an Acanthurus of some kind. Maybe A. maculiceps as a shot in the dark? Is it a small juvie?

I'll have to look through my book later.

 

[gunflintcamper]

Can you show him under normal lighting? Is his body a deep red?

That photo is the exact color he is. Gray.

This photo might help...compared to the clown.

 

[Zionas]

I agree. I think it’s not a Bristletooth but an Acanthurus.

 

[gunflintcamper]

@4FordFamily

I don't think that's a bristletooth (Ctenochaetus) tang, but an Acanthurus of some kind. Maybe A. maculiceps as a shot in the dark? Is it a small juvie?

I'll have to look through my book later.

Thank you!

I just looked that up...none of those have white tails either...and his face has no spots. Also he hasn’t grown since we got him but the hippo we got the same day has grown...which makes me think he’s gonna stay smaller like a bristletooth.

 

[gunflintcamper]

I agree. I think it’s not a Bristletooth but an Acanthurus.

I feel like he’s the same shape as a bristletooth tho...maybe cuz he is always happy and rarely flares his top fin. Haha

This angle helps a tiny bit.

 

[Zionas]

Haha glad he’s a happy fish. I’m not entirely sure what kind of Acanthurus he is because they can be a little hard to tell apart as juveniles, so hopefully someone more experienced will chime in.

 

[gunflintcamper]

Haha glad he’s a happy fish. I’m not entirely sure what kind of Acanthurus he is because they can be a little hard to tell apart as juveniles, so hopefully someone more experienced will chime in.

I was just looking at the acanthurus and I do see his fins are that shape...not the shape of the bristletooth.

So he’s gonna get bigger than we expect.

 

[4FordFamily]

I believe that’s a Thompson’s surgeonfish (acanthurus). Juvenile.