Adult Tennenti Tang Coloration.

[sneakerpimp]

My LFS is holding a juvi Tennenti tang and it doesn't quite have the colour of the Tennenti's I've seen in pictures.

Is this the colour of an adult tenneti tang?(separate black lines behind the eye).

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The juvi has merged black lines behind it's eye's.

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[StripestheEel]

The first photo there has used flash so it is a little deceptive although the black lines will develop better as it ages.

A more true to life photo is my Tennenti

As an adult

As a juvie

As with all fish, different specimens may have slightly different colourations but won't stray too far from the ideal.

In my experience the juvies are much lighter in colour and as adults are a grey when happy, they can go almost black when exhibiting dominance.

 

[sneakerpimp]

The first photo there has used flash so it is a little deceptive although the black lines will develop better as it ages.

A more true to life photo is my Tennenti

As an adult

As a juvie

As with all fish, different specimens may have slightly different colourations but won't stray too far from the ideal.

In my experience the juvies are much lighter in colour and as adults are a grey when happy, they can go almost black when exhibiting dominance.

Thanks :3

 

[davocean]

Both my juvy tennenti's looked pretty drab in LFS, but when I got home they relaxed, and w/ good lighting showed really nice colors.
One of the more peaceful tangs IMO.

 

[mcurtis]

It is weird because i have had mine for 2 weeks and 2 days now and you can see from the picture he is a dark black. The tank is peaceful and he eats like a pig. I feed them spectrum thera A + A, garlic and selcon soaked krill, squid, and a variety of other high quality foods. I have some red and green algae sheets on a clip that doesn't really seem to interest him. He seems healthy and all of the fish get a long great. There is plenty of rock work with caves and such for him to hide. I am a little unsure on the color as he doesn't appear stressed in anyway. I will see him pick on the rocks and eat with everybody else and just hang out with the other fish. Sorry for the crappy picture from my camera phone and my nosey blue throat wanted to get in the picture.

 

[ALH]

maybe it's the picture, but that does not look like a Lieutenant tang

 

[mcurtis]

Well according to the paperwork he is. Also, here is a picture when i first started acclimating him. You can see he has the gray color in the bucket, he is at the 9:00-10:00 position. He has been this dark black just about ever since he has been in the tank.

Here is another shot. The bluethroat and him are buddies that hang around everywhere together.

 

[Recty]

Here are a couple pictures of my lieutenant tang...

This is him at about 3.5"... you can see the horse shoe shape is just barely starting to look like it is breaking apart in the middle.

Then here is him at about 4.5", you can see that the horseshoe shape is still solid, but definitely thinning out even more...

And then here is a picture of him from a couple days ago... around 5.5" now. I dont consider him and ADULT but he isnt a juvi anymore in my mind. More like late teen years I dont have a good sideways shot of him, unfortunately, but you can still see that on his right side (left side of the picture) the horseshoe has a definitely split down it. It's REALLY a small split, but it's still a split and I expect it to keep growing wider with age.

I dont really think his coloration is going to change much more, perhaps get a little bit more pale with age but otherwise this is pretty much what I think adult coloration will be. I've seen large, 9-10" lieutenant tangs in real life in aquariums and they look pretty much the same as this guy, just bigger.

 

[Recty]

And mcurtis, that tang in your pictures does not look like a lieutenant to me. I'd need to see a side profile shot to be sure, but to me the head shape leading towards the mouth is wrong, plus the coloration doesnt look at all like a tenneti.

 

[mcurtis]

And mcurtis, that tang in your pictures does not look like a lieutenant to me. I'd need to see a side profile shot to be sure, but to me the head shape leading towards the mouth is wrong, plus the coloration doesnt look at all like a tenneti.

Here is another picture. When i first got him you could see the side bars on him cause his coloration was lighter (as you can see in the bucket). Now that he has darkened up, you cant really see them that easy. If he is NOT one, then what is he?

Tried to grab a few more shots... zoomed in so clarity isn't that good, but maybe you can see him a little better?
I can also go look at him when he gets close to the glass and see the 2 darker spots (chevrons).

Thought this was funny i happen to capture him doing this.

Ok cranked the rez from VGA to 8M on the phone and then cropped it. I have pointed out his chevrons in the picture

 

[Recty]

Yep, with the better pictures that looks to be a tenneti tang. I also see in one of the pictures that he has the dark spot around the caudal blade, another tenneti identification marker.

