What is the name of that damb fish?

[Trevor Robertson]

Hi everyone, I am hoping that you can help me out. I am looking for a name of a fish that I have seen at my LFS that I really liked, I can not recal the name of it for the life of me but I really want one. Like a good reefer I want to look it up first before the purchase. Teevee had it as his avitar some time ago. White (or yellow/white) and black striped with a very long top fin. Thanks I am sure that some one here can tell me what I am looking for.

Thanks

[StirCrazy]

moorish Idol

[Trevor Robertson]

thanks. Are you sure that is the correct spelling I did a search and it came up with nothing.

[Trevor Robertson]

I guess it is like this... thanks for the tip though!!

Moorish Idol

[Quinn]

What I had as my avatar was in fact a Heniochus diphreutus. It's also sometimes known as the poor man's moorish idol, as it does look similar. H. diphreutus is considered reef-safe by many, whereas the more common H. acuminatus is not. They look nearly identical, so it's important to make sure you know which species you are looking at if you are considering them. I originally had planned to keep one, but they do best in odd-numbered groups (3, 5, 7) and get fairly large (6"), so I decided to forgo them until I have more hobby experience and a much larger tank (at least a 6'). The moorish idol itself, while more spectacular to look at, is apparently more difficult to keep, due to feeding habits. I only know one person, Lynn just south of Edmonton, who has one, last I heard it was doing quite well.

HTH.

[Trevor Robertson]

yes I have done some reading today and I think that I have desided not to purchase one or two or three or 19...

Oh well I need something though, only 4 fish in my tank it looks a bit bland. I am off to Big Als to see what they have got, I was just at AI and nothing caught fy fancy so I will see what they have got, plus it was payday yesterday so I gotsa money burning a hole in my shorts!

[Quinn]

I was going to use Heniochus as my centerpiece fish until I realized I would need three. I'm now considering a Genicanthus sp. angelfish instead. They grow to about the same length, can be kept as individuals or mated pairs, and are planktavores, so no worries about them eating corals. The downside is that the best-looking ones are expensive. You might want to look into them anyways.

Photo of a male Watanabei at http://www.themarinecenter.com/watanabeiangelmale.htm.