Yellow Tang Question

[newreef06]

I bought a 3 month old Yellow tang last week at my LFS. The guy told me it was only 3 months old. I bought it. I looked healthy. I took him home and put him in my tank. Hes really healthy. I have 1 question. Hes a pale white color. When you turn the lights on. Hes get to be a brighter yellow. I was wondering If this is normal because hes still a baby. Please let me know If this is normal

[IslandCrow]

He should be a pretty bright yellow all the time. Mine would get pale if he was underfed. They do eat quite a bit. Most books I've read suggest feeding them three times a day. That's probably not necessary if you have plenty of live rock for him to graze on, but if you're not already, I'd be sure to feed him at least every day. Tangs also seem to get stressed pretty easily, so he may just be getting acclimated to your tank. I've only ever owned one tang, so take my advice for what it's worth, but I'd say keep him fed (Selcon soaked nori is always a winner) and keep an eye out for any signs of disease, and hopefully he'll get his color back.

[serpentman]

It is normal for yellow tangs to change color at night. They will take on a brown hue which can appear to have a pattern. When the lights come on, this quickly changes to bright neon yellow.

[Frontosas]

From the yellow tang I have, it seems to remain yellow all the time. But may be different, since mine isn't quite a baby at 2", I guess.

[UrbanSage]

Normal for Tangs and other fish I believe to change color at night. Some sort of Camo :uzi: I guess.

[dreams]

i think it a protection against night time preditors......they don't look as tasty when their color is faded....they look ill

[RobNJ]

my chromis get pale when the lights go off. whenthe lights go on their color comes right back

[thor32766]

YES, most certainly they change at night. Its their protection at night. It is very normal. just make sure and feed him plenty of algea.

[ckoral]

My yellow tang which is at least 4 years old always tucks himself down in the same rock area at lights out. He gets a black stripe on his side and is very pale during lights out. Seems extremely healthy although prior to my ownership he has had a hard life (not that his life is better now, he can go 3 ft one way and 18" another... wooopie)


Great question, I have always wondered about it myself.

[CrystalAZ]

Mine gets duller colored at night.

The best way to make sure they keep their bright yellow coloration is to feed them seaweed/nori regularly. I feed mine seaweek every few days, and also mix Formula 2 into the food mix, so my tang gets plenty of green stuff.

Crystal