‹ Fish Finder· #226

Yellowtail Tubelip

Diproctacanthus xanthurus

Bislamasop · glisfis— names this kind of animal, not this species alone

Yellowtail Tubelip — photo 1 of 3
Photo 1 of 3 · Rickard Zerpe · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
rareblackwhiteyellowstripedcleanersmallreef
Habitat
Reef
Max size
10 cm
Depth
2-20 m
Family
Labridae

The yellowtail tubelip (Diproctacanthus xanthurus) is a species of wrasse native to the coral reefs of the western central Pacific Ocean at depths from 3 to 25 m. The juveniles act as cleaner fish, while the adults primarily prey on coral polyps. This species is the only known member of its genus, and it can be found in the aquarium trade.

Adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side, with what tells them apart.

Yellowtail Tubelip
This oneYellowtail Tubelip
Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse
Look-alikeBluestreak Cleaner Wrasse

The young tubelip cleans other fish too, and is striped like the cleaner. Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse has one black stripe from the snout that widens towards the tail, with white to bright blue above and below it. Yellowtail Tubelip has thick lips that form a short tube, white and dark brown stripes with no blue, and a tail that turns from black in the young to bright yellow in adults, which stop cleaning and feed on coral polyps.

See the Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse →

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