Not all Koi Tangs or Tricolor Tangs are created equal and this is abundantly clear in a new specimen fresh caught in Indonesia. This striking black and white and yellow-trimmed Zebrasoma scopas totally ups the ante when it comes to wild & crazy reef fish aberrations.
Late last year saw a decent influx in the availability of mutant koi scopas tangs which have been discovered living in a small concentration on Java’s southern coast. For some reason, within this population many of the large scopas tangs show remarkable deviations of their specie’s usual color and pattern.
Many of the koi scopas tangs feature large blueish greenish patches which glow brightly under reef lighting, but so far only a couple of them have been sighted with the incredible pattern and color pictured here. The first of these top shelf koi tangs was mostly black, with a large irregular patch in the center of the body, and a couple yellow streaks in the fins.
The newest AAA grade koi tang is even more wildly patterned with a large white saddle dominating the dorsal and posterior regions of the fish’s skin. If this wasn’t enough to turn heads of the real fish collectors, a brilliant yellow color forms the transition between the white and black color, giving this fish the kind of pop that you’d usually only see in ‘imaginary’ fishes.
