Fish Id…A Tilefish I Think! – 05/18/08 Sorry, think I attached it this time. <<Ah yes>> Have so much going on now a days I think I am losing it. Thanks again for your help and sorry about not attaching it the first time. <<I don’t know who initially received this Erika since they didn’t sign the response, but no worries…now let’s see if I can help>> I want to start by saying I love your site. <<Thank you…is quite the collective effort>> I have used it for years for research for so many things when it comes to our saltwater tanks. <<Very good to hear/know>> We have a new fish and I am not sure what it was. <<…! As in you bought it without knowing what is was? Never a good idea…>> It looks like a cleaner wrasse but this fish is over 7 inches long already. <<Wowza!>> I have attached a picture. And thanks in advance for you help. <<Mmm, the picture is not very good… And while it does resemble some of the Coris Wrasses in shape…it looks to me to be Malacanthus latovittatus…the Blue blanquillo…a member of the Tilefishes. According to fishbase.org its primary diet is benthic crustaceans, but in the confines of an aquarium I would expect this fish to also eat other smaller fishes. It also is stated that this fish can reach 20” in the wild…certainly a prime consideration when choosing an appropriate (sized) tank and tankmates. Eric Russell>> With Hope, Erika www.justingaines.com Help us find our son. Missing since Nov. 2nd 2007 <<I wish you luck with your quest. EricR>>

RE: Fish ID…A Tilefish I Think! - 05/19/08 Thanks, that is exactly what it is after looking it up, thanks so much. <<Ahh, excellent! And you are quite welcome I will now inform my LFS so he can do the research on the fishes he is selling. <<Yes indeed…>> After doing research I know which one of our tanks will be best for him when he gets out of the hospital tank. <<Very good>> Thanks again for your help, without you I would have never found out what he was and which tank would suit him best. With Hope, Erika <<Is my pleasure to assist. EricR>>

Can you help me find a fish?
Dear Mr. Fenner,
I was wondering if you could help me with something. About ten years ago, in the early days of my interest in aquariums, I was at a pet shop and I saw something that I haven't seen since. It was a freshwater fish that was being sold as a "wolf fish". This particular fish had sort of a marbled light/dark brown coloration and was approximately 2 to 3 inches in length. It's body was elongated and the most noticeable trait were it's teeth. They were very large and very sharp. I wanted to know if you had ever come across such a fish, and if you had any information that could help me identify it because I'd like to find one for my tank.
<Mmm, elongated, mottled brown, largish teeth... Maybe a batrachoidid (Midshipman), often sold as "Freshwater Lionfish" (actually brackish to marine). Please use the Google Search Feature on WetWebMedia.com to see our coverage of this group... and will post your query on the Daily FAQs in the hope others can help identify what this might be. Please read this over the next few days. Bob Fenner>
Thanks,
Matt

Barracuda??
Hi guys. Just a quick question...I noticed my LFS has a pair of barracuda for sale. Is this reasonable? 
<very dubious... if the LFS will only sell them to an aquarist with a VERY large aquarium, then maybe OK. But if they will sell them to anybody with a dollar or for smaller aquaria... then they are ignorant>
I've never seen them on display in any other store and it just made me stop and wonder. I personally would never consider buying one but I'm a passive tank kinda guy anyway. Thanks...TTFN. Wes
<barracuda are miserably stressed tank denizens. They need species specific tanks (no other fishes)... they are skittish, medicant sensitive, ich-prone, susceptible to eye injuries, etc. Really a fish for advanced aquarists only in huge aquaria. Give the LFS owner a kick in the groin for me. Best regards, Anthony>

Re: Barracuda??
Well...on a whim I called a SECOND LFS about barracuda. They told me that I would need at least a 30 or 40 gallon tank.....and they get them in periodically.....
<hahhahhahahhahha....hahhaha...hoo hoo ...heeheehee... hahahahahhahhhaha ahha...ahha..ha..he..hoo..ahh... ya, close. I just got a mental picture of a 3 ft barracuda dunking its tushy in the 30-40 gallon tank and wearing a grin goading the LFS owner to come closer to try to stuff the rest of him into that tank>>
Unbelievable. Still looking for someone who cares about what they are doing....I KNOW they are out there. Wes
<And I'm realizing that I'm going to go through a lot of boots if my solution is to kick each and every one of these idiots in the jimmy as my solution to their lack of empathy (I just realized that my very solution itself lacks empathy... but what the heck). Anthony>

