Black Tang

[ryangrieder]

the black tang brian has at ocean gallery II in there big display tank looks amazing. 800 bucks is high, but they are rare and different, so its understandable, not to mention its absolute fish. it can go to the fish tank who recently closed down the road from them and it would have been 400. and i did not think they were the most expensive? i thought gem tangs were....

 

[jaa1456]

blueink, you call it "making fun"? Hugh?? I think we have a right to say that is a crazy, ridiculous, rip off price. Why not??? It's not making fun, it's talking about what is fair and what is taking advantage of hobbyists, IMO.

It's not a rip off really, you have to know the store it is coming from and the fish as well. Absolutely Fish has the best track record I know of when it comes to survival rate for fish. They don'r buy from just any wholesalers, The one they do buy from carries alot of rarer fish and the wholesaler actualy takes the time to QT them. Absolutely Fish also does a small QT process as well. Then comes the fish itself, A black Tang is a deepwater tang and are not as common as others. It is harder to come by, but not as hard to come by as the GEM tang which usually start around 1700.00 for one.

 

[bbreef240]

i always wanted one...i dont mind paying for the fish but i want to see it in person if im spending that kind of money...and now i have the room with my new tank ...the only place i ever seen them cheaper is online and if you order online dont get to look at the fish.....so its worth the extra money to see what your getting....well thats what i think ....

 

[marrone]

It maybe a beatiful fish when it's small but when it gets larger, and it does get pretty large, it turns quite ugly. It develops a very long nose and a gray area in the top part of the body. They're much prettier when they're small, and because of that, small ones usually go for a lot more than larger one.

As for price, well a lot depends on the time of year and the size. They're rare but you can usually get one anytime of the year, as compare to some other fish which are more seasonal.

 

[THEDLO]

It maybe a beatiful fish when it's small but when it gets larger, and it does get pretty large, it turns quite ugly. It develops a very long nose and a gray area in the top part of the body. They're much prettier when they're small, and because of that, small ones usually go for a lot more than larger one.

+2 they're only cool when theyre small.

 

[jaa1456]

It maybe a beatiful fish when it's small but when it gets larger, and it does get pretty large, it turns quite ugly. It develops a very long nose and a gray area in the top part of the body. They're much prettier when they're small, and because of that, small ones usually go for a lot more than larger one.

As for price, well a lot depends on the time of year and the size. They're rare but you can usually get one anytime of the year, as compare to some other fish which are more seasonal.

Beauty is in the eye of the holder, When I had mine it developed the silver along its back, and it always had a long nose. Black tangs are also called long nose tangs and you can see the difference even when small compared to other Zebrosma tangs. And when the tang is larger and grown from small to a nice size in captivity they look different than the larger ones seen taken straight from the ocean. remember those ones are stressed and not coloroed up. I had mine for quite awhile and it loked awesome even with the silver on its back.

 

[marrone]

I know what they're call, as well as the long nose developing as the fish gets larger, more less noticable when the fish is small. Most place leave off the part. about the long nose, and just sell it as a Black Tang, as it would be a turn off if people saw what the adult looked like.

The ones growth in the home aquarium are just as ugly as the larger ones taken from the ocean. Growing one in the home aquarium doesn't make it better looking than getting a large one from the ocean, stress or not. Also if you feed the fish correctly, it will get large. So you can't stop it from changing over into the adult colors, though some Juv fish never fully change into the adults colors, the Imperorer Angel is a good example, as the Juv raised to adults are usually never as colorful as the adults taken directly for the sea.

The stress issue in time wouldn't be a factor, unless you plan on putting a large one in a small tank. If you go to places than have show tanks, like hotels or resturants, or find someone with a large tank, you'll see that the fish isn't stressed out and still looks ugly.

 

[jaa1456]

I know what they're call, as well as the long nose developing as the fish gets larger, more less noticable when the fish is small. Most place leave off the part. about the long nose, and just sell it as a Black Tang, as it would be a turn off if people saw what the adult looked like.

The ones growth in the home aquarium are just as ugly as the larger ones taken from the ocean. Growing one in the home aquarium doesn't make it better looking than getting a large one from the ocean, stress or not. Also if you feed the fish correctly, it will get large. So you can't stop it from changing over into the adult colors, though some Juv fish never fully change into the adults colors, the Imperorer Angel is a good example, as the Juv raised to adults are usually never as colorful as the adults taken directly for the sea.

The stress issue in time wouldn't be a factor, unless you plan on putting a large one in a small tank. If you go to places than have show tanks, like hotels or resturants, or find someone with a large tank, you'll see that the fish isn't stressed out and still looks ugly.

I had mine for 9 years roughly, it grew to be about 12"s and never looked as drab as the larger ones I see for sale around the same size. Personally I have never seen a large one in any other aquarium except for sale or the one I had. And I know after awhile it would color back up if given the proper conditions. But just comparing the colors of the stressed ones I have seen are no comparison with the one I had in my tank that lived stress free. I think it is a beautiful fish and better looking than the other Zebrosma that I have that cost more than this one. to each his own.

 

[bbreef240]

what other zebrosma's did you have .....jaa1456 and what size tank were all these fish in.....it must have bin huge....

 

[jaa1456]

what other zebrosma's did you have .....jaa1456 and what size tank were all these fish in.....it must have bin huge....

