Is the Orange Tail Emperor Worth the Extra $$

[this is me]

Anyone have both? Is the color on the orange tail that much better than the regular one? I would pay extra every time for a yellow belly Regal. I think it's that much better. How about an emperor?

 

[Highgrade]

No IMO

This might help.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/difference-between-two-emperor-angelfishes.154526/

 

[tkiry1]

I don't think it's worth it either..... Both emperors are so nice!!!

 

[Cment]

Saw an orange tail in person at a LFS and have to say no, not worth the extra money. There was a yellow tail next tank over and could barely tell the difference....

 

[this is me]

Besides the mask, I was asking if the colors are that much more vibrant on the Red Sea/Orange Tail than the regular one to command the 2x in pricing difference. Does the color hold?
My Regal from Red Sea came in brighter than my Indian Ocean one. But after about 8 months, they're very very similar. I'm not sure if the Red Sea lost some of the vibrancy or the Indian Ocean one gain some color due to what I'm feeding(Both in a good and bad way).
I've never seen an Orange Tail in person. We just don't get too many of these large angel in stock from our local lfs. It's also a PITA to re-home them if I decide not to keep them.

 

[tkiry1]

I don't think colors are that much more vibrant than a regular ones....

 

[Thomashtom]

It depends on where they are collected from. The color difference can be huge.

 

[alton]

The problem most times is that what is sold as orange tail is not orange but a dark yellow.

Beautiful fish but not an orange tail

I borrowed the second picture from somewhere? It may have been the reef corner.
As far as regal angelfish with a proper diet like LRS a maldives regal and a redsea look the same

The top is redsea, the bottom is maldives

 

[ca1ore]

Buddy of mine got the 'orange' tail emperor, and over time it has faded to the point that it looks almost the same as my yellow tail. Other colors did not seem more vibrant to me. Also, keep in mind that one fish looking less colorful at LFS than another may have nothing to do with inherent coloration, but just a stress reaction. Not worth the premium IMO. FWIW, the yellow belly regal is also about survival rates - they seem to do much better than the gray ones.

 

[this is me]

Okay, I'm leaning toward a pair of Juvie Emperor and watch them grow and transform.
The other issue with the Orange Tail is that I cannot find anything small.

 

[radiata]

I bought a larger adult Emp from an LFS a few years back. They had it for over a year, and the LFS' owner swears that it had an orange tail when he got it. It gradually faded, and when I bought it, the tail was yellow. Go figure...

Anyone have a similar experience?

Sure would be sad to spend $200 extra for a Christmas Island Emp and have it fade.

 

[alton]

Okay, I'm leaning toward a pair of Juvie Emperor and watch them grow and transform.
The other issue with the Orange Tail is that I cannot find anything small.

You may have to add a juvenile, wait for the transformation, then add a new juvenile. Two juveniles at the same time maybe troublesome?
I know John Copps was great at keeping two and three imps together
From long ago, the adult was grown from juvenile, and then I added a juvenile.

 

[alton]

Also you may want to contact http://www.zoacollector.com/angel-fish.html
and place a special order

 

[bluegrass_reef12]

The problem most times is that what is sold as orange tail is not orange but a dark yellow.

Wow this tank was beautiful! What size was it? Any more pics?

 

[alton]

Wow posting on a 5 year old post. That was an old picture when I posted it of my 200 Oceanic. Since then I had a 300DD, 180 Planet, then a 310 Planet and back to the 180 Planet. That particular Emp one day just started hating everything and one so I sold off fish that seemed to aggravate him. Some months later he passed.