Black Tangs… where are they?

Do you still have your black tang?


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Anemone_Fanatic

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How is it that your favorite Acanthurus is that one... They look like egg yolks that have been left in the sun to dry for a few days. They're all right, but their best virtue is that you can keep them in smaller tanks.

1692995428804.png
 
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But aren’t most tangs like that, especially from that family of tang?
This is why I love angels over tangs ;)

They get big and gorgeous but most remain peaceful towards other non-Angel fish. Plus, have you seen how many ‘tang eating coral’ threads there are?! At this point tangs should be sold as RSWC too.
 

sc50964

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How is it that your favorite Acanthurus is that one... They look like egg yolks that have been left in the sun to dry for a few days. They're all right, but their best virtue is that you can keep them in smaller tanks.

1692995428804.png
Urine stain on my grandpa’s tighty-white. Have I gone too far??
 

Mr_Knightley

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lol Once again, the power of personal taste comes in swinging. I tend like pastels and colors on the warmer spectrum, as well as simpler, even fades and uniform colorations as opposed to confusing blocks of color across a fishes' body. I totally see the appeal to the powder and clown groups of tangs, they're just not my thing.
 

sc50964

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lol Once again, the power of personal taste comes in swinging. I tend like pastels and colors on the warmer spectrum, as well as simpler, even fades and uniform colorations as opposed to confusing blocks of color across a fishes' body. I totally see the appeal to the powder and clown groups of tangs, they're just not my thing.
Respect that!
 

Mr_Knightley

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But anyways, to get the thread back on track. My guess is that, even though the fish are expensive, and dare I say pretty in some situations, there's nothing to write home about with a solid black fish. It's not the kind of thing a guest comes over a gawks at, and it's not something that'll grab your attention amongst a cloud of other neon-colored, complexly patterned tangs, so people stop really favoring them and they just become another filler fish.
 
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lol Once again, the power of personal taste comes in swinging. I tend like pastels and colors on the warmer spectrum, as well as simpler, even fades and uniform colorations as opposed to confusing blocks of color across a fishes' body. I totally see the appeal to the powder and clown groups of tangs, they're just not my thing.
I find simpler colours nicer as well most of the time. I love the gobies, wrasses and tilefish for this reason. Then the more organised colours of Angels and Rabbitfish makes me love them. Tangs just don’t really have any of them other than the tangs I can’t have (I’d die for an Achilles but likely won’t own one in the future).
 

Mr_Knightley

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Black tangs are the second ugliest. The ugliest is this atrocious thing :cool:

1692995961763.png


Pity too, as it's probably the only tang that could fit in my tank. Looks like a tortilla chip gone wrong.
I'm biased, as the Tomini was one of my first fish... But I'd take one over a sohal or powder lol Still not a very attractive fish, but it's simple and striking without being confusing.
 
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But anyways, to get the thread back on track. My guess is that, even though the fish are expensive, and dare I say pretty in some situations, there's nothing to write home about with a solid black fish. It's not the kind of thing a guest comes over a gawks at, and it's not something that'll grab your attention amongst a cloud of other neon-colored, complexly patterned tangs, so people stop really favoring them and they just become another filler fish.
I feel as though this is the situation that occurs, and likely why they don’t get sold easily too.

I find when they zoom across tanks it just looks like a void in the centre of some stunning corals. So it’s likely quite easy to just see these as another filler fish.
 
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How about wrought iron butterfly?

Not my fav
they’re better than a black but again not 3-4K nice. I’d rather save the money for an Abei Angelfish.
 

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I love black tangs. Has anybody seen them shine under 10k or daylight? Black Tangs and Black Durgeon triggers look amazing where their skin almost shines a dark blue with bright green lines down their fins.

I also did get a pair of black tangs for free once because they ate all of a dude's coral. If people did not like mine, it was not for the color, but the long nose. The color was amazing, IMO.

If Hawaii ever opens back up for fish you will see black tangs again.
 

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