The Blue Tang (Paracanthurus Hepatus) enjoys the distinction of being one of the five for the most part identifiable saltwater fishes with the percula clownfish (Percula, Ocellaris), flame angelfish (Centropyge Loriculus), yellow tang (Zebrasoma Flavescens) and the royal gramma (Gramma Loreto). To date, it is the only member of the genus Paracanthurus. Its body is a gorgeous bright blue while it has broad black markings that elongate out from its eyes to its tail.
The blue tang also enjoyed the publicity as a chief character in the movie, Finding Nemo. It is also identified as the Palette Surgeonfish, Royal Blue Tang, Hippo Tang and the Regal Tang. Along with the yellow tang, this fish is the a large amount well-liked surgeonfish in the hobby. The blue tang is a exceptionally affordable fish owing probably because they are frequently found and a great deal collected from the wild. Prices range from $25 for a small fish to $80 for an adult. The blue tang, like all surgeonfish is vulnerable to lateral line erosion and saltwater parasites so pick your fishes with care.
Towards other species of fish the blue tang is quite nonviolent. 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 put in more than one blue tang per aquarium.
In they wild they are a shoaling fish. If several are kept together in a big aquarium they can often be seen swimming together. When housing more than one blue tang, they should at all times be introduced at the same time. Putting another blue tang into a aquarium with an established one will definitely bring about conflict between the two.
Blue tangs reach a maximum length of 12 inches. As such they should be housed only in larger aquariums upwards of 100 gallons. Due to heavy collection many, specimens no bigger than an inch are common. At that size they will grow incredibly exceedingly fast so don't be fooled into putting them in a 30 gallon tank..
Blue tangs require large amounts of space to swim so the tank scape should be setup up in view of that. They need at least a a small amount of caves/niches as they bed down in these areas every night.
In the wild, blue tangs are mainly herbivores. They form huge shoals and will graze on algae for most of the day. As herbivores, they require big amounts of algae based foods in captivity. Unlike saltwater angel, they are fully reef safe and do not bother corals, making them immensely well-liked fish for huge marine reef aquariums. - 29953
The blue tang also enjoyed the publicity as a chief character in the movie, Finding Nemo. It is also identified as the Palette Surgeonfish, Royal Blue Tang, Hippo Tang and the Regal Tang. Along with the yellow tang, this fish is the a large amount well-liked surgeonfish in the hobby. The blue tang is a exceptionally affordable fish owing probably because they are frequently found and a great deal collected from the wild. Prices range from $25 for a small fish to $80 for an adult. The blue tang, like all surgeonfish is vulnerable to lateral line erosion and saltwater parasites so pick your fishes with care.
Towards other species of fish the blue tang is quite nonviolent. 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 put in more than one blue tang per aquarium.
In they wild they are a shoaling fish. If several are kept together in a big aquarium they can often be seen swimming together. When housing more than one blue tang, they should at all times be introduced at the same time. Putting another blue tang into a aquarium with an established one will definitely bring about conflict between the two.
Blue tangs reach a maximum length of 12 inches. As such they should be housed only in larger aquariums upwards of 100 gallons. Due to heavy collection many, specimens no bigger than an inch are common. At that size they will grow incredibly exceedingly fast so don't be fooled into putting them in a 30 gallon tank..
Blue tangs require large amounts of space to swim so the tank scape should be setup up in view of that. They need at least a a small amount of caves/niches as they bed down in these areas every night.
In the wild, blue tangs are mainly herbivores. They form huge shoals and will graze on algae for most of the day. As herbivores, they require big amounts of algae based foods in captivity. Unlike saltwater angel, they are fully reef safe and do not bother corals, making them immensely well-liked fish for huge marine reef aquariums. - 29953
About the Author:
Gabriela De Souyez is a hobbyist that has kept various reef tanks. In her spare time she writes reviews on marine fishes for example the Blue Tang Fish as well as the always admired Yellow Tangs.