Well the one I'm talking about I currently have, but the tank in the past was a 265 and had 2 yellow, 1scopas, 1black, 1purple, and a sailfin(non red sea). Also there was a powder blue and goldrim. As the years went buy some fish had to go due to size. Brian where do you think I'm thinking of sending my Bariene tang soon??? A 450 would be great for that guy.

 

[bbreef240]

send away buddy .....lol

 

[Mikei70]

It's a personal choice, of course, but if I was into black fish I would never have bothered with saltwater in the first place.

 

[jaa1456]

It's a personal choice, of course, but if I was into black fish I would never have bothered with saltwater in the first place.

The reason I like it is because it adds something different to the bright colors of the other fish and corals, although I do not like the Nox angel one bit, I think it is more of the shape.

 

[THEDLO]

It's a personal choice, of course, but if I was into black fish I would never have bothered with saltwater in the first place.

this is true. its all about the colors!

 

[Lenny718]

It's a personal choice, of course, but if I was into black fish I would never have bothered with saltwater in the first place.

+ 1 million! I would never spend that much on such an UGLY fish. Rare or not, just not worth it to me.

 

[marrone]

I had mine for 9 years roughly, it grew to be about 12"s and never looked as drab as the larger ones I see for sale around the same size. Personally I have never seen a large one in any other aquarium except for sale or the one I had. And I know after awhile it would color back up if given the proper conditions. But just comparing the colors of the stressed ones I have seen are no comparison with the one I had in my tank that lived stress free. I think it is a beautiful fish and better looking than the other Zebrosma that I have that cost more than this one. to each his own.

I'm really not sure what fish you've seen, they don't look drab but the colors they should look. Also large adults aren't colorful as small ones, regardless of how stressed out the fish is. As for coloring back up, this isn't a coral but a fish. I also think you're really getting carried away with the stress factor here. Yes, they do get stressed out but no where near to the point that the fish is going to look horrible in color or condition, and in no time it will settle down into the tank and show very similar colors to when you get it home. On top of that Black Tangs are much more hardier and stress free then Yellow Tangs are, they settle in very well and don't cause the problems you get with Yellow or Purple Tangs, which is fighting and harassing other fish.

As for comparing it to other Zebrosma, well small ones look nice but they still don't compare to a Purple or Yellow Tangs, hell even small Sopas Tangs are more attractive. In the end it's just another fish that looks really nice when it's small but ugly when it gets large.

 

[jaa1456]

I'm really not sure what fish you've seen, they don't look drab but the colors they should look. Also large adults aren't colorful as small ones, regardless of how stressed out the fish is. As for coloring back up, this isn't a coral but a fish. I also think you're really getting carried away with the stress factor here. Yes, they do get stressed out but no where near to the point that the fish is going to look horrible in color or condition, and in no time it will settle down into the tank and show very similar colors to when you get it home. On top of that Black Tangs are much more hardier and stress free then Yellow Tangs are, they settle in very well and don't cause the problems you get with Yellow or Purple Tangs, which is fighting and harassing other fish.

As for comparing it to other Zebrosma, well small ones look nice but they still don't compare to a Purple or Yellow Tangs, hell even small Sopas Tangs are more attractive. In the end it's just another fish that looks really nice when it's small but ugly when it gets large.

I was comparing it to my other Zebrosma that I don' have listed on here anywhere. Not the purple,scopas or yellow.

 

[NYPDFrogman]

It's a personal choice, of course, but if I was into black fish I would never have bothered with saltwater in the first place.

+1
I have never seen the attraction to the black Tang thats just my personal preference. I don't have the kind of coin to drop on a fish whether I liked it or not with that said 800.00 for a fish any fish isnt a great price.

FWIW back k in the 80's I helped a friend out with his pet shop, I was able to buy black tangs for 8-10 bucks wholesale, they didnt sell people wanted colorful fish. so I stopped seeing them at wholesalers all of sudden they became rare and price rose... :splitspin
I have 2 yellows, 1 purple looking for another yellow....

 

[reefoman]

+1
I have never seen the attraction to the black Tang thats just my personal preference. I don't have the kind of coin to drop on a fish whether I liked it or not with that said 800.00 for a fish any fish isnt a great price.

FWIW back k in the 80's I helped a friend out with his pet shop, I was able to buy black tangs for 8-10 bucks wholesale, they didnt sell people wanted colorful fish. so I stopped seeing them at wholesalers all of sudden they became rare and price rose... :splitspin
I have 2 yellows, 1 purple looking for another yellow....

Very interesting post...
Black Tangs are endemic fish which lives in South Pacific around few islands, singly or in pairs in quite deep water and they never was offeret in massive wholesale offers but mostly occasionally, please dont understand me wrong that absolutely not offense... but maybe that was some other fish? 20 years ago maybe scopas was called black as we can find this wrong name for this fish even today in some poor stores.
My black tang died about 2 years ago cause of overheat but how jusy this fish is you can tell only if you have one in your tank and can take care of this guy. I love his velvet, shiny black body blue fins and white spikes... but like you and some other people will not pay $800 well even will not pay $400 hehe in my opinion this fish should cost about $150-200.

Regards,
mark

 

[reefoman]

I was comparing it to my other Zebrosma that I don' have listed on here anywhere. Not the purple,scopas or yellow.

Jaa1456 that's your fish on these pics you posted?
If so some day I wish to come over and see this guy in person before i gonna die, lol

Regards.
mark