Captive bred yellow tang.

[Miami Reef]

Hey guys. I’ve been eyeing a captive bred yellow tang for a few months now. But anytime I see them they have the cracks on their heads. They all have them.

I attempted 3 baby captive bred yellow tangs in my ich management tank 8 months ago and they all 3 died within a month.

Today I quarantine everything and am parasite free. When I found out my ideal LFS has these tangs. I purchased one.


I *think* biota is the only vendor that breeds yellow tangs? Don’t quote me on that.

Anyway, this fish is swimming around. It didn’t accept food yet (it’s brand new).

I just wanted to make sure everything is up to spec on this guy. Seems like the most common reason baby fish die on me is because they get underfed, so I will feed multiple times a day with high calorie foods before I start the meds.

I just want to know if the “cracks” are something to worry about. It won’t effect its health in any way…right? Because if it dies I want to know in advance if the odds were against me or if it had a disease I could have prevented.

I took out of water pics because I personally had 3 of these tangs die on me (cause of death unknown) so it’s very important for me to know if it has any deformities that will make them more likely to die.

The same LFS had an adult Hawaii for $400 today from a customer… I chose the $130 baby yellow tang in hopes to save some money and raise a baby myself

 

[Miami Reef]

It dawned on me that maybe the 3 tangs died because I only fed them once (MAYBE twice) a day! I’m almost sure they starved in the DT.

I might even keep this little guy in my observation tank until it puts some weight on.

 

[Miami Reef]

And if anyone has pictures of their captive bred tangs that they grew to adulthood please share!

 

[Tamberav]

There are pics of older biota tangs from peoples tank in biotas Facebook. Just so you have something to explore.

 

[Isopod80]

Could be HLLE. I've heard that copper medications can cause it as well as certain types of carbon. I'd soak it's food in Selcon. It's been known to help.

 

[brucelee90]

Had two Biota yellow tangs, both came with deep cuts on their faces. I don't think nutritious food is going to make a difference, as this is a defect that originates early in the larva stage of the breeding program. I remember similar concerns have been discussed in humble fish's forum and someone from Biota acknowledged this defect.

Hopefully, Biota can figure out what's really going on and fix the issue ASAP. Before that, I'm not going to purchase any yellow tang from this company.

 

[Reef AquaCult]

Completely normal stripes on juvenile. A few weeks ago the fish was clear. It’s developing color. Provide the little guy a clean tank and safe environment and feed small amounts frequently. You’ll be good to go.