Emergency ID!! butterflyfish diphretus or acuminatus?

[Tango451]

I know they are difficult to ID but a friend of mine needs to rehome a butterfly, they lived with coral for a year and was never seen nipping at them. Could you please let me know from these pics which it is? The sooner the better as they need to rehome him asap

Thank you

 

[Tango451]

Here are more pics

 

[Chaosh1]

Looks liike a Moorish Idol

 

[mike61289]

Definitely not an idol.

I think that's the non-reef safe heniochus (acuminatus), but I was never an expert at this. I'm basing my opinion on the shape of the anal fin. It's usually at a 90 degree angle to the tail in diphreutes. The anal fin doesn't appear to be at 90 degrees in the pictures you provided.

 

[Taahirs]

Agree ^ it's acuminatus


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[gusmanda]

if it's acuminatus and it hasn't eaten the corals, what corals does your friend have it with?

 

[Tango451]

He was in a mixed reef. They had him in there for a year. Mushrooms, zoas, torch, birdsnest etc. just don't want to put him in my system and have him start nipping at my scoly's, mushrooms, etc

Here's another pic incase it helps with id, but it's looking like the consensus is it's the non reef safe species. What corals/ inverts /anemones if any do these guys mostly nip at?

 

[Tango451]

Whoops might have been the same pic

 

[mike61289]

Diphreutes is also known to pick at some corals. They're just a lot better behaved than their counterparts.

From my experience with the few butterflies and dwarf angels I've kept. I've noticed that most fish tend to ignore corals that have a more noxious toxins and slimes surrounding their bodies, such as mushrooms. Most butterflies will nip at anemones though.

 

[gusmanda]

Diphreutes is also known to pick at some corals. They're just a lot better behaved than their counterparts.

From my experience with the few butterflies and dwarf angels I've kept. I've noticed that most fish tend to ignore corals that have a more noxious toxins and slimes surrounding their bodies, such as mushrooms. Most butterflies will nip at anemones though.

I thought zoas where part of the corals that where most likely to get eaten, really surprised this one hasn't. Same thing with the torch coral.........

 

[Tango451]

Any histories with messing with haddoni, gigantea carpet anemones or scoly?

 

[creakid1]

They were all net-caught off the same coastal area of Taipei, Taiwan. Back in 2017, I bought the large one for NT$150 (US$5.00) & each of the small ones for NT$50 (US$1.50) right at the seafood harbor. I know that Taiwan has both Diphretus & Acuminatus. Just want to confirm -- all 3 are Heniochus Diphreutes?

 

[griss]

They were all net-caught off the same coastal area of Taipei, Taiwan. Back in 2017, I bought the large one for NT$150 (US$5.00) & each of the small ones for NT$50 (US$1.50) right at the seafood harbor. I know that Taiwan has both Diphretus & Acuminatus. Just want to confirm -- all 3 are Heniochus Diphreutes?

@Dr. Reef any thoughts on this?

 

[Dr. Reef]

Diphreutes look like it.

 

[creakid1]

Diphreutes look like it.

Thanks, no wonder I didn't see any fighting. For years, I kept thinking that the large one was a Acuminatus chasing the 2 small Diphreutes all the time. Only recently I suspected that the large one is also a Diphreutes due to such short snout, then realized that it was merely following the herd.