Yellow Tang coloration

Wild1 · Dec 25, 2023

3weeks ago a reefer from a local club who was getting rid of his tank, gave me a Yellow Tang, about 5 or 6 inches in length. Once I put it in my tank I realized that it's body was almost completely white with only it's fins and tail are Yellow. I'm hoping once it settles down in my tank it's color might return. If not is there a bigger problem than I realize? TIA
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eraser2001 · Dec 25, 2023

Hi
Just feed with good quality food and it will back to its color

Wild1 · Dec 25, 2023

Thank

eraser2001 said:
Hi
Just feed with good quality food and it will back to its color

Thank You, that's what I'm kinda hoping

Wild1 · Dec 25, 2023

eraser2001 said:
Hi
Just feed with good quality food and it will back to its color

What food would you recommend? TIA

DCR · Dec 26, 2023

I would not discount lighting. I don't know what type of lighting it was kept under, but I am generally of the opinion that strong lighting is needed maintain good coloration on most types of saltwater fish. I have seen colors fade under weak lighting.

Wild1 · Dec 26, 2023

Wild1 said:
Thank

Thank You, that's what I'm kinda hoping

DCR said:
I would not discount lighting. I don't know what type of lighting it was kept under, but I am generally of the opinion that strong lighting is needed maintain good coloration on most types of saltwater fish. I have seen colors fade under weak lighting.

Thanx for your input, my tank is mostly LPS, and soft Corals, so my lighting could be an issue, but i have. had other Yellow Tangs before and never had this problem, of course they were already Yellow when i got them. Im using Current Orbit LEDs I know they are not the best but all i could do at the time

ISpeakForTheSeas · Dec 26, 2023

Yeah, some things that can impact a fish's coloration (leaving a few irrelevant factors out of the conversation):
-Light (wavelength, intensity, and duration)
-Health
-Diet (including both vitamins, minerals, etc. and pigments like astaxanthin in a fish's diet)
-Various chemicals and hormones
-Genetics

Some things that affect a fish's coloration are immediate (like stress) while others (like lighting and diet) can take much, much longer to make a noticeable difference. It's possible that this tang's coloration is a result of some of those less-immediate factors, so it may take a while for it to change.

For the diet, I'd recommend the following, preferably supplemented with algae (most people use nori, but the more algae/kinds of algae offered to the fish, the better; fresh/frozen is best, but the pellets below are solid brands):

ISpeakForTheSeas said:
(I apologize, I haven't looked into frozen algae-heavy feeds enough to have one that I would suggest at this point; I'll have to remedy that):
Frozen (Meaty) - LRS Reef Frenzy, Hikari Mega Marine, then Rod's Original.

ISpeakForTheSeas said:
Pellets (Meaty) - Otohime, then TDO Chromaboost.
Pellets (Algal) - NLS Marine Fish Pellets (has 8 types of algae and one terrestrial plant).

For an example of the difference pigments in a fish's diet can make:

https://nhrec.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/vdocuments.net_clownfish-astaxanthin-study-reed-mariculture-astaxanthin-level-average-preference.pdf

For an example of the difference that lighting can make:

Does Lighting Affect Your Fish

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