• Thank you for visiting the R2R Marketplace! Please consider becoming a Supporting Member today! In addition to all the perks of becoming a supporting member, this notice will also be automatically removed! Click here for more details and Happy Reefing!

Updated and Available- Few wild caught yellow tangs and emperor angels available

Item Price
$200-$350
Selling Terms Of Service
  1. YES I have read the terms and agree to them
Buyer Protection
  1. YES I agree and I understand that as a seller I may not ask for payment through platforms that do not offer buyer’s protection.
Thread Prefix?
  1. YES I have added pre-fixes to my thread title.
Shipping
YES shipping is available

copps

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
162
Reaction score
1,048
Location
Northern VA
What state or country do you live in
Virginia
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
I have two yellow tangs I caught myself last year in Guam available, fully legally with fish catching permit and certificate of origin. More information listed below fish so as not to derail the sale thread. These are available for local pickup in Tyson's Corner, VA, or Cabin John, MD, or I can ship via UPS Next Day Air (heavy and with oxygen) for the prices listed. Both fish are spotless, fully adapted and fat, and the pics below are WYSIWYG and were just taken earlier this week.

Yellow tang #1 - 3"- SOLD
euKDheF.jpg


Yellow tang #2 - 4.5"- SOLD
g1kflBT.jpg



Some notes: Many of you old timers know me and have followed my threads through the years regarding my reef displays, sps frags, and fish collecting amongst many other topics. For years I've collected and traveled with my own fish for my systems shown in this thread here on R2R. I've traveled to Guam with work for over 20 years now amongst other places, which is the only very populated place outside of Hawaii where yellow tangs are anything close to common (although nowhere is like the density seen on the Kona Coast of Big Island). Here is a very old thread showing some collecting we did years ago in Guam, along with some of my travels diving Japan and other places. On that page linked is my friend Pierre who owns the largest aquarium shop on Guam and who was the last fish collector in Guam regularly exporting, until collection was shut down via scuba. His main target species was Centropyge shepardi (not found shallow) and as collecting now is only allowed via snorkeling it is not financially viable for him. The diversity there is incredible, even shallow, and so with a fish catching permit from the Department of Agriculture I'm able to collect snorkeling and keep myself occupied when not working, including catching a few yellows. When you leave, your packed fish are inspected by an officer, either at the airport or nearby at the Department of Agriculture, and you receive a Certificate of Origin before you go. On a side note, as most of us know, commercial collection of aquarium fish was shut down in Hawaii a few years back where almost all of the yellow tangs came from. However, many people do not know that you are able to recreationally collect your own fish in Hawaii, and return with them, with details found here. As someone who has been a fish nerd since I was a kid, I'll add collecting your own fish is friggin' hard, much less keeping them alive in your hotel room and preparing them to go back with you. :p

Cheers!

Copps
 
Last edited:
This is an automated message:

Please be aware of a popular scam where someone will send you a private message (DM) and tell you that they have a certain item you are looking for. Most of the time they will try to get you to pay in an unprotected format. This is against our rules for this very reason.

DO NOT SEND THESE PEOPLE YOUR MONEY!

In all marketplace transactions please do your due diligence and make sure when you send someone money that they are not trying to scam you. If you're unsure, do not do it. If it seems to good to be true, then it probably is.

Thank you.

THIS ACCOUNT IS NOT MONITORED PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS MESSAGE.
 
Stunning fish! My biota yellow looks nothing like these!
 
Hum, it kinda looks to me like the wild ones like these guys are a deeper golden/yellow vs a highlighter color like biotas?? Either way these two are stunning!! How old are they out of curiosity? They look pretty young still!
 
Hum, it kinda looks to me like the wild ones like these guys are a deeper golden/yellow vs a highlighter color like biotas?? Either way these two are stunning!! How old are they out of curiosity? They look pretty young still!

