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).
Related posts:
- The Blue Tang : A Guide On The Most Popular Surgeonfish
- Paracanthurus Hepatus : Care And Requirements Of The Popular Blue Tang
- Powder Blue Tang : A Guide On Acanthurus Leucosternon
- Achilles Tang : A Guide On This Highly Prized Surgeonfish
- The Sohal Tang : A Guide On This Highly Aggressive Red Sea Native
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