<Am sure these boys know that there are a few freshwater fishes sold by this "cuda" name... Bob F>

Fish ID
Dear Bob, Anthony, or Steve:
<Anthony Calfo in your service>
Can you please help me identify these two fish of mine? I have tried to find info in several sources including fishbase and have found nothing. Sorry for the bad quality pics, just got the camera today and these guys move fast! :)
<you'll get better and they will get slower in time <smile>>
The damsel came in with a batch of Blue and Gold's (Pomacentrus coelestis) and I imagine it must be a hybrid of mutation of some sort?
<tough to tell with certainty from the photo... but unlikely to be a hybrid. May very well be a Pomacentrus species>
The wrasse was sold by the wholesaler as a "Neon Wrasse", however like others I see on WetWebMedia, it apparently isn't easy to ID this fish by the so-called common name of Neon Wrasse.
<Actually, pegged this one... you have a juvenile chiseltooth wrasse (Pseudodax moluccanus). A picture of the juvenile exactly like yours can be found in the Burgess atlas, most pics on the Web show a very different color as adults. Cleaner fish as juveniles, eating algae and small plankton as adults. Not a lot known about this one but feed a wide variety in the diet. This species may not be inclined to hardiness. Best regards, Anthony>

Fish ID
Hi! I'm a high school student and I have marine biology. We have a marine tank and a store gave us some fish to cycle the tank. He gave us one and we can't figure out what kind it is. I'll give you the best details I can. He's yellow with black vertical stripes maybe 2 inches long he has a sort of pointy nose. He eats Tubifex worms, lettuce, and flake food. We asked at the place that gave it to us but the person that gave it to us wasn't there and the other people didn't know. Hopefully you can help. Thanks!
<please browse the fish photos and articles on from the homepage to narrow down the search. The description is indeed too general to hazard a guess> 

Mystery Fish Inquiry
Hello -
First off I would like to say Thank You for having this great website. I have journeyed to your site with various questions & through a search finally found answers to almost all of them. Today I have a stumper question that I'm hoping you can help with. The set-up in question is a 20 gal tank for sea horses (still don't have the sea horses yet) with 2 - 5 gal refugiums. It has been running about 2.5 months. I have cured LR, DSB, grasses, few snails, hermit crabs, 1 emerald crab, 2 peppermint & 2 ghost shrimp living within the set-up. A little over a month ago I received 2 shipments of macroalgae (1 from IPSF & 1 from FAF), mostly Gracilaria sp. I put them into the refugiums & let them go. Much to my shock about a week ago there is a baby fish swimming in one of the refugiums. Two days ago the fish took the big slide into the main tank. It is 3/4" long, is shaped like a baby salmon & is brown in color. It doesn't hide during the day, it usually hangs close to the rock but darts around frequently. I realize that it will remain a mystery for awhile as to what my little baby fish is, but I would like to know if you have suggestions on what to feed it. I have a small colony of amphipods in the set-up. I did start hatching out brine shrimp & adding it to the tank every other day. I don't know if he is eating them or with they are just being lost in the tank. I did add a few frozen brine shrimp to the tank yesterday, but I think they are too big. Clearly the baby fish is eating something in the tank (it seems to be growing fairly quickly), but I'm not certain if whatever it has found to eat so far will sustain it. Your input would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you - Jennifer
<Glad to read of your careful preparations. The fish in question very likely originated from IPSF (I am near Gerald's lab here on the Big Island of Hawai'i) as either a fertilized egg or small larva... on the Gracilaria or in the water it was shipped in. The species? Only time can tell... as many larval fishes are obscure at this size/age. Feeding should not prove difficult with your twin refugiums... nor would I be concerned with waiting on the addition of your seahorses. Bob Fenner>

Brotulids
Hello,
I saw the most beautiful fish today and I believe it is in the Goby family. The LFS called it a "Dusky Botulid."
<Missing an "r"... see above re... and put this family name in your search tools, fishbase.org... Not a goby, gobioid...>
I have a 90 gallon reef tank and I really want this fish. But I have a very small Yellow Citron Goby (little over 1 1/2 inches) and I wonder if they will fight or will the Brotulid want to eat him?
<Mmm, should get along: http://fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Brotulina&speciesname=fusca >
What can you tell me about this fish and this fish in my tank with the Citron Goby?
Laurie from CT
<Bob Fenner in HI> 

