Scribbled rabbitfish?

[lkoechle]

I ordered a scribbled fish (S. doliatus) from Blue Zoo and I'm not sure if they sent me the right fish. She (I'm calling it a she) is about 2.5 inches in length and there are some scribbles but not what I would expect. Did they send me a virgatus instead? Or is she young enough that they might not be showing up yet? I specifically wanted a doliatus because, one of the spectacular marking, and two the smaller adult size. I love the fish, but I really want what I paid for, you know?

I've posted some photos of her. Please let me know what you think and how I should handle the situation.

 

[fishhuman]

This is a two barred rabbitfish.

 

[lkoechle]

poop. Figures. Well, time to e-mail Blue Zoo and see how they are going to fix this. They already gave me DOA watchman goby in the same order.

 

[tonysi]

You have the right fish there. It's a doliatus

 

[lkoechle]

You have the right fish there. It's a doliatus

How can you tell? From the advanced aquarist article here: I don't see any similarities between my fish and the doliatus. It seems to all point to the virgatus.

Edit: Forgot you can post links. Google "Aquarium Fish: Fishes of the Genus Siganus: The Rabbitfishes"

 

[tonysi]

The virgatus is known as a double barred and the doliatus is known as a two barred. So fishhuman is correct.

 

[tonysi]

The blue lines in your fish are the give away

 

[lkoechle]

virgatus is two-barred, but either way, please compare the photos on the Advanced Aquarist and tell me what you think.

and both fish have blue lines. That's why they get mixed up so much. I specifically used blue zoo because they carry both fish and have them properly labeled.

 

[tonysi]

Can you possibly get a better side pic of its face or body?

 

[A sea K]

A better picture would certainly help. I'm not certain of whether or not age would play a factor in the coloration but I would say judging by what pic you have that is indeed S. virgatus and NOT doliatus.

 

[lkoechle]

 

[tonysi]

Oh boy now I'm swaying to virgatus... How about lets just go with hybrid between virgatus and doliatus. Also coloration could be different in juvenile stage compared to adult.

 

[lkoechle]

I was thinking maybe juvenile colors but doing googling plenty of folks have scribbles of the same size looking like scribble

 

[Deinonych]

The dots along the dorsal area as well as the bands on the head would make me lean more toward S. virgatus. S. doliatus has distinct scribbled lines on the head, in the bands, and of course all over its body. Could be a juvenile or hybrid, though. Both are nice looking fish.

 

[Gangous]

That is not a scribbled rabbit call this rabbit is not nearly as pretty

 

[lkoechle]

Yeah, I took a couple photos in to one of our LFS that regularly carries doliatus and virgatus and he confirmed it's not a doliatus. I ordered with BlueZoo because my LFS rarely gets them in under 5 inches and I wanted a young fish to have a long time with. You just don't know how old the larger specimens are. I e-mailed Blue Zoo and will hopefully hear back on Monday. They were real easy with the DOA goby, so hopefully this won't be a headache.

 

[davidfrances]

BZA did the same thing to me, sent me the wrong rabbitfish. Ordered a blue line and they sent me a two barred. In the end, not a big deal and am very happy with the fish.

 

[jlanger]

Definitely not a Scribbled Rabbitfish as most have mentioned.
A defining visual characteristic even with a young doliatus is the striped pattern that should be visible on the top half of the body and continuing through the tail.
The second photo you posted should show at least the beginning appearance of lines over dots.
Although very similar, there is no denying the beauty of the Scribbled Rabbitfish.

Here's a recent pic of my newest addition; under 4 inches from tip to tip.
A smaller specimen, but in full glorious Scribbled coloration.

<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/user/jason_langer/media/120gal%20Reef/010115-ScribbledRabbitfish.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/jason_langer/120gal%20Reef/010115-ScribbledRabbitfish.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 010115-ScribbledRabbitfish.jpg"/></a>

 

[lkoechle]

Thank you for all the responses. I really appreciate it. Hopefully this will be resolved monday. It was my first tank large enough for a scribbled and i have wanted one for years. So needless to say i was very disappointed in my fish. Hopefully this works out well and blue zoo rectifies the situation. I will keep you all informed.

 

[Deinonych]

Please let us know. I am curious how BZA addresses the mistake.