A Question about Hippo Tang Coloration?

[Circa]

Is it true that they lose colour due to stress? Cause I have seen hippo tangs in lfs's that are just great, there color is great! And I have seen other fish that are just so dull and there blue is all gone. So do they lose color due to stress, and do they also lose coloration when they age and get larger?

Any info would be helpful, thanks.

Circa

 

[Bodine]

A stressed tang can change coloration.

I have a large Red Sea sailfin that will change color almost chameleon-like.

I also have a large hippo (his name is Freckles) that I`ve had him for several years now.
He doesnt seem to change color like the sail fin when excited but has developed these "freckles".

He hasn`t seen to fade with age and in fact has gotten more brilliant.

 

[Circa]

Hey there, hmm ya it sounds like the diet has alot to do with it. But ya one one other question is that actinic lighting you have going on your tank there?

Anyone else?

 

[Anonymous]

How big has Freckles grown?

 

[Bodine]

Freckles is 7 1/2 inches.
Boy it sure was tough to get him to be still to get that length while he was hungry.

He is very tame, will let me pet him (when he is in the mod), eats out of my hand is is quite passive to his tank mates-a long-nose black tang, a red sea sailfish and a HTW.
Freckles is my favorite.

He was photographed under 400 watt 20K Radium halides, no actinics.
This photo is without the flash and the digital pictures from my Sony Mavica come out much more blue that with the flash.
This is not a true color of the tank but makes for a good picture, IMO.

 

[fusion]

I think that a prolonged lack of color could also be due to HLLE.

Not a good sign....

 

[Circa]

Good comments so far, umm does anyone know if this "freckling" is normal?

 

[Ocyurus]

If anyone could comment on what size tank would be good to keep a hippo/regal tang? Thanks.

 

[JohnD]

circa,

I have a hippo and he loses color due to stress - when I clean the tank he is a very pale blue. The rest of the time, he is a vibrant blue, like in the previously posted picture.

I have had him for over 10 years, so IMHO it has nothing to do with age. He gets a varied diet of both vegatable matter as well as meaty foods.

 

[naesco]

Derek
about 100 gallons. Tangs need lots of room. They are swimmmers and need the length of larger tanks. Although they are purchased small all but the yellow,black and purple grow very large and soon outgrow smaller tanks.
If you are planning to get a large tank soon it is OK to get a small one. Under no circumstances should anyone consider a tang for tanks 50 and less in my opinion. Its not fair for the fish.

 

[davelin315]

The freckling is normal, and color changes are frequent in tangs and in fact all marine fish. They will all lose coloration during the night. However, permanent color loss can be indicative of a problem in some fish. I have seen pictures of the pacific blue with a white belly and with the area under the sickle (the black stripe, not a technical term, just looks like a sickle to me) turning white as well, but I've never seen one in person with that coloration. If it's color is fading on top, I would guess it's not doing that well.

 

[Laurie]

My Hippo, Marge, has the freckles, too. When she gets excited (usually in the evening and usually for no reason that I can see) her black stripes will turn yellow! She'll dash around for a minute, then settle down and her coloration will return to normal. All the other fish pretty much ignore her when she does this.

She is well fed and her colors have gotten more vibrant as she has gotten bigger (about 5" now). She does sometimes look like her underbelly is lighter.

We also have a long nose black tang, Ebony, and when she gets worked up a pale blue stripe shows up along her back right under her dorsal fin. Her color has also "brightened", if that is the right word for black. She looks like black velvet rather than the brownish black color she was when we got her. Reduction of stress and really good food can make a huge difference in coloration.

Laurie