Unknown Damsel? Mmm, some family else  9/29/06
Hi Mr. Fenner
<Johanna>
I work in an aquarium and we got a marine fish donated to us that we are having difficulties identifying. I believe it is some sort of a damsel,
<There are some 330 or so described species...>
but I am not certain. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of the fish,
<Really helps>
all I can give you is a brief description. I have looked up damsels on fishbase,
<Ah, good... though they don't have pix of everything>
but not found a picture to match. The mystery fish is about 30 cm standard length.
<A foot!>
The fish is red fading into black towards dorsal fin. There are three, or possibly four, small but bright blue spots along the lateral line evenly spread out between the beginning and end of dorsal fin. It has a proportionally long caudal peduncle and an otherwise deep body shape. The lateral line is not broken and continues out to end of peduncle.
<A good clue>
The tail is homocercal with a deep fork. Mouth is terminal and slightly superior. It is not a Garibaldi as far as I can tell. The unidentified fish has a much deeper red color turning to black and the tail is too sharply forked, not smooth lobes like the Garibaldi. We have a couple of small (3 inch) garibaldis and they have the same blue color spots as our mystery fish. I know it is next to impossible to try to identify this fish from a brief description. I am fairly new to the aquarium trade and is hoping that I might be describing a common aquarium fish.
<Mmm, not common to the trade...>
I am not certain that it is a damsel, but general body sharp reminds me of one. The fish does fine in warm temps (78 degrees) and lived with a large tang and a panther grouper. We have tried various foods on him and he is not picky at all. Will eat anything that goes into the tank. He is also not aggressive towards other fish and has no apparent territory. Any hints of help you can give me is greatly appreciated. If you know of a good key that can be used on fish that are still alive that would be helpful to. I really do apologize for this email, but I do not know who else to turn to. My boss thinks it is a wrasse, but all of the aquarists are convinced other wise.
Thanks for your time. Your forum is a great resource and very valuable to me.
Sincerely
Johanna Wren
<Mmm... want to wait on a pic, but could this be a Holocentrid: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/holocent.htm
There are a bunch os Squirrelfish species that semi-fit your description... BobF>

Eel Hitchhiker? – 11/07/06
I come to this site frequently, the information has been so valuable in helping me establish and maintain my saltwater tank that I started 2+ years ago.
<<Happy to read this>>
Let me begin with this story...I live in an area that recently had an early October snow storm that dumped 23 inches of very wet snow.
<<Buffalo?>>
Storm started Thursday as we were going to our LFS I was buying new coral as my Xenia, which took over my tank for about 2 years, had started to slowly decline.
<<I've heard speculation that xenia may actually go through such cycles of "wax and wane" and that if you “leave the rock be” the Xenia will usually re-sprout to grow again>>
As I have read on your site this can happen for no reason.
<<Ah...yes indeed>>
So happily I was buying new exciting coral (pocket book was not as happy), in other words I was having a ball.
<<Hee-hee!>>
Until that night we lost our power, we could hear our trees and the golf course trees crack like the sound of a shotgun blast.
<<Mmm, yes...have witnessed the devastation wrought by heavy wet snow before myself>>
After two days of bailing our sump pump, and having blankets covering my tank, I finally found a generator in Syracuse, NY.
<<Invested in one of these myself a couple years ago>>
We live outside of Buffalo, I would have driven to Albany to find one, or Canada, or Penn....
<<I understand.  I was lucky enough (in the middle of an extended power outage) to buy the last generator available on the truck...while the truck was still about 16 hours away!>>
Two days without a filter on my tank, the skimmer, the heater or lights...I was VERY lucky, I only lost the rest of my Xenia.
<<Lucky indeed>>
We now have a generator, which we used until the power came back on 9 days later.
<<Yikes!  Glad you were able to acquire one>>
So with that story, my tank set up is a 75-gallon tank, with a Remora skimmer, and an Eheim filter as my old Magnum 350 filter fried when we had a surge from our generator, which flooded my hardwood floor.
<<...?>>
Good story is that the insurance company paid for a new filter (Eheim) and will pay to redo our floor, all of it.
<<Wow...excellent>>
Ah, back to my tank, I have a deep sand bed, about 75 lbs of live rock, a Yellow Tang, Rabbit/Fox Tang,
<<Foxface?  Siganus species?>>
one damsel, 3 clowns and cleaner shrimp, Harry the brittle star and an unknown fish that I never bought.  I think it is an Eel.
<<Hitchhiker eh?>>
Reason for my sending this is due to my recent adding of coral.  I have a very nice Hammer coral on one side of the tank, the other side has a green Torch coral, and I also have some buttons, mushrooms and a sea mat.  This unknown fish has been with my tank since I started adding live rock, so about as long as I have had the tank.
<<Okay>>
He only comes out once in a while to dart at the turkey baster that I use to feed Harry.
<<Interesting>>
I don't see him at any other time except to see sand fly out as if he is cleaning.
<<Maintaining/expanding a burrow...you’re probably correct>>
Which means that if I have my button coral on the sand, in a couple of days I will find it buried.  But if I move them to a higher spot in my tank, they don't like the light.  If I have the lights on less, the Hammer and Torch coral don't like it.
<<Just one of the problems with "mixed garden" style reefs>>
Now is this what an Eel does?
<<Some of them...some “fishes” too…in fact there is a goby that looks very much like an eel (the name escapes me but I had a trio of these in a reef at one time years back) >> <Pholodichthys likely... Engineer Blennies/Gobies... RMF>
Hide, eat when it wants and plays/buries in the sand?
<<Yep>>
This guy is big, yet I never see him.
<<Most of the eels kept by hobbyists will usually become acclimated/accustomed to the aquarist/their surroundings.  The gobies I mentioned earlier were quite secretive and only appeared at feeding time>>
Only time I saw his full size is when I added the sand to my tank to make a deep-sea bed, did I mention that he was darn hard to catch?
<<I’ll bet…did you happen to get a picture of this critter?>>
I had to move all my live rock to a holding tank, he is about a foot and 1/2 long, or was, I am not sure how big he is now.
<<Yowza…and non of the other tank inhabitants have “disappeared?”>>
So does this sound like an eel??
<<It does…I don’t believe the goby I’m thinking of gets that big>>
Goby??
<<I’m doubtful now>>
He is kind of unique, so do you have any advice on how to work around him and my coral?  Any advise information would be great.....
<<Do some reading here and among the associated links at the top of the page: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/morays.htm>>
Thanks,
Kris
<<Regards, EricR>>

