Who thinks my Naso will have streamers?

[WVReefJunkie]

 

[lauderdalestunner]

Good looking fish

 

[shoelaceike]

Looks like their starting

 

[eatbreakfast]

As long as no tankmates nipat them it should develop streamers.

 

[shoelaceike]

As long as no tankmates nipat them it should develop streamers.

Only males have streamers

 

[WVReefJunkie]

I didn't for sure if I had the right sex for streamers, but it looked like they were starting to develop.

 

[WVReefJunkie]

Know for sure

 

[WVReefJunkie]

What about this fish I have, would it have streamers?

 

[4FordFamily]

It is difficult to tell at this stage, females do not have true streamers but they can angle back a bit. If I had to guess, this looks a bit more like a male although it is still probably too early to be sure. I would say though that I am comfortable based on that photo in saying it's "probably" a male, the tail appears to have the earliest beginnings of streamers, but it is still possible that it is a female and they will not develop further in to true streamers. My bet is that it's a young male, however.

It is hard to tell from the photo, but as males mature they tend to darken as well. The coloration of the one above looks "female" but because it's still so young this is an inaccurate method of sexing it. Also, the photo is not so great to show the true color.

 

[4FordFamily]

What about this fish I have, would it have streamers?

IMO too early to tell for sure. At this stage it looks female, however. I lean slightly to female on this one but again it is too early to be sure.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Only males have streamers

This is a common misconception. While true in many of the Naso species, some females of N. lituratus and elegans develop streamers. In Kuiter's and Debelius' surgeon fish it shows large schools of adults, 100's+ in which they all, or nearly all, have streamers.

 

[4FordFamily]

This is a common misconception. While true in many of the Naso species, some females of N. lituratus and elegans develop streamers. In Kuiter's and Debelius' surgeon fish it shows large schools of adults, 100's+ in which they all, or nearly all, have streamers.

I have seen and heard this myself. Although, if I recall, in the hobby they do not get large enough or live long enough to where the females get significant streamers often. The streamers of a male of the same size is significantly larger than a female of the same size and they should be easier to determine the sex if you can compare. In my experience, females also develop the minor streamer "tail shape" much later. Those schools of huge naso tangs exhibit males with streamers that are SO long and beautiful!

It may also be that in captivity, females develop far less prominent streamers for some reason - perhaps tankmates or conditions. Who knows.

Notice how dark they are as well.

 

[shoelaceike]

This is a common misconception. While true in many of the Naso species, some females of N. lituratus and elegans develop streamers. In Kuiter's and Debelius' surgeon fish it shows large schools of adults, 100's+ in which they all, or nearly all, have streamers.

Interesting..... Never heard of that