Heniochus diphreutes or acuminatus

[reverendmaynard]

Ok, so I go to the lfs, all primed to get a foxface rabbitfish as an open water swimmer for my 125. I'd seen them there before, so I thought it would be there again. Well, it wasn't. So I ask the guy to help me pick out another similar type of fish. I explain to him that I don't have corals yet, because my tank is new, but that after I upgrade the lights and season the tank more, I will want to try corals.

So, he recommends either yellow tangs or the heniochus. I'd heard tangs don't really coexist well, though hhe say's in that size tank, 2 would be ok. Meanwhile, the heniochus is a schooling fish, so 2 would go great together. Not knowing anything about heniochus, I go with them because they look more interesting than the straight yellow of the tangs.

So, I get home, acclimate and release the fish, then get on the net to see what I can find out about them. This is when I learn that there are two almost identicle fish, one (diphreutes) a schooling, reef safe planktavore and the other (acuminatus) a solitary invertibrate eater. Supposedly the way to tell them apart is that the diphreutes' rear black stripe ends at the bottom corner of the anal fin while the acuminatus' stripe ends further up, near the tale. However, acuminatus' stripes can vary.

So I'm encouraged, since the anal fin is neatly bisected by the black stripe and the two fish do seem to be pretty buddy-buddy, with the smaller quickly seeking out the bigger if their forays for food get them seperated. However, it's the forays for food that have me concerned. They swim around, hunting the rock work and sand, picking constantly. I've seen them nip the "fingers" of my anthelia polyps several times already, infuriatingly spitting out the tip they just bit off! Seems like odd behavior for a planktavore, no?

Does anyone out there have any experience with either of these fishes to help me make the decision to bring them back or not?

 

[Amphiprion]

Just from reading it, it sounds like you had the misfortune of obtaining acuminatus. The tail stripe description can get confusing as to what is actually meant, so here is a link to acuminatus and another to diphreutes . Their descriptions are clearer and tend to be a more reliable guide--as you said, the striping in both species can be variable.

 

[reverendmaynard]

Thanks for the links, my google search hadn't brought those up. Now, according to those links, they are both planktavores. Maybe this is a jeuvenile behavior they will outgrow?

I'm seriously considering bringing them back now, before any more time passes and I have issues getting a full credit. Not looking forward to catching them, however. I'm just unsure of these guys. Tangs are known to be 100% reef safe, as I understand it.

Will see how the anthelia looks when I get home from work today. It's not like they setup camp near it and picked at it mercilessly. In fact, quite a few times I saw them turn their attention to it, only to swim away. And, they don't seem to like the taste, since they spit it out each time.

 

[CrazyLionfish]

No, I'm fairly sure you were correct, one is not reef safe and one is. If yours are nipping corals it would lead me to believe you got the acuminatus.

 

[mike89t]

Here is a photo of my h. diphreutes:

These guys are young and only about 2-3" long(Not including banner).

Here is a photo of h. acuminatus:

It's really hard to tell the difference using the last stripe. You really need a keen eye to spot it. Look for the shorter snout and a breast that sticks out more in the h. diphreutes. You can see the stubbier snout and the slight bump of a breast in mine. Older specimens are easier to differentiate IMO. Odds are that you got the h. acuminatus which are typically more common in the LFS.

Note that even h. diphreutes is not considered totally "Reef Safe". Mine have nipped at a feather duster so far. Also they are constantly picking small critters (pods) off the rocks.

 

[reverendmaynard]

Thanks.

From memory, mine seems to have a significantly shorter top fin. Also, the back edge of the mid body stripe goes all the way back to the leading edge of the anal fin, with a very thin strip of black all the way down the anal fin, almost meeting the back stripe at the tip. In the pictures I've seen, this seems more common in the acuminatus (although who can say what picture is really a picture of what? Even the links amphiprion provided seem to have inaccurate information and I've seen several others where they were talking about one species, but clearly should have been talking about the other.)

