I think my yellow tangs have spawned???

First Choice Aquatics · Nov 22, 2020

I think my yellow tangs have spawned and I’m not sure what to do. I don’t even know if there fertile. I have a group of 3 yellow tangs in a tank by themselves, this happened right after I turned the lights on. I didn’t see it happen but I noticed these clear dots almost looked like bubbles floating around the tank. I scooped as many out as I can and put them in a bucket with an air stone to keep them rolling. Pictures are below if anyone could help me that would be great!!! This is the egg under a microscope.

vetteguy53081 · Nov 22, 2020

Likely snail eggs. The yellow tang is defined as a pelagic spawner, meaning that they release free-floating sperm and eggs into the water to be taken away with the current. Because of this and the particular requirements for spawning, breeding in captivity is generally not done

Larry L · Nov 22, 2020

It's entirely possible those are yellow tang eggs, maybe @Biota_Marine can take a look at the image and see what they think, since they have bred yellow tangs in captivity. Lots of people have reported pelagic spawning in their tanks, including many types of large and pygmy angels - I think hearing about tangs spawning is less common because fewer people keep multiples of any particular type of tang in their tanks.

ichthyogeek · Nov 22, 2020

Hmmm....how tall is your tank, and did you notice them doing any spawning ascents (swimming/chasing each other around, and then suddently darting towards the surface, followed by darting back towards the bottom of the tank)? How big are the fish?

First Choice Aquatics · Nov 25, 2020

ichthyogeek said:
Hmmm....how tall is your tank, and did you notice them doing any spawning ascents (swimming/chasing each other around, and then suddently darting towards the surface, followed by darting back towards the bottom of the tank)? How big are the fish?

There's only 3 yellow tangs in the tank there's no snails of I know being in the tank and when I saw the tank they were all perfectly floating around like clear little eggs free floating with a black dot. They are full grown yellow tangs about 5-6 inches. I didn't see it happen I just remember turning on the lights and an hour later I come back to look at the tank and all these little eggs were floating around the tank.

First Choice Aquatics · Nov 25, 2020

randy fisher said:
There's only 3 yellow tangs in the tank there's no snails of I know being in the tank and when I saw the tank they were all perfectly floating around like clear little eggs free floating with a black dot. They are full grown yellow tangs about 5-6 inches. I didn't see it happen I just remember turning on the lights and an hour later I come back to look at the tank and all these little eggs were floating around the tank.

the tank is 32 inches high its a 265 gallon

SMSREEF · Nov 25, 2020

This is pretty exciting. Wishing you and the babies good luck!

ichthyogeek · Nov 25, 2020

They could be eggs. They could also not be eggs. But from what I know, my money is on them being eggs.

However, from what I'm seeing, the eggs seem a little bit malformed (the cells aren't as uniform in size as I'd like). Of course, I'm comparing potentially tang eggs to Patiria bat star eggs, so it might be alright.

ThePurple12 · Nov 25, 2020

It's likely they are eggs, I would keep an eye on the tangs and watch for spawning behavior. Really cool!

chicago · Nov 26, 2020

Hanging and tagging

Urtoo · Nov 27, 2020

I hope this becomes a thing. So excited to hear what others say about the possibilities.

jeffrey750750 · Nov 27, 2020

Very cool, whatever they are.

dodgerblew · Nov 27, 2020

Tagging along with interest

bull2k20 · Nov 27, 2020

Happy thanksgiving...any updates on the eggs ?

Willlb1979 · Nov 27, 2020

Cool. Following

kandymann · Nov 27, 2020

Congratulations those are def eggs. If you have no other pelagic spawning pairs of fish, those are tang eggs. I have seen angel eggs look very similar as in the yolk being split up so much instead one solid yolk. Once they get better at spawning and development of gametes, you may be getting some fertilization. Post a video.

First Choice Aquatics · Nov 27, 2020

update. I put them into a tumbler to keep them moving. The morning after, a couple of them were white so I guess they weren't fertilized, but the rest are still clear and perfectly round. Should they of developed by now, does anyone know about yellow tang eggs? Today I saw the tangs darting to the surface I wasn't able to grab a video but I hope they do it again.

KrisReef · Nov 28, 2020

This is very neat. Post some videos if you can capture images of their naughty behavior. This is a family friendly site so we will expect you to set up some brooding tanks to start raising a new tang family!

Well done making your tanks so happy!

diverpat · Nov 28, 2020

It looks like the oil droplet in the egg split. All of those little balls in the egg should be one single droplet. This can happen from too much agitation right around the time of fertilization. If they are going to develop you should see pretty clear cell division in a couple hours. In my experience, eggs with multiple oil droplets don’t develop well and eventually turn opaque and sink out.