Harlequin Tusk...my favorite fish in the ocean

Sharkbait · May 10, 2004

I've been waiting about a year for the fish store to get a small one in. I had a full-adult about 12" long last year, but he was just way too big for my system. This little guy is only about 3" and just rocks! :-D

photogoddess · May 10, 2004

Wow - he is beautiful!!!

mrsid99 · May 10, 2004

Terrific shots as always!
Never seen one of those before, it looks a lot like a clownfish.
Looking at the mouth of that fish it seems as though it could be a coral/polyp eater, if so, wouldn't it be a problem?

canonrebel · May 10, 2004

Striking colors. Great contrast. Composition righteous as usual.

craig · May 10, 2004

Handsome fish! It looks as though he is curious of his new surroundings. I am sure you guys will get along famously.

Not Neve · May 10, 2004

Shark, everytime I see your beautiful fish photos, I want fish. I love the 1st pic with the blue in the background.

Sharkbait · May 11, 2004

mrsid99 said:
Never seen one of those before, it looks a lot like a clownfish.

Actually it's a type of wrasse, though it looks pretty different from most other wrasse sp.

Looking at the mouth of that fish it seems as though it could be a coral/polyp eater, if so, wouldn't it be a problem?

As he gets bigger, he'll develop long blue teeth (hence the 'tusk' name). You can kind of see them starting in the second and third shots. The Australian subspecies of this fish tends to have much more vibrant coloration than the indo-pacific version (those white-ish stripes will actually be a very pale, but glowing blue), but I think that's more a dietary thing than anything. Believe it or not, this guy's colors are actually kind of pale, but I'm hoping with a good diet he'll mature into nice rich colors.

He's actually a crustacean eater. When I had the big Aussie adult last year, it had some parasites, so I got a cleaner shrimp to help clean him up. The cleaner never even made it to the bottom of the tank before the tusk made a 2-bite meal out of him. :shock: When they're juveniles though, they're not nearly as dangerous to the shrimp and crabs, so they're much more 'reef safe'. I'm hoping that as this guy matures in a tank filled with shrimp and crabs, he'll realize that the food comes from me, and not them. ;-)

Sharkbait · May 11, 2004

Not Neve said:
Shark, everytime I see your beautiful fish photos, I want fish. I love the 1st pic with the blue in the background.

Thanks, it sure is an addictive hobby! At least as much as photography! It's baaad on the checkbook to have two addictive and expensive hobbies. This little bugger retailed at $69, but I know the guy that runs the fish department of the local fish/pet store, and he knows I've been looking for a juvenile tusk for over a year, so he gave him to me at cost-- $45. :thumbsup:

Sharkbait · May 11, 2004

craig said:
Handsome fish! It looks as though he is curious of his new surroundings. I am sure you guys will get along famously.

He settled right into the tank; it was awesome! I was kind of worried, because the day after I got him, we got a heat wave and my tank temp shot up to 84F (that's almost 10F too high). You can kind of see a bit of a split in one of his fins in one of those shots, well with the heat in the tank it got infected. I managed to cool the tank down over the past couple days though, and I noticed this morning that the infected part has fallen off, and he looks much happier. Whew!