Behaviour: 

 

In order to create an environment at home large enough for a Blue Tang to grow, swim, hide, and thrive, your family would need to invest up to $1,000 in a 180-gallon saltwater aquarium. That's an aquarium over 6 feet long, 2 feet wide, 2 feet tall, filled with water and weighing nearly one ton! Plus, Blue Tangs require a significant level of saltwater expertise and dedication to properly care for, often culminating after years of experience. Therefore, we do not recommend Blue Tangs for beginners.

 

 

Habitat:

 

The regal blue tang can be found throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is seen in the reefs of the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, New Caledonia, Samoa, East Africa, and Sri Lanka.[6][2] The regal blue tang is one of the most common and most popular marine aquarium fish all over the world. They live in pairs, or in small groups of 8 to 14 individuals.

 

 

Diet:

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As a juvenile, its diet consists primarily of plankton. Adults are omnivorous and feed on plankton, but will also graze on algae.[7] Spawning occurs during late afternoon and evening hours. This event is indicated by a change in color from a uniform dark blue to a pale blue. The fish is important for coral health as it eats algae that may otherwise choke it by overgrowth.

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Life Cycle:

 

Males aggressively court female members of the school, leading to a quick upward spawning rush toward the surface of the water during which eggs and sperm are released. The eggs are small, approximately 0.8 mm in diameter. The eggs are pelagic, each containing a single droplet of oil for flotation. The fertilized eggs hatch in twenty-four hours, revealing small, translucent larvae with silvery abdomens and rudimentary caudal spines. These fish reach sexual maturity at 9–12 months of age.

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Case studies:

 

Finding Dory (the sequel to Finding Nemo) is here, and that’s great news for movie fans, but it could mean danger for fish. After seeing the movie, viewers might be tempted to purchase a blue tang at a pet store. But life is tragic for fish who are stolen from their homes in the wild and sold as “pets” to spend the rest of their lives in tiny bowls.

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Dory is a blue tang—one of 70 species of surgeonfish who thrive in coastal waters, coral reefs, and rocky or grassy areas inshore that are six to 131 feet deep. Sounds a lot better than a tank, yes?

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Risk involves:

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The Paracanthurus hepatus has poisonous flesh. Eating it may cause ciguatera, a foodborne illness passed on by certain reef fish that have toxins in its flesh. If you happened to accidentally ingest one, it probably wouldn’t kill you—but you’d likely come down with a bad case of diarrhea.

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Licensing:

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Not required.

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Conservation Status & Ecological Importance:

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The regal blue tang is ranked LC (least concern) by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), but is of low vulnerability.[2]

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Almost all saltwater fish sold in stores are captured in their homes in the wild—just as Nemo was caught in Finding Nemo. Fish collectors spray coral reefs with a poison called cyanide, and the fish end up stunned, which makes them easy to catch.

 

Half of the fish who are poisoned die on the reef, and many others die before they reach an aquarium.