Need ID for a yellow-tailed variant of a restriped hogfish

[Anonymous]

In Scott Michael's article "Aquarium Fish", that appeared in the April 2002 edition of Advanced Aquarist, Scott described and displayed a photo of a Pacific Redstriped Hogfish (Bodianus sp.). The URL for the article is posted below.

Last week, I obtained (from someone who occasionaly deals in rare fish) a redstriped hogfish that is almost identical to one shown in the article. My variant of this hogfish, however, has a yellow tail.

I have conducted numerous searches to find more info about this hogfish. But so far, I have only found a few references to the version shown in Michael's article, which have been refered to as "peppermint" or "black spot" hogfish, and which have the scientific name of either Bodianus opercularis or Bodianus masudai (although I think the latter is in error). And I have not found any descriptions or references to the yellow-tailed variant that I have.

I am wondering whether the variant I have is a juvenile version of the same species. If not, then I may have a different species. Either way, I would like to find more info. Does anbody have any thoughts or info? How about an e-mail address for Scott Michael?

Sorry for not posting a photo, but I just got him last Friday and I have not taken a photo yet. I will try to do so soon and post it here.

http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/apr2002/Fish.htm

 

[Len]

Hey Mike,

How's the pattern on the tail like?

The fish in Scott's article is an undescribed Bodianus. It's not a masudai or opercularis. The B.masudai actually looks very very different but some wholesaler or retailer improperly named one of the first of the undescribed Bodianus as a masudai, hence it's common misidentification nowadays. B.opercularis has a V-shaped pattern on the tail with broader strips then the undecribed Bodianus.

Maybe yours is a color variant of the undescribed species.

Can't wait for the photo

 

[WRASSER]

ghostofmilz,

8O wow what a job, i did a little reseach and found out that bodianus masudai is the pepperment hog... 8O :!:
... i also looked up bodianus opercularis and didn't find anything( but i didn't look real hard).
i did find that bodianus bimaculatus is a yellow candy hog. :?:

these fish are some of my favorites also. you could look at http://www.themarinecenter.com./ or http://www.liveaquria.com/ good luck at what you seek 8O
i was kinda lucky, i found a pepperment hogfish in a LFS, i took it home but it didn't make it. i had bought some fish a week earlier and i think my water was at it's peak of the cycle from the other fish when i dropped the hog in. anyways i hope you find what you are looking for and i helped a little.


good luck,



wrasser 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Mike,

How's the pattern on the tail like?

The fish in Scott's article is an undescribed Bodianus. It's not a masudai or opercularis. The B.masudai actually looks very very different but some wholesaler or retailer improperly named one of the first of the undescribed Bodianus as a masudai, hence it's common misidentification nowadays. B.opercularis has a V-shaped pattern on the tail with broader strips then the undecribed Bodianus.

Maybe yours is a color variant of the undescribed species.

Can't wait for the photo

My hogfish is closer to the Bodianus shown in Michael's article than the Bodianus shown on The Marine Center webcite (URL posted in Wrasser's post) in that my hogfish has some black in some of the stripes. My hogfish has a yellow tail without any discernable pattern, and some faint yellow coloring along the top and bottom.

FWIW, the guy I got this from is someone that does maintenance (mostly water changes) on the tank in my office. [It is well worth the cost since he hauls in 40 gals of purified water and all the equipment necessary to do large water changes once a month, a chore that was very difficult for me to handle.] Anyways, he had the fish for month or so before he talked me into taking it for my reef tank. He told me the fish was rare, particularly because of the yellow tail (I think he said something about there being only 1 or 2 in the country). But I don't buy fish just because they are rare so I may not be recalling what he said correctly.

He is doing fine so far - nobody is chasing him and he is eating well. But his colors, as expected, are still a bit faded. Once he settles in and regains his full colors, I will take a photo and post it here.