The Blue Tang (Paracanthurus Hepatus) enjoys the distinction of being one of the five most recognizable maine fishes along with the percula clownfish (Percula, Ocellaris), flame angelfish (Centropyge Loriculus), yellow tang (Zebrasoma Flavescens) and the royal gramma (Gramma Loreto). It remains the sole species under the genus Paracanthurus. Its body is a stunning bright blue while it has thick black markings that stretch out from its eyes to its tail.
The blue tang is also one of the stars of the hit movie, Finding Nemo. It is also known as the Palette Surgeonfish, Royal Blue Tang, Hippo Tang and the Regal Tang. Both the blue and yellow tangs combine to become the two most popular surgeonfishes in the hobby. Collected heavily from throughout the Indo-Pacific, it is a very affordable fish. Juveniles retail for around $25 while adults can fetch up to $80 per specimen. As with all surgeonfish, the blue tang is susceptible to ich and lateral line erosion so pick so keep a look out for any sign of the two.
The blue tang is a relatively peaceful fish towards other species outside the tang family. One of the reasons why it enjoys such popularity in the hobby. They can be hostile towards other surgeonfish, especially blue tangs so the general rule should be one blue tank per aquarium.
In they wild they are a shoaling fish. If many are kept together in a large tank they can often be seen swimming together. Always introduce multiple blue tangs at the same time. Aggression is normally seen when putting a new blue tang in with an established one.
Their maximum attainable length is 12 inches. Fish that size need tanks upwards of a 100 gallons. Due to heavy collection many, specimens no bigger than an inch are common. At that size they will grow very very fast so don't be fooled into putting them in a 30 gallon tank..
Ample swimming space are needed by blue tangs so the scape should reflect this. They need at least a few caves/niches as they bed down in these areas every night.
In the wild, blue tangs are primarily herbivores. They form large shoals and will graze on algae for most of the day. In captivity a vast percentage of their diet should be made up of algae based foods. They are completely reef safe (Unlike marine angelfish) making them very popular choices for larger reef aquariums.
Nori/seaweed sheets are a favorite offering among hobbyists. You can buy either branded seaweed (Julian Sprung)or you can run down to your local supermarket and get some cheap nori there. Buy unflavoured, plain nori. They sometimes come with spices so you want to avoid those. Clip the sheet with a commercial nori clip or a device of your own doing and attach it to the side of the tank.
While they are mainly vegetarians in the wild, they will normally consume anything that is offered in a saltwater aquarium. Meaty foods should make up a small percent of their daily diet.
High quality food mixes like formula one and formula two should be offered as well as mysis shrimp and a good pellet food. New Life Spectrum produces some excellent pellets for all marine fishes.
You may see lettuce being fed to surgeonfish at pet stores. Both romaine and iceberg lettuce don't offer much nutritionally so you want to avoid lettuce altogether.
- Achilles Tang : A Guide On This Highly Prized Surgeonfish by Roman Veaila This beauty known as the Achilles tang (Acanthurus Achilles) pops up in the trade from time to time. Dark chocolate colors its entire body while a single orange teardrop is present on its spine. White, orange and chocolate lines its tail. It goes by other names that......
- The Sohal Tang : A Guide On This Highly Aggressive Red Sea Native by Roman Veaila The Sohal Tang (Acanthurus Sohal) is one of the most beautiful tangs in the family. Black lines streak across its white/cream body while its caudal and pectoral fins are yellow. It is also known as the majestic tang, Arabian tang and the zebra tang. They are collected......
- The Blue Tang : A Guide On The Most Popular Surgeonfish by Roman Veaila The Blue Tang (Paracanthurus Hepatus) enjoys the distinction of being one of the five most recognizable maine fishes along with the percula clownfish (Percula, Ocellaris), flame angelfish (Centropyge Loriculus), yellow tang (Zebrasoma Flavescens) and the royal gramma (Gramma Loreto). It remains the sole species under the genus......
- The Mandarin Goby : A Guide On This Difficult Dragonet The Mandarin Goby (Synchiropus Splendidus) is quite simply one of the most breathtaking marine fishes ever to hit the hobby. Blue, green and orange lines and patches are intricately painted onto this spectacular fish. They commonly go by the name, mandarin goby, despite not being a true goby at......
- Fishing and Boating Lexicon Continued Carolina Rig Continued - In certain situations, such as the clear waters that are found in some reservoirs out in the west, or when the winter weather is making it a good idea to scale down in size, there is actually an alternative form of the rig that may work......
- Which Aquarium Salt Should You Use A long time ago, before I commenced keeping a marine aquarium, seawater had to be mixed by hand using ingredients that had been individually obtained from a chemist. The hobby books of the day, and they were very few, gave details of the mix. This mix was pretty basic, and......
- Aquarium Temperature - How To Control It The aquarist has a responsibility in his/her aquarium to maintain stable water conditions, and this applies for fish only systems and also particularly for reef systems. The stability referred to here is the continuing maintenance of appropriate levels of pH, alkalinity, calcium and the like, and also the maintenance of......
- Excitement With A Sad End Many years ago, when I was fairly new at the marine hobby, I was really overcome with excitement. I had a fish only system at the time, the move to a captive reef was yet to come. So what was all the excitement about? I had seen and ordered to......
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Surgeonfishes of the World (Bishop Museum Bulletin in Zoology) List Price: $18.95 Sale Price: $18.95 Used From: $16.11  |
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There are 80 types of surgeonfishes in the world. Most species are found on coral reefs in tropic seas; twenty four occur in the Hawaiian Islands. This book illustrates all 80 species, many with color photographs of the juveniles as well... |
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Wild Republic Children's Pillows - Regal Tang Fish Pillow List Price: $15.99 Sale Price: $15.99 |
