Newly described angel on DD

[Korrine]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversde...ref=4282&subref=AI&cmpid=E-_-TR-_-DDN-_-PRDCT

Greytail Poliourus Angelfish (Chaetodontoplus poliourus)

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td> Minimum Tank Size: 120 gallons </td></tr> <tr> <td> Care Level: Difficult </td></tr> <tr> <td> Temperament: Semi-aggressive </td></tr> <tr> <td> Reef Compatible: With Caution </td></tr> <tr> <td> Water Conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.0-8.4, sg 1.021-1.025 </td></tr> <tr> <td> Max. Size: 7" </td></tr> <tr> <td> Diet: Omnivore</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[Sheol]

I hate to rain on the Parade, but...
Doesn't that look more like a color morph or hybrid Singapore Angel (Vermiculated).
John (Copps) some help on this, PLZ?

Matt

 

[ccampbell57]

Double post

 

[ccampbell57]

This is a fish that John was talking about a while back. It is similar in every way to the Singapore angel, but this species has a grey tail.

Fantastic specimen.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Should actually ask Luiz -- he is the co-author on the paper about this fish.

 

[ccampbell57]

Double post

 

[Sheol]

I thought Scott Michael said the Grey-tailed ones were just variants.
So this is a DNA study that determined it was a full species?
( This whole Genus is full of confusion anyway, I guess I should not be surprised)

Matt

 

[Korrine]

It sure is a pretty fish whether it's a hybrid or it's own!

 

[ENTMogul]

I almost bought him but I wasn't sure how hardy they are....

How hardy are the Singapore Angels?

 

[Angel*Fish]

I had a Singapore angel - there are collection issues, so you have to find a healthy one. I kept mine in a refugium full of macroalgae to make it comfy and get it feeding well for about a month. Then he was fine when added to DT and had no issues with the other fish. They should be acclimated as sensitive fish and only purchased from a trusted source.

 

[AuroraDrvr]

If anyone is up for some reading.

http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/57/57rbz511-520.pdf

 

[BADGUS]

I'm sure they did a good job on weaning it onto prepared foods,however i have read that they eat sponges and tunicates in the wild.Guess i'll have to stock up on those.

 

[LemonLemon]

yes its a new species.

v nice right! grey tail.

 

[skibum9884]

What would you guys say that chances are that some people out there that bought a common Singapore angel are actually in possession of a poliourus? Are they found in areas that are normally not collected from or what?

 

[BADGUS]

There seems to be a lack of information on this species,from reading the pdf file posted by [Aurora Drvr]it seems that the fish species has a good range where it could be found,however,after going thru many japenese websites looking for this angelfish(poliourus),all i seem to find are pictures of the -mesoleucus-.

 

[fish_dave]

These fish are shipped from the Solomon Islands as "Singapore" angels at the regular Singapore angel price. The same species shipped from other countries may be coming in named properly and at a much higher price.

Dave

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Very nice looking fish, thats one of the healthiest looking "singapore" angels I have seen for sale. I love these fish but have always steered clear because of a pretty well documented lack of success. I think I like the grey tailed version even better. I would think just about any "singapore" angel species out of the Solomons is going to be in better shape than most of the other Indo-Pac collection areas.

 

[Sheol]

So I'm guessing that several people already own one, seeing as how they were labeled as "Singapore Angels" in the past. I'm sure I've seen one, though the last two I have seen were the yellow tailed species.
I think I'm safe in assuming a somewhat difficult species to acclimate, somewhat like my C. bicolor. And as always, their fate often rests on how they were collected. Buy with Care!!

Matthew

 

[melanotaenia]

Reef Builders has a good write up on it.

 

[Luiz Rocha]

Just to clarify, this was considered a color morph of the Vermiculated angel (Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus) for a long time, but Jack Randall always suspected it was a different species. I teamed up with Jack and did a genetic analysis that revealed that they are in fact very different genetically, and we also found some consistent (albeit small) morphological differences that made us decide it was a different species.

But what really sealed the deal was that a friend of ours (John Earle) did a lot of observations in Raja Ampat, where these two forms co-occur, and he didn't find a single mixed pair, mesoleucus always with mesoleucus and poliourus always with poliourus. I also sequenced DNA from specimens of the two species collected at Raja, and even there the genetic divergence is maintained.

Edit: I just checked the live aquaria site and it was sold! Grats to the new owner, please post some photos here if you read this