Naso vlamingii or Naso lopezi?

[dru]

I can't tell whether my 7" tang is a lopezi or a vlamingii. Any help in figuring out which one it is would be much appreciated. I included a few images of the tang in question below.

 

[ca1ore]

Can be really hard to tell vlamingii from lopezi until they get really large. Vlamingii is much more common in the trade, so that would favor the former. I only had a lopezi once and it had the three blue lines in front of the eyes like yours, rather than the thicker single blue line. I’d say lopezi.

In my current tank I’ve four different Naso species .... though no lopezi (well, unless the vlamingii turns out to be one LOL).

 

[dru]

Is it possible for a vlamingii to have the three blue lines like mine? Or perhaps is it possible for it to develop into one thick stripe as it matures? Or is it just pretty much a clear indicator of it being a lopezi?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Vlamingi. They look similar as juveniles but also called the elongated unicorn, the Lopezi have a more elongated body with fuller upper and lower dorsal fins and grow a little larger than the Vlamingi. Lopezi also are iridescent grayish-blue on the top part of body and starts fading to a white belly. They have closely spaced black spots on the upper half of their body and tail which is main confusion.

 

[jeffrey750750]

nice looking fishy

 

[ca1ore]

Either way, an impressive fish.