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. The blue tang is also known as the Hippo Tang, Royal Blue Tang, Regal Tang and the Palette Surgeonfish. Along with the yellow tang, this fish is the most popular surgeonfish in the hobby. One of the most heavily collected fishes from the Indo-Pacific, they are very affordable. Prices range from $25 fr a small specimen to $80 for an adult. The blue tang, like all surgeonfish is susceptible to lateral line erosion and marine parasites so pick your specimens with care.
Towards other species of fish the blue tang is quite peaceful. 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.
This species forms large shoals in the wild. If more than one is present in a large tank, such behavior can be witnessed. When housing more than one blue tang, they should always be introduced at the same time. Aggression is normally seen when putting a new blue tang in with an established one.
Blue tangs reach a maximum length of 12 inches. As such they should be housed only in larger tanks upwards of 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..
Blue tangs need large amounts of room to swim so the aquarium scape should be setup up accordingly. 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 schools and actively graze on algae throughout the day. In captivity a vast percentage of their diet should be made up of algae based foods. Unlike marine angelfish, they are completely reef safe and do not bother corals, making them hugely popular fish for large marine reef aquariums.
Nori/seaweed sheets are a favorite offering among hobbyists. You can either buy seaweed produced and packaged specifically for marine fishes (Julian sprungs sea veggies) or you can go to your local supermarket and buy some nori sheets there. Always buy plain, unflavoured 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. A small percentage of their diet should come from meaty foods.
Formula one and formula two food mixes are a good choice as well as krill, mysis shrimp and a high quality pellet. New Life Spectrum produces some excellent pellets for all marine fishes.
You may see lettuce being fed to surgeonfish at pet stores. You want to avoid lettuce as it doesn't offer much nutritionally (romaine or iceberg, doesn't matter).
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- The Coral Beauty : Care and Requirements of the popular Centropyge Bispinosus
- Achilles Tang : An In-Depth Guide On The Rare And Expensive Acanthurus Achilles
- The Stunning Mandarin Dragonet : Their Care And Requirements
- Marine Fish Species
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