I was looking for some beauties to add to my african tank and I thought of Taiwan reef.I found them in a store but there's one problem. There all very dull in color. There only about 2 1/2 inches long. Is the lack of coloration because they are juveniles or could it be that they're all females? (aren't females nowhere near as colorful?)
Barb R
Favorite Answer
The juveniles lack colaration and have the typical taiwan steveni bar. The females just never progress from there. The males get the great color and females retain juvenile blah coloration which is silver-gray with gray-black vertical bars. Pairs of these bars are often joined in the middle by small blotches to form H patterns. There are also some small blotches just below the dorsal fin
All these markings will become less pronounced as the fish gets older. Juvenile/sub-adult males may have a more noticeable yellow edge on the dorsal fin.
They start showing a light blue shade in the head region at about 2 in. long. It is an extremely late bloomer and won’t attain full color until at least 2 years old. Fully matured males have a very unique lavender-blue on the head, the face, and the back. There are also light purple streaks on the tail fin, as well as an eye catching orange-red anal fin. If you are lucky enough to obtain an “exceptional” specimen he may even display a very pleasing golden yellow body color to complete a truly spectacular fish!