What is your Most desired fish if Hawaii Ban is lifted?

[exnisstech]

what’s the real difference besides getting to say they’re from hawaii? (genuinely curious)

2 out of 3 of my biotas have developed hlle. They were purchased 3/26/24. I also have 2 adult Hawaiian yellows, purple and hippo that I've had for years and have zero hlle.

My purple that I've had for 7 years. All fish in the same tank getting the same food with no aggresion to cause stress.

This yellow probably 2 years or so in my care. Big difference for me

EDIT :The runt of the batch is showing no signs of hlle so I don't get it. I bought three because the issue was supposed to have been resolved. At least that's what I was reading from available info. With the exception of the hlle the color on all 3 is almost on par with my wild caught one.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Im lucky to have 6 and for over 5 years now

I know and Im jelly - this was my plan as I slowly worked on the setup....then the dang ban happened.

I remember Pat @ Absolutely Fish in NJ had a tank full of wild juveniles. There must have been 50 in there. I said, when I am ready I'll get a school.

 

[Biota_Marine]

Behavior for one.. something about gaining the trust of a wild fish- I like getting them to go from skittish soon as you walk into the room to eating from your fingers. I never owned a biota, but I'm sure there are other behavioral differences/ defects

Yeah with captive-bred you get to skip the skittish part and they go right to feeding from your hands- but to each thier own

I want native Hawaiians and it was either 7 and 9 so ya kind of specific.

I think 7 in a 270 seems like THE number.

Biota captive-bred tang are native Hawaiian, bred in Waimanalo and parents are directly from the wild. Only time they're not in Hawaii is when they're at our distribution facility in Florida or in your tank.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Yeah with captive-bred you get to skip the skittish part and they go right to feeding from your hands- but to each thier own

Biota captive-bred tang are native Hawaiian, bred in Waimanalo and parents are directly from the wild. Only time they're not in Hawaii is when they're at our distribution facility in Florida or in your tank.

Valid statement I didn't know that they are actually bread in Hawaii

I should have been more specific - wild caught.

That said, I do have other A/C fish in the system but the captive bread yellow tangs just look off to me. The wild juveniles I saw back then at Absolutely Fish didn't look like the A/C counterparts....perhaps they were slightly larger. They just looked full and vibrant.

 

[i cant think]

Yeah with captive-bred you get to skip the skittish part and they go right to feeding from your hands- but to each thier own

Biota captive-bred tang are native Hawaiian, bred in Waimanalo and parents are directly from the wild. Only time they're not in Hawaii is when they're at our distribution facility in Florida or in your tank.

Out of curiosity, have you noticed that wild yellows have a yellow that the captives never get. I know a few people who’ve looked at photos of their wild yellows and yet the colour is still much more vibrant than their CBs at the same size.

 

[i cant think]

Valid statement I didn't know that they are actually bread in Hawaii

I should have been more specific - wild caught.

That said, I do have other A/C fish in the system but the captive bread yellow tangs just look off to me. The wild juveniles I saw back then at Absolutely Fish didn't look like the A/C counterparts....perhaps they were slightly larger. They just looked full and vibrant.

I’ve noticed there’s some form of defect in captives but I have yet to figure it out. They never look right even past the juvenile phase compared to wilds.

It’s like the Hawaiian Achilles, they always had some defect but since they’ve been from Tahiti they’ve been perfect with no defects and some insane colours.

 

[i cant think]

2 out of 3 of my biotas have developed hlle. They were purchased 3/26/24. I also have 2 adult Hawaiian yellows, purple and hippo that I've had for years and have zero hlle.

My purple that I've had for 7 years. All fish in the same tank getting the same food with no aggresion to cause stress.

This yellow probably 2 years or so in my care. Big difference for me

Either that is one ginormous bubble coral or that purple is huge!

 

[angelsandtangs]

A few more yellows and a pair of crosshatch triggers

 

[braaap]

what’s the real difference besides getting to say they’re from hawaii? (genuinely curious)

See below.

There is none. When you read posts like those it really comes down to the hobbyist wanting to pay $25 vs $165.

Couldn't be more wrong. It is about the coloration for most people. A tank bred vs wild is MASSIVELY different in coloration. The wild are bright and vibrant. The tank bred are almost always a pale yellow. I've yet to see one even comparable to a wild.

And NO. The fish you get from Biota DO NOT look like their pictures. At all. I've seen dozens upon dozens of them from Biota and they are all pale yellow. Even 6+ months later.

