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 movie Finding Nemo featured a blue tang as one of its main characters. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. They are completely reef safe (Unlike marine angelfish) making them very popular choices for larger reef aquariums.
Seaweed/Nori sheets are commonly offered. 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. Attach your seaweed to a nori clip 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.
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).
Permanent link to this post: Blue Tang : An In-Depth Guide On Paracanthurus Hepatus
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