I'm 95% sure I'm bringing them back, but will wait 'til I get home for a final visual inspection before making the final determination. I had carefully planned my stocking to be sure I had relatively friendly, reef-safe fish as my first additions, to keep the door open pretty much whatever direction I decided to go. Of course, once at the LFS, those plans somehow flew out the window. I also ended up with a maroon clown instead of the true perc I had planned. Hopefully he will not be too nasty and/or my tank is big enough to avoid problems with it and other smaller fish.

 

[Bax]

If you don't have corals yet, don't be in such a hurry if they are the "reef safe" schooling banner fish, you will love these fish. I have one in my 75 and it's the center piece fish. Here's a pic

My fish picks at the LR constantly even will "graze" off of a coral now and then ... but it has never done any harm.

Why not buy a small inexpensive frag and place it in the tank see what happens?

 

[reverendmaynard]

Well, I brought them back. I called the lfs and asked them what species it was. The guy told me to hold on...came back and said they were singularis...which they obviously are not. But he did agree that they were not reef safe, so I didn't check his info 'til I got home. Oh well.

He took them back for full credit and I got a yellow tang and a blue hippo tang. They're acclimating right now.

I did kinda like those hennies, but my tank is really young (2 weeks since major renovation) and I didn't think my infauna could withstand that kind of predation right now. Wanted more of an algae eater.

 

[JohnH1970]

Bax - how large is your Heni and does it seem content in your 75? I'd really like to get one (or two) for my 90 but worry that they'll get too large and need a larger tank. I once had a Longnose Butterfly in a 75 and it seemed bored - constantly swam end to end. Thanks.

 

[Bax]

JohnH

It's just about 2 1/2" at present. It was the smallest one I could find. Of course I found 2 that were about 1 1/2" right after this one went into QT they would have been sweet swimming to gether in the 75! I belive they grow to 7".

It seems fine in this tank at this size. For now it will be the largest fish in the 75. I have a coral beauty as well it is still under 3" too.

I plan to move it to a 240 I am planning by the end of the summer. There it'll get a few more buddies to school with.

 

[Amphiprion]

reverendmaynard, the information that fishbase provided isn't necessarily inaccurate, however it is not to be considered absolute. You will notice that fish don't always abide by the "rules" we assign them, differing in behavior, appearance, etc., while still being the same fish. What info they gave is more of a guideline to help--especially since most folks are not ichthyologists and can't just dissect the fish to find out. So just keep in mind that sometimes these things will confound, confuse, and frustrate you (and everyone else, too).

 

[reverendmaynard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6521075#post6521075 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Amphiprion
reverendmaynard, the information that fishbase provided isn't necessarily inaccurate, however it is not to be considered absolute. You will notice that fish don't always abide by the "rules" we assign them, differing in behavior, appearance, etc., while still being the same fish. What info they gave is more of a guideline to help--especially since most folks are not ichthyologists and can't just dissect the fish to find out. So just keep in mind that sometimes these things will confound, confuse, and frustrate you (and everyone else, too).

Yup. For all I know your links were more accurate than the others. :smokin: The more I research different marine animals, the more I find that it's very difficult to figure out what a given animal will be like. Even the articles by the experts here at RC, many of which are based on first hand experience, cannot give you a difinative answer in many cases. That, and the way these online stores like to tell you only what they want you to know, make selecting your livestock a very trying and nerve racking experience.

I just now purchased 3 queen conchs for my 125 from saltwaterfish.com. They recommend 1 per 20 gals, so I go conservative and cut that in half. I looked at a few sites and they seemed pretty good. Reef safe, sand sifters, algae eaters, etc. Then I read one of those "spineless" columns from the RC mag wherein the expert said that they can grow to over a foot in length, if the tank can support feeding them. Otherwise, they're likely to die of starvation. I quickly emailed them to tell them to change the order to some cerith snails. Hopefully they process the email, and change the order, before they ship out those conchs.