Rabbitfish ID help please

[my2rotties]

I aquired this really nice fish when a member tore down his tank, and I bought the last of his equipment. I know she is a rabbitfish but cannot find a picture that matches what she looks like. She is fairly big, about 6-7" long, and is very mellow. I was told she is a Scribbled rabitfish but the pictures show the same body shape buy different colouration. Do they change from youngsters to adults by any chance?

[Delphinus]

No, Razz had the common name wrong. (Part of the problem with common names is a lot of wholesalers and retailers get them wrong and then it perpetuates down to us commoners.) Anyhow, the only reason I know this because for the amount of time it took me to find a legitimate "scribbled rabbitfish" (Siganus doliatus) I became rather obsessive-compulsive about ID'ing scribbled rabbitfish. :lol: Anyhow what you have is not a S. doliatus.

What you DO have there is I think is one of Siganus stellatus or Siganus punctatus. I can't really tell from the picture to be 100% which one. A third but less likely possibility is Siganus guttatus.

Here's a good page with pictures of each species: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/rabbitfi.htm

My suggestion is try googling these species names and compare the pictures to what you see and which one of the 3 most likely suspects will probably become more apparent. :)

[fishoholic]

I was thinking he kinda looked like Siganus punctatus only I can't tell what colouration he is and it looks like he has some different markings/lines on him. Sort of looks like a cross between a Siganus stellatus and a Siganus punctatus.

[my2rotties]

She does look more like the first, but she does not have a lighter tail like the first one. Her colouration runs the same from from to back. She does look like a cross between the two, but I doubt fish do that, or do they? I know certain species of birds from the same variety can cross breed, so maybe fish do it too.

I do notice she has a film over her eyes, much like my last foxface rabbitfish. I worried about my foxface, but my research turned up nothing on the eye film. Other then that she is super healthy and really big. I was wondering what she was, since I just wanted a mature size on her.

Razz or Ray is a wonderful guy. It was really sad to see him tear his tank down. He was a wealth of knowledge and now I am in a better spot in the hobby because of him. He has a wonderful family and it was a pleasure to meet him for sure.

Thanks for the help!!!:smile:

[Alberta-newb]

Welcome to the world of rabbitfish! :biggrin: Indeed they can be somewhat difficult to ID, like Delphinus I was on the quest for Siganus doliatus Scribbled Rabbitfish and thought I had one when my order came in...unfortunately mine is what I believe to be a Siganus argenteus which could eventually grow to 16"! The hard part with IDing is that they are masters of disguise and change colors and patterns as their moods suit them. Mine is often almost completely black, other times silver, or disguised as rock... This picture shows just a few of his "moods"

http://www3.telus.net/lucas-mustangs/AQUA/siganus-argenteus.jpg

This is the same fish with some photos on the same day! Fascinating to watch as he can change his color and patterns almost instantly. This is why IDing from photos on the net can be tough.:mrgreen:

Francis "Alberta-newb"

[Delphinus]

I'm sure what happened was this fish was sold as a scribbled rabbitfish. The problem is common names (as opposed to latin names) are very loosely used and things just show up on lists and sometimes mixups occur. It's entirely possible that scribbled rabbit fish is a common name for this species too, it's just that it's more often used to describe S. doliatus (also called "bluelined rabbit" or "penciled rabbit" .. but then guess what, "bluelined rabbit" may also refer to S. virgatus or S. puellus ... etc. etc.) The basic gyst of my blathering here is that common names are more of a gong show. :lol: I prefer latin id's when possible but I guess that just means my geek is showing.

Anyhow, rabbitfish have very large eye lenses. That film you see is just how they are. I don't think I've ever seen a perfectly clear lens on a rabbitfish, I think it's just the way light refracts through them. It's not pop eye or cloudy eye at all - it will have a much milkier look to it if that were the case.

[Alberta-newb]

...The basic gyst of my blathering here is that common names are more of a gong show. :lol: I prefer latin id's when possible but I guess that just means my geek is showing.

Tony, so very true! I guess I'm a geek too as the first thing I try to figure out is the latin name. With mine, I asked them to double check the shipping manifest and confirm I was receiving a doliatus as I ordered....seems even the wholesalers are wrong sometimes, oh well, I love my "brown trout" anyway:biggrin:

..Anyhow, rabbitfish have very large eye lenses. That film you see is just how they are. I don't think I've ever seen a perfectly clear lens on a rabbitfish, I think it's just the way light refracts through them. It's not pop eye or cloudy eye at all - it will have a much milkier look to it if that were the case.

