What in Neptune's World?

[liquid]

In this month's Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine ( http://www.advancedaquarist.com/ ), we have a mystery animal seeking identification. Can you guess what it is? Good luck!!!

 

[van (vdbtr)]

It's a Whiskered Boarfish or Striped Boarfish
Evistias acutirostris

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spe...0&genusname=Evistias&speciesname=acutirostris

I have only seen pictures, I have seen it on order lists.
All the info I have suggests it lives in pairs or small groups 60 feet down or more. I'd suspect it would prefer cooler water similar to deep water anthias. Hawaii, Japan, Australia

Most of the pictures I've seen have wiskers on it's chin, like a goatee. This one seems to be lacking them.

Scott Michael recommends to include brittle stars in it's diet.

 

[wade1]

Wow, nice well rounded answer

btw - :welcome:

You are correct, their primary diet is apparently brittlestars as well.

This one is in the Waikiki Aquarium, collected from the northern islands in Hawai'i.

 

[Len]

I've never seen this fish (in picture or in person) in my life .... and I'm a sucker for rare fish

 

[JT]

and I'm a sucker for rare fish

You wouldn't be Len otherwise.

 

[Arch01]

Looks like some kind of freakish hybrid
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[dizzy]

To me it looks more like something you would want to eat, than something you would want to keep in an aquarium. It sort of looks like a longnose batfish. How do they taste?
Mitch

 

[wade1]

Probably alot like brittle stars... so if you really get curious, yank off a leg and take a nibble.

 

[Anonymous]

Well when scrolling down I thought the top half was some sort of color morph of a sailfin tang. Looks like a really poor man's moorish idol.