Ctenochaetus striatus vs. Acanthurus nigrofuscus

[Anonymous]

Can anyone give me detailed info on the way to distinguish these two fish? It seems like this should be a snap (they are in separate genera!), but they are similar looking enough that I'm having a hard time IDing a juvenile definitively.

A. nigrofuscus

A. nigrofuscus

C. striatus

C. striatus

 

[Anonymous]

Matt

I have a 8" white cheeked A. nigrofuscus. I was told and I can see that he has a vertical white band where his barbs are on the tail.

I will post a pic later

 

[IconicAquariums]

The juvenile C. striatus usually has a blue ring around the eye. The striatus should also have some striping on the back half of the body, which should be absent in the nigrofuscus.

I have one(striatus) I will try to take a shot of. It is just about the size of a quarter.

 

[jason edward]

Matt,
The nigrofuscus has black spots at the back end of the anal and dorsal fin, and a black edge around the caudal spine.

 

[jason edward]

Matt,
The nigrofuscus has black spots at the back end of the anal and dorsal fin, and a black edge around the caudal spine.

 

[Anonymous]

Got a really good "in hand" look at this fish yesterday and I still can't tell. It definitely has a dark spot at the top of the caudal peduncle, a fainter dark area at the bottom, but it also has much more defined stripes than I'm seeing in the Acanthurus sp. I'll chalk it up to being too small to tell for now, check back in a few years.