Two-spot Bristletooth (Ctenochaetus binotatus) Breeding Guide

Why Ctenochaetus binotatus is not bred at home: this Indo-Pacific bristletooth tang spawns pelagically and produces drifting acronurus larvae that cannot be raised in a home aquarium.

Overview

The two-spot bristletooth, Ctenochaetus binotatus, is an Indo-Pacific bristletooth surgeonfish. Members of the genus Ctenochaetus have numerous fine, flexible bristle-like teeth used to feed on detritus and film from reef surfaces. As an acanthurid it is a pelagic free-spawner, releasing eggs into open water, which is why it is not reproduced in home aquaria.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

Like other surgeonfishes, it spawns by releasing eggs and sperm into the water column, generally after pairing or aggregating on the reef on lunar and tidal cues. These open-water spawning events cannot be staged in an aquarium.

Egg & Fry Care

Eggs are pelagic and hatch into the transparent acronurus larva of surgeonfishes, which drifts in open water before settling and metamorphosing into a juvenile. The fragility and micro-prey requirements of the acronurus place rearing beyond home-aquarium capability.

Common Challenges

No documented home breeding of this species exists. Its pelagic spawning mode and long planktonic larval phase keep any reproduction effort confined to specialised marine hatcheries.