New Tucan Fish

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

I couldn't resist. Just a couple of inches in size and they already looked incredible. The price was right, too: They were marked as pinktail, and the LFS owner didn't want to believe me that they were tucans. I took home all they had in stock







Aka Chalceus erythrurus, aka yellowfin chalceus

 

[bkfamus]

Nice.. what's the plan?

I tried 6 or 7 PTC in a 6 foot 240G a few years back.. didn't go so well.. I have 1 PTC & 1 Yellowfin now, each patrolling the top of separate 210G tanks...

 

[danotaylor]

Nice pick up mate.
I need education though, how does one confidently distinguish pink tails from Tucans?
I’m gathering from you buying them all, that tucans are more valuable than pink tails?

 

[HarleyK]

Nice pick up mate.
I need education though, how does one confidently distinguish pink tails from Tucans?
I’m gathering from you buying them all, that tucans are more valuable than pink tails?

Thank you. Tucan fish have a dark spot on their side and yellow ventral fins, in addition to the reddish tail.
Red tail chalceus lack the dark spot and the yellow.
To me personally, the bright yellow Is very appealing. And they are not as frequently found in stores, most often mislabeled. I do not know if they are rarer in nature than the red tails, but in the trade they are - at least in my area.
Value is relative. To me, yes, I was excited to find them for $11 each. To me, that was a steal...i paid much more than that for the previous batch, and that was many years ago.

 

[HarleyK]

Nice.. what's the plan?

I tried 6 or 7 PTC in a 6 foot 240G a few years back.. didn't go so well.. I have 1 PTC & 1 Yellowfin now, each patrolling the top of separate 210G tanks...

So sorry to hear. What happened?
I was unlucky with my first batch, too, years ago. Back then I got them at 4-5'' and I think/hope they were too old to be in a tank... they keep banging into the sides of my 6ft tank. Several died. I sold the rest because they ate my plants.

I'm interested in hearing your story.

 

[danotaylor]

Thank you. Tucan fish have a dark spot on their side and yellow ventral fins, in addition to the reddish tail.
Red tail chalceus lack the dark spot and the yellow.
To me personally, the bright yellow Is very appealing. And they are not as frequently found in stores, most often mislabeled. I do not know if they are rarer in nature than the red tails, but in the trade they are - at least in my area.
Value is relative. To me, yes, I was excited to find them for $11 each. To me, that was a steal...i paid much more than that for the previous batch, and that was many years ago.

Very cool. Thanks for the info. Enjoy your new additions. I hope they work out fabulously for you this time around