Tank raised Purple Tangs!
- Thread starter Salty150
- Start date
D-Nak
Active member
Well, that's where it gets a bit sticky. Apparently the definition of "tank raised" covers any tang that's 2" or smaller.
Don't get me wrong -- I don't think this whole situation is a bad thing, I just wanted to make sure that people understand that these fish are not born in captivity. As previously mentioned by others, there are good and bad things to consider when deciding which -- wild caught or captive/tank raised fish -- is better.
JZinCO
New member
Yes you got it. Not that it wouldn't necessarily lead to collapse of the predator. Predators often broaden their diet once their most profitable meals decline in abundance. So they can switch to other fish larvae, perhaps algae, coral, etc. What are ramifications are depend on the blue tang larval predator, how general its diet can be, and how the prey-switch alters the population of the other prey.
It's like Leopold said, when you tug at one string in a system, you find it connected to everything else in the universe.
But um.. tank raised Tang. neat.
There is a food chain for a reason and all this is factored in. Humans try to play God and while the intent is very noble the price never shows up on the market. Personally I can see good and bad but then again I'm a pretty active scuba diver and see how fish interact with larvae, eggs, and mother nature in general.
By no means am I judging and it is a step in the right direction but don't think the price is going to drop anytime soon. If at all. Just look at ORA for an example.
By no means am I judging and it is a step in the right direction but don't think the price is going to drop anytime soon. If at all. Just look at ORA for an example.
Tripod1404
Active member
Yes unfortunately it is not a perfect solution. But again you are causing minimum damage to the breeding population. Fish larvae mostly compete for plankton. So if you remove them in this period, hopeful some other fish larvea have higher chance of survival. Those can fill up the food chain. I dont think there are any fish that depends specifically on the larvae of another specific fish, so they should be able to adjust.
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Salty150
New member
ORA is captive breed - there is a HUGE amount of time and R&D that you are paying for when you buy ORA.
Tank raised is a totally different story.
Tripod1404
Active member
You are doing the collection randomly and the sample size is large, so the ones remain and the ones you collect should have equal number of individuals that are strong enough to survive. This is better than collecting adults, young adults or juvis where you specifically target the fish that looks the healthiest and strongest.
I understand - but costs should be going down over time has the process is refined. Also note that I said "ORA" in general terms. They also sell coral frags. I don't want to derail the thread but my point is around cost. Let me put it this way, what is a hobbyist going to choose 9 out of 10 times. A yellow tang that costs $14 dollars or $60 to $100 dollar captive raised yellow?
Personally I think people should try and buy captive raised or bred fish and corals fragged first when possible but sometimes it is cost prohibited... I paid 50 bucks for a frag of Xenia from ORA. My opinion a bit over the top when most people consider it a pest or give it away by the handful.
CrayolaViolence
New member
I get that. But as I said, you can't tell if the fish collected would have survived in the wild or not, or the fish that were left behind would or would not. There will almost always be an impact, even when things are tank bred there will--eventually--be an ecological impact. It is inevitable.
JZinCO
New member
There certainly are specic specific larval predation in freshwater systems (e.g. bluegill and bass). Though freshwater systems tend to have much less diversity at macro organism sizes than marine systems...
I can say with absolute certainty that I don't know. There are two competing hypothesis for what controls adult fish abundance. There is the recruitment limitation hypothesis that states that adult abundances are determined mostly by presettlement egg mortality. Then there is the Predation hypothesis whish states that adult abundances are determined by pescivory of adults.
There is a book called the Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs. If one had the time or interest, they could read the evidence presented. I'm sure, as in most of ecology the answer is context dependent and largely hinges on the individual behavior and physiology of the predator and prey in question.
Not sure why you think it would 'bring down the costs', never mind 'substantially'...
Even if there were savings, they don't always go the the retail customer.
Salty150
New member
lol, it usually does...
Plus, supply and demand.
They will soon have 200+ Purple Tangs to sell just from this one "batch" of eggs.
We will see...
Because with each successful clutch that is raised lessons are learned. Higher mortality rate, etc. You know what they eat, you know how much to prepare, you know what went right, wrong, etc. I'll ask my question again. Would you pay 14 dollars for a yellow tang or 100 knowing it was captive raised?
9 out of 10 people will pay 14 dollars.
Salty150
New member
You are missing the point and taking it in the other direction.
The question is - who would want to pay $200 for a native caught purple Tang - when they could be paying $100 for a tanked raised one when the tank raised craze takes off?
Of course the people will buy the cheaper fish...which will be the wild caught for a long while...
in my area purple tangs are often available for $100 and less!
I believe we both don't want to argue semantics. Captive bred, and raised, should go down in price over time (think prescription drugs (generic vs. name brands) or manufacturing products). I think we are in agreement based on some your above posts.
Maybe I took it another direction or misunderstood. I did say originally that I like the idea though.
Your in the bay area? Wonder why yours are cheaper - maybe closer to initial shipping / pickup. I've not seen a $100 purple for a long long while. Just outside Sacramento here.
No, New York
I wasn't even close...go figure.
