striatus tang (bristletooth?) ID

[JCR's Reef]

Where is a good site to gather information on bristletooth tangs? Unfortunatley I havent been able to find any even here on RC. I'm mainly after pictures so I can tell the difference of what Juv. to adult colorations are on different species of them.
My LFS has a 3" one for sale and all it says is Striatus Tang. Its powder blue with darker blue spots on its head and a slightly darker blue lines on its body. I cant find any juv. pics to compare when its older. I dont remember seeing orange anywhere on it but when would the orange show? Any help?

 

[Hormigaquatica]

Your best bet would be to page through FISHBASE to compare species. If youre sure it is a bristletooth, then you can search by Genus for Ctenochaetus.

 

[JCR's Reef]

Thanks, but that didnt help either. Oh well. I guess I'll just avoid it and move on. Amazing so many people have them, but no one knows how to ID them properly, or just not responding. I've searched the web and found nothing that was concrete enough for me to feel comfortable in buying this small species. I'll just go with the more common kole tang for this gene.

 

[Chibils]

Unfortunately, I see less discussion on these boards about bristletooth tangs than any other type of surgeonfish.

 

[sjj80]

JCR: I think you are making the right choice by passing. I've bought 2 orangelined bristletooth tangs off of divers den (ct. striatus) and both were just over 2" and you could clearly see their orange lines. There's still 2 for sale on diver's den (liveaquaria) if you want to check them out. Before buying I did hours of searching online and didn't find mush out about them either. All I know is that both of them died while in QT, despite being kept in a dark, quiet room they seemed stressed, and they were eating. I chose not to buy another due to lack of good info about them and they seem to be somewhat delicate IME.

 

[cl2ysta1]

other than fish base not much info. I have a blue eye kole tang or two spot. I've also had regular yellow eye variety. The main thing i've found in researching is to make sure you find a healthy one that is eating. their mouthparts are very easily damaged in nets. I use a very fine mesh net when i needed to move mine or a bowl. they also take a little longer to start eating prepared foods . everyone i've ever had eats off the rocks only for a few weeks til it learns to eat from the other fish. which may be a reason you had a problem in QT. they like rockwork, and may have been stressed out b/c of that.

 

[sjj80]

That totally makes sense! He was eating some of the prepared foods but nothing like my convict tang did! I was going to buy some more pvc and/or faux rock to see if that helped his stress but he was gone the next morning.

 

[JCR's Reef]

Thanks everyone for the reply's. I couldnt find anything that resembled the blue stiatus tang I saw. Must not be a common fish and I'm not really wanting to do any experimenting right now. I did pass on the striatus tang I was talking about, however, today I came across a medium sized yellow eye tang (Kole tang) at a higher end fish store hear and purchased him after observing it. It does have a slight mark on it's mouth but is eating like a champ. The tang paired right up with my eibli angel fish which was shocking but they swim almost every where together with no aggression at all. His only competition will be my 9" Naso which doesnt bother him in the least bit. Other than the angel and naso, the rest are blennies and gobies. I am very happy I have waited and passed on so many other tangs to be able to purchase this one. I was hesitant to buy one because of there aggression, but after observing the kole tangs I decided to bite the bullet. Thanks for trying to help guys!

 

[cl2ysta1]

they are actually one of the less agressive tangs... with the exception being a very established one in a tank. glad you found one you like. we'd love to see some pix