lyretail hogfish vs harlequin tusk

[legalseafood]

hey all

i just seen my lfs have a lyretail hogfish in stock, i've never seen this fish before and was wondering if anybody has any experience with it? how hardy are they? aggressive?? not much info on the net.
i also seen a harlequin tuskfish for sale, how hardy is the tusk?
help me decide which one i should get.
thanks.

[Bowtank]

Tusks are ok,not aggressive, mine is very shy, i've had him nearly 8 weeks, he tends to hang at the back of rocks with only the occasional venture out, not what i expected at all, it may be because he's a large'ish specimen, i did read that small to medium fish acclimatize much better.

The lyretails are another hardy fish leaning towards a semi- aggressive hogfish, try to get a medium sized one that can hold it's own at feeding time.

[FMarini]

LSF-
I've had both and loved both. My fave is the lyretailed hog. These are very personable, very mellow fish. Low maintence and hardy. They eat meaty foods and lay on the bootm to sleep. They do get big but they keep their coloration. (great jumpers too). The harlequins are gorgeous, also a great fish, i can say the same thing about tusks as i can for the lyretailed hogs. Its just whether you want a red/orange/white fish or a superduper multicolored one. By the way you can have both, they get along.

[legalseafood]

wow, i didn't know they get along...this is makes my decision that much more difficult. casue at a 100$ price tag each...its alot for me...idunno, they both look amazing and have amazing colour. ahhh, can't decide. do you think they will get along with my porc puffer and mappa puffer??? the mappa is only about 4" from head to tail.
thanks.

[M.Dandaneau]

They should, but eventually your 120 is going to get crowded as they grow and all will deteriorate quickly with poor water (big fish go big potty **grin**).

While Frank said the Tusk and Lyretail will get along (he's correct, by the way) don't mistake this as meaning two hogfish will get along in the same tank, even if they appear quite disimilar.

Wrasses seem to differentiate between "regular" wrasses, hogfish and tuskfish/razorfish even though all are actually wrasses......I don't know why it works this way but it does.
Technically, you can often have 3 wrasses in a 120 gal. tank by using this guideline, but again, even here, nothing is carved in stone and the odd specimen may just disagree with fatal results.

Mike

[technoshaman]

I've had my tusk for about a year and a half now. They can get aggressive but not like a trigger. It was more of a case of him wanting to be the alpha fish in the tank. He was kept safely with a CBS (wouldn't normally reccomend this but the cbs was so ornery no other fish would get close) as well as some smaller fish like neon gobies, blennies etc. Once acclimated they are very hardy but juveniles and especially some of the cheaper ones from Indonesia and Phillipines may suffer from poor collection. If you want to spend the money on one get an Australian and do not get a juvenile - they seem to be fairly delicate at that stage.

Wonderful fish though - lots of personality and a great 'pet' fish

[ozadars]

I havent had both of them but i think both of them are two stunning fish and two of my favourites. I was about to buy a lyretail hog but i decided they get big for my tank

[legalseafood]

well, against my better judgement, i've decided to get both...hopefully they will all get along till i upgrade my tank.

ls