blue hippo tang turning black?

[gatorskin69]

Any one have their tang turn mostly black? Got him very tiny and he was blue and now for past six months he has been black with two blue circles on him and yellow fins. He eats and is very healthy and my water test good so I don't know. I've asked shops around and shown pics but no one has ever seen or heard of it. What do you think?

 

[thereefranch]

I bought two tiny blue tangs about 2 years ago. Both were about 1/2" in size. One was just a tiny bit larger than the other. Now, they are both about 3 inches long. One is normal blue tang looking and the other is mostly black on the front of the body and head with some blue towards the back, with yellow fins. Maybe it has something to do with the aquarium lighting? Or, maybe a male and female issue since they grew up together? Not sure either, but they look way different.

When I ask around localy, no one seems to have their fish that long. And the lfs, has no clue as they only have their fish for a week or so.

 

[gatorskin69]

Very strange .....don't see how it could be the lighting but...possible maybe . Not male female issue I know that . Maybe the live seaweed he eats that grows in tank?

They only grew 3 inches in two years? Seems they should grow quicker

 

[ap2honda]

I broke a rule and got two tangs for a tank. I bought a Blue Hippo with a Powder Blue Tang for my 140 gal. At the beginning he was blue and slowly started turning black. Weeks later I realized my Powder Blue Tang was messing with him while I wasn't around and slowly gained confidence to mess with him even while I was present. I did research couldn't come across any answers but one thread that mentioned that it may be black from stress. I believe it too, being from stress and it maybe being a defense mechanism like how a fox face turns at night. Anyways mine too WAS healthy always eating. The Powder Blue Tang bullied him so much to the point of ICH!!!!! my aquarium a few days later became ill with Ich. I removed my Powder Tang with a aqua medics fish trap. The next few days while I focused on trapping the Blue Hippo Tang I noticed she/he was slowly getting the blue color they are known for. Unfortunately she died from the stress of tank swapping when I put her in a hospital container for curing. Hopefully this is not your case but study your fish and see if anything is messing with the Hippo Tang. Try lights out for awhile. I first noticed the bully behavior during lights out while I was adjusting my height on the AI leds. I'm currently trying to catch all my fish to cure for Ich. I did notice if I constantly fed 3 times a day the aggression went down as for the Powder maybe not seeing the Hippo as a competitor for food.
Best of luck.

 

[ap2honda]

Oh yeah and my Hippo was perfectly well and healthy besides the black form for at least two months maybe even 4 before he developed Ich.

 

[gatorskin69]

If anything the tang is more dominate but overall docile .. I do have a lot of light on there but don't see that being a issue .

 

[coralnut99]

The same species of fish collected in different parts of the ocean can have some differing color patterns. I also bought 2 teenies that came from different vendors. One has standard hippo markings, the other has a continuous black streak across the top. They were that way before and after they ended up in the same tank. Then there's always teh hybrid possibility. Lord knows enough dwarf angel hybrids have shown up in the last few years.