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Related FAQs: Acanthurus, Acanthurus
Tangs 2, Acanthurus
Tangs 3, Acanthurus ID,
Acanthurus Behavior,
Acanthurus Compatibility, Acanthurus Selection,
Acanthurus Systems,
Acanthurus Feeding, Acanthurus Disease,
Acanthurus Reproduction, Surgeons
In
General, Tang
ID, Selection, Tang
Behavior, Compatibility,
Systems, Feeding,
Disease,
This Article Began as Part 1:
Tangs of the Genus
Acanthurus
Related Articles: Tangs,
Surgeons, Doctorfishes, family Acanthuridae, species of Acanthurus: A.
leucosternon (Powder Blue), A. sohal, A. nigricans & A. japonicus, other tang genera: Ctenochaetus,
Naso, Paracanthurus, Prionurus, Zebrasoma,
The Surgeon Family, Acanthuridae
/The Conscientious Marine Aquarist
The Tangs, Surgeons,
Doctorfishes, of the Genus Acanthurus, Part 2 of 2
To: Part 1
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By Bob Fenner |
Acanthurus olivaceus |
Bad Acanthurus Species:
What makes a tang species bad besides
dying easily in captivity; NOT dying easily... but helping your other livestock do so.
Honestly, some individuals of the fishes listed below will try to kill all their
tankmates. If you are set on trying one of the designated "bad boys", do provide
plenty of hiding spaces and tough, tough, tough space-sharers (triggers, basses, morays,
puffers)... and even then keep your eye on them.
| Acanthurus. achilles Shaw 1803, Achilles tang.
Widely distributed from Hawaii westward through Micronesia and Melanesia, an
area called Oceania (also reported from Mexico's Baja tip). Though the best specimens do hail from U.S.s 50th state
success with this species can only be had by securing a healthy specimen,
providing a large well-established living space, with high, consistent
specific gravity and oxygen concentration. Shown below, a juvenile and adult
Hawaii specimen and one in the Cooks
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Acanthurus bariene Lesson 1830, the (Black) Eye-Spot Surgeon, is collected from Australia and
the Solomon islands. Reportedly feeds largely on algal film on bare rocks.
Juveniles are found in shallow protected reefs, typically amongst soft corals.
This can be a quarrelsome fish, that ultimately requires a large
(hundreds of gallons) system. To one foot in length. Here in Mabul,
Malaysia.
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Acanthurus blochii Valenciennes 1835,
the Ringtail Surgeonfish. A larger (up to seventeen inches) schooling
species, often found shoaling over sandy areas. Found widespread
throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific. Note the white bar across this
species caudal peduncle. Shown, a juvenile and adults in Hawai'i. |
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Acanthurus leucopareius (Jenkins 1903),
the Whiteband or Whitebar Surgeonfish, tends to be a picky feeder, hard to
train off its favored food, filamentous algae. To about eight inches
overall length. Pacific; Southern Japan to Noumea over to Hawai'i.
Hawai'i images of a juvenile, sub-adult and adult. |
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Acanthurus leucosternon Bennett 1832, the Powder Blue Tang. I can hear some of you
screaming, "this isn't a difficult fish!" "I've known people to keep the
Powder Blue for years!" Most specimens don't make it even through capture and
shipping. Those that are well received and cared for sometimes do live for a good long
time. Two maxims for success: One to a tank, and lots of live rock with algae.
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| Acanthurus lineatus (Linnaeus 1758), the Striped,
Pajama/Pyjama, Clown Surgeonfish. Indo-Pacific; with exception of Red Sea
(replaced by similar Sohal). An aggressive species that causes trouble
often with growth in aquariums. To fifteen inches in length. Lives along
reef edges of high water movement, and oxygen concentration. At right: in
Nuka Hiva, Marquesas, Polynesia. Below: Specimens
from the Seychelles, Maldives and Australia. |
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| Acanthurus nigricans
(Linnaeus 1758) Whitecheek to science, Powder Brown Surgeonfish to
aquarists. Formerly mis-identified as A. glaucopareius. Pan Pacific. To
about eight inches maximum length. See article on this and the very
similar, but more pet-fish-appropriate A. japonicus. At right
in Nuka Hiva, Marquesas, Polynesia.
