Blonde Naso Tang Changing Color

[Sean Duggan]

Ive had a blonde naso tang in my tank for about six weeks now. A little more than a week ago on sept. 20 I noticed that he turned from his usual light gray and blond to a very dark gray almost black. He does this every time I approach the tank. Is it stress related or is it something else? The tank is a Red Sea reefer 625 and parameters are:
Salinity 1.025
Ammonia 0
Calcium 450
Alk 8.5
PH 8.3
Nitrate~5ppm
Phoshpate~0.06ppm
He only seems to do this when I approach the tank. I can honestly watch him change colors. The tank is in my living room and I can see it from my kitchen and he will be gray and blonde until he sees someone. It is getting better I will admit he eats like a pig, Nori, pellets, flakes, frozen, and I think he's starting to associate people with food. He is still very small only around 2.5 inches. Could the fact that he's still so young be a part of why he's suddenly changing color? He's not getting bullied by any fish so I'm just curious if anyone has any suggestions. Thanks!

 

[lpsouth1978]

This is usually an emotional response. It could be stress (most likely) or excitement. If he associates you with food he will get excited to see you and can change colors. Mine still does it a little and he is about 8". Yours being so young, I would assume it is still getting comfortable in his home and gets stressed when you are near the tank.

 

[Sean Duggan]

Thanks for such a quick reply! And yeah that’s kind of what I thought. He does seem to be getting more blonde and gray every day and less dark. So I’m thinking he’s just adjusting to things still. Going to give him some more time and continue to fatten him up lol.