Wow, he is super dark, I've never seen mine get even close to that darkness. I dont think it's typical juvi coloration either, I've owned mine since 3.5" and he was never even near that coloration.

He looks like what I would normally say is a really stressed fish.

 

[mcurtis]

What makes no sense is he eats like a pig, hangs out with the other fish, has plenty of rock work and caves to hang out in and acts like all the other normal fish. He was the light grey when he was in the bucket when i first opened the bag and put him in the bucket. You would think he would be stressed out the most then. I have had him over 2 weeks and he went from that grey color to this black and has been the same color ever since. I even bought him a new skimmer today... so he BETTER not be stressed out! :lol: I guess i will just wait it out and see.

 

[Recty]

Are all his fins in good shape? And body in good shape? He could be getting picked on that you arent seeing, most likely at night. That type of behavior can keep a tang or any fish stressed through the entire day.

I'd also be interested in knowing salinity, temp, pH of your current tank, and the same factors in the tank he was kept in 2 weeks ago.

 

[mcurtis]

Yes, no damage marks that i can see and everything looks intact and whole.

I took 4 hours to acclimate him and ordered him online.

Current Salinity - 1.023
Ph - 7.98
Temp 79.2

When i look at him in person he isn't as dark as he is in the pictures. He does have a little more gray to him, but still darker than others i have seen.

Any thought would greatly be appreciated.

 

[Recty]

I dont know what to tell you about the color, other than I'm almost sure it is most likely stress related. I've had stressed fish and that is the exact look.

One thing is the tang is skinny. You can see his backbone the entire length of the fish. It actually sticks out of his side the entire length of it. That isnt a healthy tang, that's a skinny one. Are you sure he is getting food when all the others eat? Did you receive the fish this skinny?

 

[mcurtis]

Yes he was skinny when i got him. I watch him eat throughout the day when i feed several different times. He and the bluethroat are shooting all over the tank eating. I think he is finally coming around as his appetite is getting larger. If he sticks around long enough, he will be fat like all the other fish in the tank.

 

[AfricaOffroad]

That dark almost black is the normal colouration for a very small tennenti. As it grows it will go an olivy green black colour and then grey.
The mark behind the eye gets darker and more distinctive with time.

What really identifies it is the blue ring around the scalpels and the tail white markings.

Another similar tang when so small is the nigrofuscus. This has a black dot at the rear of the dorsal fin. You wont see this on the tennenti.

 

[Recty]

How big is your blackened tang, btw? Mine came in at 3.5" and looked no where near that color. I'd agree with the guy above, if your fish is really small, but it doesnt look that small from the pictures.

For the original poster, here is a picture of mine that I got from the side this morning... showing the horseshoe mark splitting. Also showing how much he can change color, this is his feeding coloration, his body gets paler and the outside rim of his fins all gets very dark.

 

[mcurtis]

That dark almost black is the normal colouration for a very small tennenti. As it grows it will go an olivy green black colour and then grey.
The mark behind the eye gets darker and more distinctive with time.

What really identifies it is the blue ring around the scalpels and the tail white markings.

Another similar tang when so small is the nigrofuscus. This has a black dot at the rear of the dorsal fin. You wont see this on the tennenti.

Well, that is a little more refreshing to hear. He is thin, but eats like he is starving. I feed several times a day and he eats like its his first meal. I think over time he will be fine and fatten up. Hopefully his color will start to come back to normal. In the bucket picture he is that greyish picture, so i don't know if he was scared to death from shipping and then in the bucket or if hes scared to death in my tank.

 

[mcurtis]

How big is your blackened tang, btw? Mine came in at 3.5" and looked no where near that color. I'd agree with the guy above, if your fish is really small, but it doesnt look that small from the pictures.

For the original poster, here is a picture of mine that I got from the side this morning... showing the horseshoe mark splitting. Also showing how much he can change color, this is his feeding coloration, his body gets paler and the outside rim of his fins all gets very dark.

Man, he looks awesome! Great coloration. I have noticed mine is a hair lighter and i can notice it more on his tail. It is a ligher black, if that makes any sense.
The order was for a small which is 1" to 3". I am guessing 4 inches?