Odd Coloration on Flagfin Angel

JSeymour

New member
I've had my flagfin angel since it was just a tiny yellow fish, which was about ten months ago.
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Everything in it color development seemed normal. Here is a pic of it about three months ago.
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At that time, I was heavily feeding the tank to make sure the copperband in the cage was getting enough to eat. Nitrates climbed slightly, as is evident by the algae growth. At this same time, the black on the anal fin of my flagfin slowly started to disappear, so I increased my water changes to alleviate this. Fairly quickly I got the water quality back to normal but it didn't stop. The black kept fading.

At this point, the black has almost disappeared completely. Nobody picks on it and it seems completely healthy.
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I'm guessing that it's nothing, I just want to get some other opinions on it.
 
No, not at all. It ate the very next day after I got it, but only foods that were lying on the bottom. I had to turn off the pumps during feeding for the first week or so. The first prepared foods it ate were cyclopeeze granules and Formula II flakes. They are usually fairly hardy for angels.

I just don't know what to think about its black fading away.
 
Are you feeding lots of sponge? Could be from malnutrition.

Lots and lots, probably more than most captive angels. Four to five times a week I feed this tank ON Angel Formula and about every other week during reef pruning, I'll cut out chunks of live sponge(they grow like crazy in my reef tanks, see pics) for a treat for my angels. I also feed red Gracilaria daily. My Gracilaria culture has some sort of sponge that grows among it.
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That's not to say it's not malnutrition, maybe the sponges I have are not the right types for proper nutrition, but I feel like my angels get more than most.
 
If your angel eats the sponge it is probibly a sponge that is nutritionaly good for the angel. Malnutrition is the only thing I can think of. I would either PM John(copps) or post something in the reef fish section.
 
If you google search and look at all the pics, there are a few that have the same color as yours. Maybe they just loose the black as they get older.
 
Very interesting. It's not an age thing with this species (I've seen plenty of BIG flagfins with normal coloration). Maybe shoot a PM to copps or Fmarini with this question?
 
Thank you. I started a post in the reef fish forum, new post, and messaged copps and fmarini with a link to the post. Hopefully one of them, or anyone else, can tell me it's nothing to worry about.
 
could it be a captivity related issue? as some fish tend to show lighter coloration when in captivity...
 
I shared the pic with Bob Fenner, Kevin Kohen, and Julian Sprung...
Bob said he believes it is genetics...would like to hear from Julian and Copps....
 
Very interesting. I wouldn't think it's anything to worry about, just enjoy having a healthy unique flagfin! Nice job on the sponges too.
 
I shared the pic with Bob Fenner, Kevin Kohen, and Julian Sprung...
Bob said he believes it is genetics...would like to hear from Julian and Copps....

Definitely possible, just odd that it developed the normal coloration and then changed. I'm curious what the other say if they respond. Let me know what they think.

Very interesting. I wouldn't think it's anything to worry about, just enjoy having a healthy unique flagfin! Nice job on the sponges too.

I know, she seems really healthy, but when things change from the norm in saltwater, I start to worry. I'd just hate to loose her after a few more months due to something odd, especially if I had time to maybe "fix" it.

I'm a big promoter of heavy sponge growth, probably the best filters you can have. I can turn off all my pumps and feed my coral slurry to my reefs, and watch the currents created purely by the sponge colonies. Some of them are pretty strong too, producing currents around 3-4 inches/sec.
 
Kevin felt genetics, captivity, and diet...maybe a combination of the 3...
dont have my notes in front of me...will post them when I get home later today...
 
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