Mostly black blue hippo tang

[AlanM]

Check out this video of the Child Care Center tank that I maintain.  It has a blue hippo tang in it that is probably about 1.5 or 2 years old.  The odd thing is that he's mostly black.  Pretty active and pretty well fed, as far as I can tell and very pretty, but almost entirely black.  Is this a stress indicator or a cross with something else (like not a pure blue hippo tang) or just a quirk of development?

 

I think this google photos link should work to show it but I don't think it will embed here.

 

https://goo.gl/photos/jmegU98P9aKbXeQB8

[SunWyrm]

WOW that looks like a color mutation, but that's gorgeous!

Best still I could grab 


 

Edited January 9, 2016 by SunWyrm

[AlanM]

I might have a still. Will try to link one. It's super hard to take a good fish pic in a bowfront with lights in the room. 

[AlanM]

Here are a couple stills that kind of show the color. 

 

 

[surf&turf]

That's cool!!

[gmerek2]

I bet it's worth thousands !!

[WilRams]

Very cool

[HgrReefs]

Very cool!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AlanM]

when I search for black hippo tang I turn up various folks with them that had this same color pattern over the years.  Seems to be unusual, but not totally unheard of.  I got it when it was about the size of a half-dollar coin and it looked normal.

 

Maybe Koji Wada would trade me for an interruptus angelfish 8)

[s2nhle]

Look awesome.

[AlanM]

Thanks for the nice comments, so anyone have any idea why he's so black?

[SunWyrm]

Genetic mutation? Melanism/Pseudo-melanism maybe

[matt]

Perhaps environmental response? What kind of salinity and temp do you have? I had a potters angel turn mostly blue on me...I got so excited and then it ended up carpet surfing...never figured it out

[AlanM]

Perhaps environmental response? What kind of salinity and temp do you have? I had a potters angel turn mostly blue on me...I got so excited and then it ended up carpet surfing...never figured it out

 

Interesting.  I have been running at 80 for about 6 months.  I recently started getting worried about such a high temp and lowered it to 77.  I run at 35ppt salinity, although I haven't checked it for a while.  I use IO salt and do 20 gallon water changes on 120 gallons total volume every 2 weeks.

[Mattiejay6]

I find that clownfish with the onyx phenotype tend to develop more of it when under reef lighting. This could be the same. The onyx in fish still seems to be somewhat of a mystery in all my readings

 

In any case she looks awesome Alan!