Specimens below from
Australia, the Cooks (Roratonga) and Baja, Mexico. |
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| Acanthurus olivaceus Forster & Schneider 1801, the Orange Spot/Shoulder Tang. A hardy fish out of Hawaii and elsewhere,
but unfortunately, a behavioral terror in the ranks of A. lineatus.
This is an active fish that grows to more than a foot in length. Place
only with MEAN tankmates. A juvenile, sub-adult and adult pictured, Fiji,
Hawai'i and Hawai'i
respectively. |
The "Unknowns": Are these good/bad, or otherwise? Who
knows. They're not often seen in the trade, or so poorly elucidated that I couldn't,
wouldn't, didn't have enough confidence in my opinion to place them in either bad/good
categories.
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Acanthurus chirurgus (Bloch 1787), a/the Doctorfish; from the western Atlantic. Bluish
to brownish in color, and though common in the wild, rarely offered in the trade.
Bonaire and Bahamas pix.
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Acanthurus guttatus
Forster 1801, the Spotted or Mustard Surgeonfish you might easily take for a Sailfin
Tang (Zebrasoma) member for its circular outline, broad bars and active swimming
behavior. I've encountered mixed results with this species; some batches living well
others dying mysteriously. To about ten inches total length. |
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Acanthurus guttatus
Forster 1801, the Spotted or Mustard Surgeonfish you might easily take for a Sailfin
Tang (Zebrasoma) member for its circular outline, broad bars and active swimming
behavior. I've encountered mixed results with this species; some batches living well
others dying mysteriously. To about ten inches total length. |
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| Acanthurus nigroris Valenciennes
1835, the Bluelined or Cuvier's Surgeonfish. Found throughout Oceania. To
ten inches in length. A beauty that is often rare in the wild and absent
in aquarium use. Hawai'i images, juvenile and adult individuals
showing prominent black spot behind dorsal fins, and darker
individual/subadult in the middle. |
Acanthurus maculiceps; Black-Eared Surgeon, Acanthurus
polyzona, Acanthurus melanosternon,
Acanthurus tristis; Indian Ocean Surgeon, Acanthurus fowleri, Acanthurus nubilis, the
Pinstriped tang, and others I know only from sparse scientific accounts.
Disqualified Due To Size:
That is, too large for home systems. Ask
the folks who collect surgeonfishes (All are wild caught, driven by scuba divers into
mist/barrier nets mainly); they all have two key traits in common. High activity and
copious defecation. "Emptying out" acanthurids is important before
"tanking", definitely ahead of bagging and shipping. I intend that this points
up the fact that tangs are continuous feeders and defecators in the wild... and for their
size, in captivity as well.
The following Acanthurus species
are purposely non-suggested for the fact that they attain big proportions. No, they will
not "stay small", "due to the size of an aquarium".
| Acanthurus auranticavus Randall 1956, the Ring-Tail
Surgeon. Indo-West-Pacific; Seychelles, Malaysia, GBR. To 35 cm. total
length. This one in Mabul, Malaysia. |
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Acanthurus gahhm Forsskal 1775, the Monk Tang, from the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and Gulf
of Aden. To 50 cm. This black shoulder-banded fish is almost identical Acanthurus nigricauda.
See Randall (1987) for taxonomic help.
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Acanthurus leucocheilus, the Pale-Lipped Tang. To only a foot in length,
but an aggressive species.
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Acanthurus monroviae, the Monrovian tang; the only eastern Atlantic surgeon
species. To 45 cm.
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Acanthurus nigricauda Duncker & Mohr 1929, the Brown-Eared
Surgeonfish (note the stripe behind the eye); the most carnivorous Surgeon. Found in close association with barracudas, even sharks in the Red Sea. Feeds on
meat scraps and small demersal animals. Grows to a length of twenty inches. One off of Gili Air, Lombok,
Indonesia, another in N. Sulawesi, and last in the Maldives.
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Acanthurus tennenti; the Lieutenant Surgeonfish. Also gets to 45 cm.
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| Acanthurus xanthopterus Valenciennes 1835, (pualu)
the Yellowfin Surgeonfish. Similar to the Ringtail and Eyestripe
Surgeonfishes, but lacks the other two’s light caudal coloration. This
is the largest member of the genus Acanthurus, to about 22 inches long. A specimen in the Cooks. |
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