Fish ID sans pix   2/25/07
  Good evening guys,
   <James>
  My tank has been set up for about two months without any major disasters. I caught the hitchhiking octopus and gave him to the LFS.
<Good>
I have just a couple of clown fish and a cleaner shrimp for something to swim around for now. Four days ago, a new fish appeared. It must have hatched from an egg on the live rock (indo). It is about 3 and 1/2 inches long.
<! must have been lanquishing in a pocket of water, moisture more like it... during the transit from the wild... Marines ARE tough>
It looks like a stretched tadpole. A long fin running from behind the head to the tip of the tail both dorsal and ventral. The head is about 1/4 inch in diameter, blunt in the front, and it tapers to the tip of the tail. Any ideas?
<Mmm, likely a blennioid or gobioid... narrows the search down to a couple of thousand possibilities>
Do you know of a web site that might have pictures of young fish?
<Fishbase.org>
I tried to get a picture but he disappeared into the rock and I haven't seen it since.  My wife thinks it is an eel of a sort.
<Maybe... does it lack pectoral fins?>
I am thinking that it must be a large fish of a sort to be that big just after hatching. What should I put in for food? Well, a bit strange but many thanks for any insight.   
  Jim
<Is likely "getting" what it needs currently of/from the LR... a pic? Bob Fenner>

Re: Fish ID sans pix   2/26/07
Thanks I will check out the web site. It reminded me of a fresh water glass catfish but more compressed vertically. It just swam in the current in a cave for hours. Unfortunately the angle was too sharp to get a picture. It looks like a sawn off knitting needle with continuous ventral and dorsal fins. It does have small pectoral fins.
<Not an anquilliform then>
I have the camera close for the next time it appears. Thanks,   
  Jim
<Welcome. BobF>

