# Breeding Pair Of.... Tangs?!



## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

My gold rim tangs "_Acanthurus japonicus_"(AKA White faced tang, Powder brown tang /sergonfish) are doing this CRAZY DANCE... The larger one is one i added from the teardown of the other custom tank i installed... They have never faught, they have bonded from square one, and never nipped fins or caused any damage to eachother, which makes me think this isnt a dominance thing... Also, of the many tangs i have owned, when they are aggressive they back up and use their sharp ass "spikes" near their tail fin... i have seen my old yellow tang do it a million times to new tank mates. 2nd video is better.





I am completely confused by this, as theres little information regarding this, as in none... I think that turning off my return pump, and going from 6000gph + mag drive powerhead, to 900 gph +mag drive druing the day might have triggered this? that and the last few nights i left my tiny actinic fixture (one 36" t8) as a moon light?

THIS Article had more info about them but:



> Sex: Sexual differences: No sexual difference is noted for this species.
> 
> Breeding/Reproduction: The Gold-Rimmed Tang has not yet been bred in captivity. Some species of surgeonfish have spawned in public aquariums and there have been a few scattered reports of spawning in home aquariums, but regular spawning and the rearing of the young has not yet been reported.


On i go through tons of pages of the same thing...I have research breeding behavior of tangs more tomorrow but









I dont know what to think... they always both go to that cave in the back right, and i think i see something on the glass but have to investigate with a flash light later...

This just made my day that i got this on video and can share it... I have seen it over the past few days, but the fish see me and stop thinking im going to feed them or something...

IF anybody can find links about any TANG spawning or breeding rituals / dances... especially my species i would owe ya one!









All the info i have really found is about the same thing...

And just a note... its not really possible to raise the young due to the food demands so, thats not where im going. I just think its cool to see things like this in home aquariums, especially my own.


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

my thoughts:

yes indeed it could be a 'breeding' pair. the circling and following each other are good signs of courting in fish. however there have been no reports of tangs breeding in the home aquarium. so chances they will actually spawn are neglible. i have only read about specialist hatcheries having minor succes (with some other species of tang) where they have been able to get them to spawn, hatch the eggs, but have only kept the larvae alive for a couple of weeks. 
all i have been able to findi s that female powder blue and brown tangs are larger than the male (in general dpending on age) and that there have been no reports of breeding in home aquaria for this species. not even in hatcheries.
also tangs such as powder brown, breed in groups. not in pairs. plus i think you would need a much much bigger tank for the tangs to even consider spawning.
heres the best i could find on the internet on this speices



> Some species of surgeonfish have spawned in public aquariums and there have been a few scattered reports of spawnings in home aquariums, but regular spawnings and the rearing of the young has not yet been reported.
> Though the White-face Surgeonfish has not yet been bred in captivity, this species has been observed performing group spawnings in the ocean. Usually in the evening these fish will form a group and spawn in the open water, scattering fertilized eggs. Each egg has a single oil droplet to keep it floating, thus making them pelagic. In 26 hours they hatch into little clear larvae 2 millimeters in length. After a few days then evolve into a post larvae stage called "acronurus". Over several weeks time they gradually evolve, changing into juveniles at 20 mm.


chances are the two you have have become best buds


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

His Majesty said:


> my thoughts:
> 
> yes indeed it could be a 'breeding' pair. the circling and following each other are good signs of courting in fish. however there have been no reports of tangs breeding in the home aquarium. so chances they will actually spawn are neglible. i have only read about specialist hatcheries having minor succes (with some other species of tang) where they have been able to get them to spawn, hatch the eggs, but have only kept the larvae alive for a couple of weeks.
> all i have been able to findi s that female powder blue and brown tangs are larger than the male (in general dpending on age) and that there have been no reports of breeding in home aquaria for this species. not even in hatcheries.
> ...


Thanks man, i know i have no chance to raise the young and thats not what i am going for... its just so cool to watch. They may not be actually spawning, but if they are doing the flirting dance and courtship... who knows what could happen??

Even if they are a spawning pair, and i dont see it... the eggs just feed my system anyways... Kinda like the stomatella spawning i had


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## ChilDawg (Apr 30, 2006)

Are these among the species that have the ridiculous planktonic larval stages?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

ChilDawg said:


> Are these among the species that have the ridiculous planktonic larval stages?


Correct... it would take an entire warehouse to provide the food for them literally.

Like i said, i dont expect young... its just cool to see, and if they do spawn it feeds the system. Beings the eggs float, they will go straight to my sump anyways so. i should see something before the skimmer gets them

Will try to sneak up on them and get more video, or set the camera on a tripod and let them get used to it being close to the tank.


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

i agree definetly very cool to see. maybe you could sell them to a public aquarium or research center so they could try to breed them. not sure if thats possible to do or not. thats if you wanted to sell them or not


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

His Majesty said:


> i agree definetly very cool to see. maybe you could sell them to a public aquarium or research center so they could try to breed them. not sure if thats possible to do or not. thats if you wanted to sell them or not


When i start seeing eggs and sperm flying i will think about it... I would donate them, not sell them most likely...


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