 

[Biota_Marine]

That said, I do have other A/C fish in the system but the captive bread yellow tangs just look off to me. The wild juveniles I saw back then at Absolutely Fish didn't look like the A/C counterparts....perhaps they were slightly larger. They just looked full and vibrant.

Out of curiosity, have you noticed that wild yellows have a yellow that the captives never get. I know a few people who’ve looked at photos of their wild yellows and yet the colour is still much more vibrant than their CBs at the same size.

We may be biased but many people don't see any difference long term with coloration.

My favorite example of this was one of the members of this forum posted photos of their wild and captive-bred yellow tang alongside eachother and every comment thought the wild was the captive-bred fish. It's a great compliment but the reality is everyone assumes that the young coloration is somehow a deformation.

Ever since RB wrote an article about OI's first yellow tang which did not look good it's always been a battle against perception. Just like the comment above this one. I've seen tens of thousands of these fish in all types of environments to poorly cared for home aquaria to some of the largest public aquariums in the world.

 

[Biota_Marine]

And NO. The fish you get from Biota DO NOT look like their pictures. At all. I've seen dozens upon dozens of them from Biota and they are all pale yellow. Even 6+ months later.

All of the photos on our website are photos taken from our customers with their permission, many even cite them if you want to reach out to them regarding their real life experiences.

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

Hands Down,

Crosshatch Triggerfish. We used to get these in a few times a year at the LFS I worked at for $1200 a pair. They are now unobtainium since the ban even though they are not endemic to Hawaii. I think there are very few elsewhere.

I have always wanted a mated pair. It is one of the few triggers I would add to a reef tank.

 

[Reefing102]

Chevron Tang and Potters Angel are my most likely two I’d want.

 

[corosato]

every Biota yellow tang I have seen in person has colored up to look the same as wild to me. *shrug*. there will always be outliers but I don't really think it's anywhere near what people perceive.

 

[i cant think]

Hands Down,

Crosshatch Triggerfish. We used to get these in a few times a year at the LFS I worked at for $1200 a pair. They are now unobtainium since the ban even though they are not endemic to Hawaii. I think there are very few elsewhere.

I have always wanted a mated pair. It is one of the few triggers I would add to a reef tank.

Yeah, I was confused when they just vanished as they’re found in at least 5-6 other regions with one being commonly sourced from - Australia.

 

[i cant think]

We may be biased but many people don't see any difference long term with coloration.

My favorite example of this was one of the members of this forum posted photos of their wild and captive-bred yellow tang alongside eachother and every comment thought the wild was the captive-bred fish. It's a great compliment but the reality is everyone assumes that the young coloration is somehow a deformation.

Ever since RB wrote an article about OI's first yellow tang which did not look good it's always been a battle against perception. Just like the comment above this one. I've seen tens of thousands of these fish in all types of environments to poorly cared for home aquaria to some of the largest public aquariums in the world.

That’s really interesting to hear as some people have found differences and others haven’t.
It’s not the pale colour that makes them seem wrong to me - I love baby fish when they’re pale as I can watch them age and colour up.

Guess it’s just that YTs have never appealed me. Then again, many tangs people love just don’t seem worth it for me. I have a few tangs I love; Achilles, Achilles Hybrid, Powder Blue Hybrid, Gold Rim but that’s about it. Not many more outside of those 4 truly do anything to make me want them (Ironically I dislike the PBT yet love the hybrid).

 

[exnisstech]

Either that is one ginormous bubble coral or that purple is huge!

Both lol

 

[Jasonak]

Potters
and my aquarium collectors permit back Which I doubt we will ever see again.

 

[Purpletang92]

Dwarf golden moray eel I lost my pair to a bad temperature swing, hopefully I can get them back.

 

[Biota_Marine]

That’s really interesting to hear as some people have found differences and others haven’t.
It’s not the pale colour that makes them seem wrong to me - I love baby fish when they’re pale as I can watch them age and colour up.

Guess it’s just that YTs have never appealed me. Then again, many tangs people love just don’t seem worth it for me. I have a few tangs I love; Achilles, Achilles Hybrid, Powder Blue Hybrid, Gold Rim but that’s about it. Not many more outside of those 4 truly do anything to make me want them (Ironically I dislike the PBT yet love the hybrid).

I fully get that too. Personally, I'm more of a fan of many of the bristletooth tangs. The only wild fish we have in our Florida facility is a Yellow Eyed Kole tang We bought 8 years ago to help us out with some algae cleanup in our coral systems. It's hard to beat the juvenile coloration on a chevron too.