Re: Fish ID sans pix, Carapidae?    2/27/07
Well no pictures yet but I believe that I have a Pearlfish that lives inside the sea cucumber. Thanks for the help.
  Jim
<Oh! You and ChrisP are in agreement:
Hi Bob,
Was just looking at the FAQs and saw you were working with someone on a fish ID.  Here is the post.
Re: Fish ID sans pix   2/26/07
Thanks I will check out the web site. It reminded me of a fresh water glass catfish but more compressed vertically. It just swam in the current in a
cave for hours. Unfortunately the angle was too sharp to get a picture. It looks like a sawn off knitting needle with continuous ventral and dorsal
fins. It does have small pectoral fins.
<Not an anquilliform then>
I have the camera close for the next time it appears. Thanks,    
  Jim
<Welcome. BobF>
Sounds a lot like a Pearl fish, Encheliophis homei and mourlani / Onuxodon margaritifera , aka the famous ReefCentral gonad eating Buttfish.  Wonder if
this person has a cucumber in their tank?
Chris
<Interesting speculation Chris... Perhaps this "hitchhiker" came in, not with the LR, but inside a Holothuroid... Hope he sees your input. BobF>

Help with ID of USO (Unidentified Swimming Object) please, fish    2/20/07
Good morning Crew!
<Good morning>
I apologize in advance to requesting assistance with an ID without a photo (I know it's nearly impossible) however I'll provide as much info as I can.  I am not looking for an exact ID, just a general idea of what I might have in my tank- some guesses as to the family of fish my USO (unidentified swimming object)
<I like that!> might be. Or the families I might narrow my search for an ID to. I am concerned that in the long run, my tank might not be well suited to this particular USO and I'd like to figure out it's needs and compatibilities from the get go if possible.
I recently received my live rock (as in yesterday) from Tampa Bay Saltwater company and I have a hitchhiker that I am going to affectionately call Nessie.  I can't get a photo of it- Nessie's really elusive- but I have now caught two sightings of it. Here is the known information regarding Nessie and what I have seen:
Nessie IS a fish. I first had doubt to this at the initial sighting due to size, however there was a smooth side to side motion that lead me to believe that it was a fish.  This fact was confirmed with second sighting which occurred at approximately 12:10 AM, EST.  Nessie's body shape is very similar to a freshwater Plecostomus. The head is broader than the rest of the body and the nose is covered in 8-12 short bristles- I am assuming that these are for camouflage, predation, or for sensory assistance.   Nessie's locomotion is similar to a Plecostomus as well, undulating side to side and propelled from back to front. There did appear to be caudal fins, however, I will admit that I was not that focused on them. Perhaps I will be able to observe those better in the future.  Nessie is approximately 5-8 inches long. and approximately 1" to 1 1/2"  wide at the head - head seems to be flatter than taller, neutral colors (from what I could observe with very little light) and seems inclined to be more on the nocturnal than diurnal side.  The mouth also seems proportionately large, rather than appearing round in the front, it appears to be rather flat and wide (I don't know how accurate this observation was- take with some salt). The first sighting was when I was moving a very large rock- Nessie was underneath it and was startled by the light and the sudden (though very brief) lack of cover.  At that sighting, I thought that it was black or very dark in color. This time it seemed to be more in the browns or grays and possibly striped vertically (dark on light) - though I only think I saw one stripe and that was near the eye. Both times Nessie has been seen, it's been located on the bottom (parallel to the bottom) , and seems quite comfortable and rather suited to the substrate, but doesn't seem suited to being perpendicular to the substrate. Nessie has also only been observed in the dark or very dim light.
I just can't believe a fishy hitchhiker this big came in my rock and survived the journey. Any guesses as to what it might be?  It is incredibly well camouflaged and I do have my guesses, but I am curious as to what the experts might think. My feeling is that this tank might not end up being quite the vision I had in mind. But a little adventure might be a very good thing.  
Thank you for any help you can give me. I'm going to try to get a photo of Nessie at some point- but it might be as clear and as successful as the photos of a much more famous namesake. Lee
<A photo would be great. You did however give a pretty good description. I think there is a good chance you may have some sort of a blenny there. You might want to have a look at the photos on WWM as well as species photos and profiles on www.fishbase.org.
Best of luck IDing your USO, Leslie>

Fish ID... spelling - 02/11/2007
Hi again, thanks for previous info! Another one for you.  We have a fish that I think is called a false grunny
<Mmm, a Gudgeon? Grunion? Gunnel?...>
(?), can't find any info about it on the net.
<Try the above spellings... maybe on fishbase.org>
It's 2 inches long & 1/2 bright yellow, 1/2 bright pink with purple rimmed eyes.  It looks like it has a growth, similar to wart, on one gill.  I think it is a brown colour (hard to tell against the pink) with a red spot too.  Any ideas & what should I do??
Sue C
<Yes... nothing much to do... do find out what the actual species is... its "life requirements"... Most Gunnels are not tropical... Bob Fenner>