I'm glad to hear this, I was concerned that mine has these funky clouded eyes but he certainly doesn't appear to have any vision problems as he can gulp up food faster than any of his tankmates. The cloudiness also has some fluorescense as it will often glow a bright blue, especially under actinics only. Strangely, sometimes his eyes will clear right up and in his "night stealth" mode (when he's disguised as a rock) his lenses will develop a black cross pattern as part of his camo. Very strange fish indeed:biggrin:

[my2rotties]

I am glad to know about the eye lenses as well. I read it was normal, but what my research has turned up in the hobby, does not always apply:lol:

Doug told me to PM you Francis but I forgot the piece of paper at the store when when I left the other day. He said you had a huge rabbitfish... It is a really cool fish.

This morning my rabbitfish was white with the darker spots, instead of brown on dark brown. She is such a big and peaceful fish, and I am fortunate to have her. Thanks for the help guysx, you are awesome.:wink:

[300g]

in asia is call sesame rabbit fish from Maldive island.

[langdon reefer]

I aquired this really nice fish when a member tore down his tank, and I bought the last of his equipment. I know she is a rabbitfish but cannot find a picture that matches what she looks like. She is fairly big, about 6-7" long, and is very mellow. I was told she is a Scribbled rabitfish but the pictures show the same body shape buy different colouration. Do they change from youngsters to adults by any chance?

Siganus stellatus
i agree if you got her from somoen in calgary she mak have been mine at one time...lol i got her shipped from florida...lol:redface:

[my2rotties]

I got her from a great Canreef member, Razz or Ray. He moved from Calgary to High River this last year. Sorry if this was your fish, she is awesome.

I can't say that I have ever seen one prior to mine...

Siganus stellatus
i agree if you got her from somoen in calgary she mak have been mine at one time...lol i got her shipped from florida...lol:redface:

[Razz]

I guess I must have really started a misnomer here, when I had bought the rabbit fish from a local LFS he had said it was the closest thing to a scribble he had seen, since I was not really overally concerned at the time and even a little less now, I purchased it realizing that it would be a very interesting fish and a great addition to the tank either way. So it may be a scriblle or it may be just another beutiful rabbit, but it was great and a welcome addition to the tank I had.
But for those that are really in the know, I must ask without a photo, and w/o seeing it did the real scribble (Siganus doliatus) finally make it to Calgary on a special order???

[Delphinus]

Yes I agree more important than the name is that it is an exquisite fish. :)

Despite MY best efforts to get S. doliatus in on a special order, no, none ever came in on a special order that I know of. However, did one day a couple months ago (on a tip from another Canreefer) find out that Ocean City had 4 of them. Went in to check, sure enough, there they were. The guys at Ocean City were like "Gee, I don't know what the big deal is. We get this kind of rabbitfish in all the time, at least once a month or so." Guess it depends on who you order from or something. Guess which shop I frequent a LOT more often than I used to nowdays!! :lol: I don't have any pictures closeup of mine yet though as they are too skittish still to stay put when I get the camera out. :( They were doing a lot better when Catherine's fish were boarding at my house but now they are back to camoflage mode the instant a human gets near the tank.

[my2rotties]

Turns out she is a Siganus stellatus owner by Landonreefer prior to Razz and myself... what a small world it is. She was only 4" when he had her brought in for him last year. I tried to measure her last night, and she is about 9" long now. Eats like a pig, and hangs with my Naso.

Awesome fish.

[my2rotties]

That indeed is a very cool fish... Its like you have a dozen fish to look at in one package, money well spent!!!

Welcome to the world of rabbitfish! :biggrin: Indeed they can be somewhat difficult to ID, like Delphinus I was on the quest for Siganus doliatus Scribbled Rabbitfish and thought I had one when my order came in...unfortunately mine is what I believe to be a Siganus argenteus which could eventually grow to 16"! The hard part with IDing is that they are masters of disguise and change colors and patterns as their moods suit them. Mine is often almost completely black, other times silver, or disguised as rock... This picture shows just a few of his "moods"

http://www3.telus.net/lucas-mustangs/AQUA/siganus-argenteus.jpg

This is the same fish with some photos on the same day! Fascinating to watch as he can change his color and patterns almost instantly. This is why IDing from photos on the net can be tough.:mrgreen:

Francis "Alberta-newb"