The wild ones absolutely have better colors than any Biota YT you will see. I can pick them out a mile away in tanks. The tank raised is a great thing for the hobby but I can't wait until I can get a true wild YT again at a reasonable cost. I miss that vibrant yellow!
 
The wild ones absolutely have better colors than any Biota YT you will see. I can pick them out a mile away in tanks. The tank raised is a great thing for the hobby but I can't wait until I can get a true wild YT again at a reasonable cost. I miss that vibrant yellow!
Is my assessment about the colors correct? I had one hawaiian tang and he was not as bright (florescent) as my biota yellow. Both beautiful but seem to be very different
 
Hum, it kinda looks to me like the wild ones like these guys are a deeper golden/yellow vs a highlighter color like biotas?? Either way these two are stunning!! How old are they out of curiosity? They look pretty young st
Zebrasoma flavescens from the Marianas Islands (of which Guam is the major island both geographically and in population) are more orange in color initially than those from Hawaii. This is very subtle and may not hold in captivity long term as coloration in this species depends on many variables. Getting into the weeds here, but the difference is very similar to that of the difference between Indian Ocean (which are more orange) and Western Pacific (which are more yellow) Pomacanthus imperator. When my buddy would ship from Guam to a wholesaler in LA they labeled them as Zebrasoma flavescens yet gave them the different common name "Yellow Citrus Tang" which can be seen on their page here. Years ago I took a freshly collected one I'd just brought back from Guam and palmed it next to one of my Hawaiians... here in the shot the Marianas yellow is the smaller one to the right... again very subtle but noticeable.
jxbumOs.jpg


Regarding size these are indeed still young fish... any yellow collected at this size or smaller is a young fish just a few years old as they grow much faster in the wild than they do in captivity due to many factors, including eating from dawn till dusk on an endless nori clip in the ocean. These fish will reach sexual maturity in about five years yet could love 30 to 40 years or more. While they'll get up to eight inches in the wild there are many of us who have kept this species decades in captivity including myself in my 1300 gallon and they reach nowhere near seven or eight inches. Even public aquariums which displays much larger than mine see the same thing with certain Zebrasoma species.

Copps
 
Last edited:
Zebrasoma flavescens from the Marianas Islands (of which Guam is the major island both geographically and in population) are more orange in color initially than those from Hawaii. This is very subtle and may not hold in captivity long term as coloration in this species depends on many variables. Getting into the weeds here, but the difference is very similar to that of the difference between Indian Ocean (which are more orange) and Western Pacific (which are more yellow) Pomacanthus imperator. When my buddy would ship from Guam to a wholesaler in LA they labeled them as Zebrasoma flavescens yet gave them the different common name "Yellow Citrus Tang" which can be seen on their page here. Years ago I took a freshly collected one I'd just brought back from Guam and palmed it next to one of my Hawaiians... here in the shot the Marianas yellow is the smaller one to the right... again very subtle but noticeable.
jxbumOs.jpg


Regarding size these are indeed still young fish... any yellow collected at this size or smaller is a young fish just a few years old as they grow much faster in the wild than they do in captivity due to many factors, including eating from dawn till dusk on an endless nori clip in the ocean. These fish will reach sexual maturity in about five years yet could love 30 to 40 years or more. While they'll get up to eight inches in the wild there are many of us who have kept this species decades in captivity including myself in my 1300 gallon and they reach nowhere near seven or eight inches. Even public aquariums which displays much larger than mine see the same thing with certain Zebrasoma species.

PS- Damselfish fans will notice the species next to my pinky.:p

Copps
Wow thats a really cool picture! They are both beautiful!!
 
