Harlequin tusk in a mixed reef

[OrionN]

A Tusk will kill any disoriented smaller fish drop into a tank. Mine never eat anything that have been in a tank for a long time. I do keep them well fed. I think they are to lazy to hunt for food.
With a large HT in a tank, I recommend you add smaller fish in the evening, after feed the HT well and after he goes to bed. They, at least all on my HT, went to bed early, before the light start to go out.Use acclimation box so that the new fish or shrimp not disoriented and become easy, expensive food.
Mine is a Australian HT. Once they loose their Juvenile spots, it is very easy to tell Pacific vs. Australian HT a part

 

[MnFish1]

A Tusk will kill any disoriented smaller fish drop into a tank. Mine never eat anything that have been in a tank for a long time. I do keep them well fed. I think they are to lazy to hunt for food.
With a large HT in a tank, I recommend you add smaller fish in the evening, after feed the HT well and after he goes to bed. They, at least all on my HT, went to bed early, before the light start to go out.Use acclimation box so that the new fish or shrimp not disoriented and become easy, expensive food.
Mine is a Australian HT. Once they loose their Juvenile spots, it is very easy to tell Pacific vs. Australian HT a part

Which do you think the OP has?

 

[OrionN]

Picture below is an Australian HT. Pacific HT looks meaner due to a lot more black on the face and the 5th, 6th, and 7th bars are thinner in comparison to Pacific HT. The narrower bars exaggerated with age, but the face is really easy to tell.

Pacific Face

Australian Face

 

[OrionN]

Which do you think the OP has?

I got confused with your question. The OP did not post a picture. Only other HT showed was an Australian HT

 

[MnFish1]

I got confused with your question. The OP did not post a picture. Only other HT showed was an Australian HT

I thought @bdare was the OP. To me that is an Indonesian tusk - due to the lack of blue. I have seen multiple threads where the darkness on the face or the back was suggested - and in the next one its the opposite. Like I said - it could be the light in that picture - but it does not look like the Aussie tusks I've seen (for sale). Im no expert though - just my experience/reading. https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/380/?pcatid=380

To me the lack of blue stripes - makes it more Indonesian...

 

[OrionN]

Two pictures below are picture of a Pacific Tusk and Australian Tusk (mine). One should not look at the color too much. Very dependent on healthy and light and a lot of other things. My fish is extremly healthy. I cannot say the same thing about the fish at LA. The pattern is what we should look at. Both of the fish are at about the same size about 3.5-4 inches, just when they are about to loose the spot on the dorsal fins. As you can see, the bars are thinner, the 5th, 6th and 7th. 4th is the wide band right at the Pectoralis fins. This thin bars continue to exaggerate with age. @bdare 's HT, the 5th bar is really thin, indicated that it is a Australian HT, and the light color of the face.
100% Australian HT, no question about it.

 

[MnFish1]

Two pictures below are picture of a Pacific Tusk and Australian Tusk (mine). One should not look at the color too much. Very dependent on healthy and light and a lot of other things. My fish is extremly healthy. I cannot say the same thing about the fish at LA. The pattern is what we should look at. Both of the fish are at about the same size about 3.5-4 inches, just when they are about to loose the spot on the dorsal fins. As you can see, the bars are thinner, the 5th, 6th and 7th. 4th is the wide band right at the Pectoralis fins. This thin bars continue to exaggerate with age. @bdare 's HT, the 5th bar is really thin, indicated that it is a Australian HT, and the light color of the face.
100% Australian HT, no question about it.

Thanks - where do you get the documentation for this - All im going on is what LA says. I dont know who's right or wrong - or if there is a right or wrong - but if you look at the different posts on this - I can almost guarantee you that you can see that almost any tusk can be either one.

 

[OrionN]

I collected a bunch of pictures from LA of various HT that they sold for period of months included information on size. Then I just stared at them and see what the differences were. That was what I came up with.

 

[MnFish1]

I collected a bunch of pictures from LA of various HT that they sold for period of months included information on size. Then I just stared at them and see what the differences were. That was what I came up with.

Interesting - the picture that they use now - to show the difference - I think I posted the link: here is the quote:

Indian Ocean Tusks have orange stripes with white margins and a hint of blue adjacent to the tail of the fish. Australian Tusks have orange stripes with vivid blue margins starting from the pectoral fin, along the fishes back to their tail.

EDIT- in looking at the picture from @bdare - it looks more like the light is making it look more 'indonesian'.

 

[OrionN]

I re-post an earlier post in another thread:


I have been collecting pictures of HT from DD including the size. I think I can tell the differences between two sub species.

Hope this help us ID Australia vs Indo Harlequin Tusk.

Australia have more red, thinner lat 3 bars, Face of the Autralia does not have as much dark color. Doral area of the two sub species are different also. Below are a few pictures from DD I collected over the last several weeks along with the size of the fish.

These are Indo Tusk:
5 1/4

5 1/4

5 1/4

4 1/4

4 1/4

Australia
6 1/2

3 7/8

Mine Australia 5 1/2

 

[OrionN]

Interesting - the picture that they use now - to show the difference - I think I posted the link: here is the quote:

Indian Ocean Tusks have orange stripes with white margins and a hint of blue adjacent to the tail of the fish. Australian Tusks have orange stripes with vivid blue margins starting from the pectoral fin, along the fishes back to their tail.

EDIT- in looking at the picture from @bdare - it looks more like the light is making it look more 'indonesian'.

The current picture on LA of the Pacific and Australia HT is a very fair comparison of the two sub-species. In the past the picture was of a very young Pacific HT and compare it to a large mature Australian HT.
I do not use the orange/red coloration and the blue border because this is extremely light and health dependent. That is why you have problem with separation which is which. The way I use is compare the ratio of with of the 7th bar with he white before it. 5th and 6th also but best use the 7th one. At mid body level, Pacific HT ration is 1/2 or more. Australian is about 1/3 or less. This along with the amount of black on the 2nd and 3rd orange bar, especially the 3rd bar. OF this two finding, the size of the bars exaggerates with age while the facial coloration is though our their life.
Any reasonable picture of HT when people post always show the face. From this I can accurate ID them essentially 100% of the time.

 

[Silver14SS]

Mine Australia 5 1/2

Beautiful fish and a familiar sight of one going after a snail!