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Ctenochaetus striatus – Bristletooth Tang
By: Gene Schwartz |
Cover Photograph
Ctenochaetus striatus – Bristletooth Tang
By: Gene Schwartz
Ctenochaetus striatus pictured above in the authors 75 gallon reef tank enjoying a small patch of algae. Photo and caption by Gene Schwartz
This particular tang, captured in this picture sampling some hair algae (Derbesia sp.) in my tank, belongs to genus Ctenochaetus (Bristletooth), Gill 1884. The genus is comprised of 6 species and possibly 10. The reason that it may be 10 is that at this stage it's not quite clear if certain members of species-complex represent valid species, are sub-specific, or are actually regional color morphs of a single taxon (R. Kuiter, Surgeonfishes, Rabbitfishes and their relatives).
Species in this genus superficially are similar in appearance to the species in genus Acanthurus; the most distinguishing differences being different structure of the jaw and number of teeth. Teeth themselves are flexible (movable) and incurved. They also have 8 dorsal fin spines compared to 9 in the Acanthurus.
Their behavior is similar to those in Acanthurus except that Ctenochaetus surgeonfish feed on detritus, thin film and matter on substrate that contains high concentration of unicellular algae.
The Ctenochaetus striatus is one of the species of Bristletooth tangs that are found extending into the Red Sea but are also spread from Indo-Pacific to Oceania. Species from the Red Sea have bright yellow pectoral fins but they are identical otherwise to the other C. striatus. I find it interesting that this particular fish is not that common in US but is the most frequently imported species in Europe.
Now for the aquarium care. As with all tangs, they need lots of swimming room and plenty of live rock to graze upon. In addition, I've noticed that my C. striatus likes to hide for short time, perhaps to rest, so some hiding spots like caves and crevices should be constructed.
I also noticed that it prefers grazing on short, turf type algae more than anything. The picture you see above is quite deceiving because it just depicts a single incident when the fish was sampling hair algae. I do not see it feeding on it constantly and that particular patch still persists.
In addition to the greens in their diets they should be offered a variety of frozen/fresh seafood's chopped into small pieces. My fish goes for all commercially available frozen foods, like squid or mysis shrimp and even chopped pieces of silversides goes well with my particular specimen.
I find my Bristletooth quite easy going towards other fish but is not always the case with this species and as a general rule they should be added as the last fish into the tank. When choosing a Bristletooth tang, look for any damage in the mouth area as it is the most common injury at collection time due to their extended mouths and teeth. Ask a store clerk at the store to feed the fish prior to purchasing so you can observe if it can feed and has no difficulties doing so.
Gene Schwartz
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