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.

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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 also enjoyed the limelight as a major character in the movie, Finding Nemo. It is also known as the Palette Surgeonfish, Royal Blue Tang, Hippo Tang and the Regal Tang. 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. Juveniles retail for around $25 while adults can fetch up to $80 per specimen. The blue tang, like all surgeonfish is susceptible to lateral line erosion and marine parasites so pick your specimens with care.

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 are hostile towards blue tangs and to a lesser extent, other surgeonfish so do not add more than one blue tang per aquarium.

In they wild they are a shoaling fish. If more than one is present in a large tank, such behavior can be witnessed. 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. As such they should be housed only in larger tanks upwards of 100 gallons. Because this fish is heavily collected, there will be many small specimens no bigger than an inch. They grow very fast at that size and will easily outgrow a 30 gallon in a matter of months.

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.

Like most of its surgeonfish cousins, blue tangs are herbivores in the wild. They form large shoals and will graze on algae for most of the day. As herbivores, they require large amounts of algae based foods in captivity. Unlike marine angelfish, they are completely reef safe and do not bother corals, making them hugely popular fish for large marine reef aquariums.

Seaweed/Nori sheets are commonly offered. 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. Avoid those that are come spiced. Clip the sheet with a commercial nori clip or a device of your own doing and attach it to the side of the tank.

Blue tangs will normally consume anything offered in captivity despite the fact that they are mainly vegetarians in the wild. 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. A highly reputable food for all marine fishes are those that are produced by New Life Spectrum.

Once in a while you'll see pet stores feeding lettuce to their tangs. You want to avoid lettuce as it doesn't offer much nutritionally (romaine or iceberg, doesn't matter).

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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. Beautifully colored with an iridescent blue throughout its body with thick black markings that begin from the eyes and stretch all the way to its yellow tail.

The movie Finding Nemo featured a blue tang as one of its main characters. 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. The blue tang is a very affordable fish due probably because they are commonly found and heavily collected from the wild. 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.

Towards other species of fish the blue tang is quite peaceful. Which is why (besides its beauty) it enjoys such popularity in the marine aquarium hobby. They are hostile towards blue tangs and to a lesser extent, other surgeonfish so do not add more than one blue tang per aquarium.

In they wild they are a shoaling fish. 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.

Their maximum attainable length is 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..

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.

Like most of its surgeonfish cousins, blue tangs are herbivores in the wild. 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. Unlike marine angelfish, they are completely reef safe and do not bother corals, making them hugely popular fish for large marine reef aquariums.

Seaweed/Nori sheets are commonly offered. 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.

Blue tangs will normally consume anything offered in captivity despite the fact that they are mainly vegetarians in the wild. Meaty foods should make up a small percent of their daily diet.

Formula one and formula two food mixes are a good choice as well as krill, mysis shrimp and a high quality pellet. A highly reputable food for all marine fishes are those that are produced by New Life Spectrum.

Once in a while you'll see pet stores feeding lettuce to their tangs. Both romaine and iceberg lettuce don't offer much nutritionally so you want to avoid lettuce altogether.

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Written by Roman Veaila using tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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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