Kole Tang & Squaretail Tang Comparison

The bristlemouth surgeonfish of the Ctenochaetus genus are some of the most perfect aquarium fish with a size, behavior and disposition that seems tailor made for a life in a reef tank. There are many species available in the aquarium hobby…

Chevron tang also turns up in the Philippines

The chevron tang, Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis, has long been a popular aquarium tang, and for good reason. Juveniles are brilliantly colored and, like many tangs, does an admiral job of eating nuisance algae. Nearly all chevron tangs make their way to…

Massive migrating school of surgeonfish discovered in the Philippines

Two weeks ago, we were in the Philippines scouting for new and exciting corals to grow at the RVS 4-star Mariculture facility. While diving certain areas which have perhaps never been seen by humans using SCUBA equipment, we stumbled upon…

Aberrant Ctenochaetus binotatus shows up with patchy skin coloration

Another surgeonfish has been collected in the wild with the strange piebald coloration that seems to be pretty common in wild surgeonfish and now we’re really getting anxious to know what this condition is, or what causes it. The genus Ctenochaetus is…

Aberration reversion of Ctenochaetus documented by Cairns Marine

We’re not unfamiliar to the sight of “xanthic-koi” type aberrants that plague various fishes. Vitiligo and other forms of patchy off-coloured specimens appear from time to time, and seem to be particularly prevalent in surgeonfish of the genus Ctenochaetus as…

Twin Tailed Tomini Tang looks like something out of science fiction

Those who have been in the hobby long enough know that the Bristletooth Tomini Tang (Ctenochaetus tominiensis) is an often under-appreciated workhorse fish that is excellent for keeping undesirable tank algae in check. For that reason, we were super stoked to…

Mysterious “Koi aberrants” are not exclusive to the Zebrasoma and Centropyge genera

Over the years we’ve featured a myriad of “koi” aberrations, which mostly seem to inflict large fully grown adults of the surgeonfish genus Zebrasoma, as well as the dwarf angel genus Centropyge. While not always aesthetically pleasing, from a genetic…