Male lyretail has no long spiny dorsal fin

amcvay1979 · 06/20/2015, 11:40 AM

Just got a male lyretail to add to my female school and I was surprised he didn't have the trademark long single fin on his dorsal? He's beautiful and he's eating really well and the females are already following him around, but is this something they develop later or did I buy a non lyretail genus?

davocean · 06/20/2015, 12:40 PM

Usually you see the spike begin to form before the color change.
How did they determine male?
It's possible it could have been bitten off by another fish maybe??
I always just get females myself and just let them sort out who becomes male.
Post pics if you can.

amcvay1979 · 06/20/2015, 10:03 PM

Probably a bad pic but here he is

davocean · 06/20/2015, 10:55 PM

I see an obvious orange female in back there, not sure if camera angle or what but that does not look like a lyretail to me.

CuzzA · 06/21/2015, 06:52 AM

I think you have an imposter. Looks like a squareback anthia to me. Notice the square developing on his side.

amcvay1979 · 06/21/2015, 09:47 AM

That's just the LED's playing tricks, he doesn't have a square. I bought it directly from a distributor and the bar code says Lyretail Male. The only distinguishing mark is the splash of color on his dorsal fin. The other females (4) do seem to school with him also.

davocean · 06/21/2015, 09:51 AM

It's shape looks different in that pic.
Anthia will group together often even if different species.

amcvay1979 · 06/21/2015, 09:54 AM

I'll keep an eye on him to see if he ever gets his spike. He's awesome and I'm not getting rid of him even if I was sold an imposter. Started eating within minutes so I'm happy.

amcvay1979 · 06/23/2015, 10:08 PM

99.9% sure it's a stocky anthias. All of the markings are there.

06/20/2015, 11:40 AM	#1
amcvay1979 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Iowa Posts: 426	Male lyretail has no long spiny dorsal fin Just got a male lyretail to add to my female school and I was surprised he didn't have the trademark long single fin on his dorsal? He's beautiful and he's eating really well and the females are already following him around, but is this something they develop later or did I buy a non lyretail genus?

06/20/2015, 12:40 PM	#2
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	Usually you see the spike begin to form before the color change. How did they determine male? It's possible it could have been bitten off by another fish maybe?? I always just get females myself and just let them sort out who becomes male. Post pics if you can. __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

06/20/2015, 10:55 PM	#4
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	I see an obvious orange female in back there, not sure if camera angle or what but that does not look like a lyretail to me. __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

06/21/2015, 09:51 AM	#7
davocean Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 14,655	It's shape looks different in that pic. Anthia will group together often even if different species. __________________ There's a fine line between owning your tank and your tank owning you! Current Tank Info: SCA 120g RR Starfire, Tunze silence 1073.02 return, 40g sump w/ fuge, SWC Extreme 160 cone skimmer,Geismann reflexx 4xT5, 2x Panorama Pro LED strips, Vortech MP40QD

06/21/2015, 06:52 AM	#5
CuzzA Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Palm Harbor, FL Posts: 2,997	I think you have an imposter. Looks like a squareback anthia to me. Notice the square developing on his side.

06/21/2015, 09:47 AM	#6
amcvay1979 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Iowa Posts: 426	That's just the LED's playing tricks, he doesn't have a square. I bought it directly from a distributor and the bar code says Lyretail Male. The only distinguishing mark is the splash of color on his dorsal fin. The other females (4) do seem to school with him also.

06/21/2015, 09:54 AM	#8
amcvay1979 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Iowa Posts: 426	I'll keep an eye on him to see if he ever gets his spike. He's awesome and I'm not getting rid of him even if I was sold an imposter. Started eating within minutes so I'm happy.

06/23/2015, 10:08 PM	#9
amcvay1979 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Iowa Posts: 426	99.9% sure it's a stocky anthias. All of the markings are there.