🐠 Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens)
A Brilliant, Solid Yellow Oval Body • The Most Iconic Fish in the Saltwater Hobby • A Hardy, Active, Valuable Algae Grazer
 
📋 The Yellow Tang, also known as the Yellow Hawaiian Tang, Yellow Sailfin Tang, or Yellow Surgeonfish, has a brilliant, solid yellow oval body that has made it, for many aquarists, the single most definitive and recognisable fish in the entire saltwater hobby.
It ranges across a wide swath of the Pacific Ocean, from the Philippines through southern Japan, the Marshall Islands, and Hawaii, where it's most iconic and commonly associated with Hawaiian reefs; its Hawaiian name, lau'īpala, translates to "yellowed ti leaf." It has a charming trait: its bright yellow colouration fades to a duller, paler shade at night while sleeping, a normal phenomenon that has understandably startled many new keepers checking on their tank in the morning, with colour returning to normal shortly after the lights come on. Every Yellow Tang we ship is feeding well.
It's a hardy, active swimmer that spends nearly all its time in near-constant motion, territorial toward its own species or other tangs of a similar body shape. It's fully reef safe, and a voracious, valuable algae grazer that needs a varied herbivorous diet to thrive. Aquarium collecting around Hawaii has been suspended since early 2021, so today's supply is largely sourced from other Pacific regions or successful captive-breeding programmes such as the Oceanic Institute. It reaches up to 18cm, so plan on at least 380L, and we recommend 470L or more.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Brilliant Solid Yellow: The single most iconic fish in the saltwater hobby
🌙 Fades at Night: A completely normal part of its sleep cycle
🌿 Fully Reef Safe: A voracious, valuable natural algae grazer
🍽️ Ships Feeding Well: An easy, confident eater
🧬 Captive-Bred Stock Available: From programmes such as the Oceanic Institute