Hello R2Rers, I’ve recently returned from another work trip to Guam, and again collected and hand-carried some fish back as I’ve done in years past, with all necessary documentation from the Department of Agriculture in Guam. After taking what I wanted for my aquariums, I have a few yellow tangs of different sizes available, along with two emperor angels, as shown below, all in perfect condition. All of these fish have been put through my extensive QT including tank transfer method and formalin dips, and are ready to go. These are available for local pickup in Tyson’s Corner, VA, or Cabin John, MD, or I can ship UPS Next Day Air for a discounted flat $50, regardless of how many fish you buy. I ship very heavy, enough for the fish to live for days, even though fish almost always arrive the next day. I’ve been periodically selling fish and frags for decades, with 100% positive feedback. Feel free to PM with questions, although there is a good amount of information provided above, and in the threads linked. Here is a quick shot of my hotel room on this recent trip overlooking Tumon Bay, with my tub ‘o fish shown on the bottom left. 😊
6gePnV9.jpg


I have three sizes of yellow tangs available…

~2” (+/- ¼”) SOLD OUT
VUFu5zM.jpg


~3” (+/- ¼”) $325 (just two left)
TzpiYKP.jpg


3.5” SOLD OUT
fbf8CVt.jpg



Emperor angels… (two available)- Emperor angels from Guam have a deep orange tail similar to central Pacific Christmas Island emperor angels, while also getting the dorsal fin streamer in adulthood shown in Western Pacific emperor angels (which CXI specimens do not get). For example, here are two previous specimens I’ve caught, showing the orange tail. I tend to take back smaller fish now as I only take what I could fit in one box.
w8vh999.jpg

4tm50D4.jpg


3.5” large juvenile available (about to transition) SOLD
x6QOcpJ.jpg


4” Transitioning available, with adult lines forming and deep orange tail coloring up $325- price dropped to $250
VEVXU2V.jpg



Thanks,

Copps
 
Last edited:
@copps Can you do a tank update? I think I have seen your youtube or facebook videos?
 
Yes plenty of pics and videos around of my systems through the years. I'm overdue for an update but will get to it when I can as it takes time and I've been pretty busy.

By the way I'm down to just one small yellow tang (2" size) ... numbers available are updated above.

Thanks,

Copps
 
As said above, we need an update on your tanks!
 
John I'll take the last 2 inch yellow tang. I'll pm you.

Best,
James
 
Hey James, good to hear from you and glad you've been well. It's yours. For anyone looking for smaller specimens I have one of the ~3" ones that is closer to 2.5", and others that are around 2.75", so just let me know as the 2" specimens are now sold out.

Thanks,

Copps
 
Down to just one larger yellow tang... and dropping prices on Emperors... updates below...

~2" yellow tangs- sold out
~3" yellow tangs- a few left $325
3.5" yellow tangs- just one left $350

Emperor Angel juvie 3.5"- Price drop from $250 to $200
Emperor Angel 4" transitioning adult with orange tail forming- Price drop from $325 to $250

Thanks,

Copps
 
Small (2") and larger (3.5") yellow tangs sold out, along with the juvenile emperor angel.

Two medium (~3") yellow tangs left, and the transitioning emperor angel...

Updates below...

~2" yellow tangs- SOLD OUT
~3" yellow tangs- just two left $325
3.5" yellow tangs- SOLD OUT

Emperor Angel juvie 3.5"- SOLD
Emperor Angel 4" transitioning adult with orange tail forming- Price drop from $325 to $250

Thanks,

Copps
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

IF YOU HAD TO OPERATE EVERYTHING ELSE MANUALLY, WHICH AUTOMATED SYSTEM WOULD YOU KEEP?

  • Auto top-off

    Votes: 24 57.1%
  • Automated dosing

    Votes: 2 4.8%
  • Mechanical filtration / roller filter

    Votes: 2 4.8%
  • Automated water testing

    Votes: 1 2.4%
  • Automatic feeding

    Votes: 1 2.4%
  • Lighting schedule

    Votes: 7 16.7%
  • Controller and remote monitoring

    Votes: 3 7.1%
  • Leak detection and emergency shutoff

    Votes: 1 2.4%
  • Automatic water changes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • None. I prefer to operate everything manually

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Something else (explain in the comments)

    Votes: 1 2.4%
Back
Top
Home
Post thread…
Market
What's new