Acanthuridae and your Tang

Well actually Acanthuridae is the name for the family of surgeonfishes. Most of us hobbiest generally refer to them as Tangs. The surgeonfishes consist of about 80 species across 6 genera. Most if not all tangs are marine reef dwelling fish. And being that these fish are so colorful and reef friendly they are bound to be popular in aquaria although there are some precautions you should take before purchasing one of these sensitive fish.

Surgeonfish Profile

- Known for their spines on either side of their tail. These are dangerously sharp and can leave bad wounds, large tangs have been known to hit the bone so be careful when working in tank. These are used for protection or when being territorial.

- Most species do not get to terribly large and are generally around 6-16 inches. Some species are known to up to a meter(3 feet) so choose wisely and leave the big boys for the ocean.

- One row of teeth for grazing on algae.

- Name originates from the word "thorn and tail" which in greek is akantha and oura...don't get wacked!

In general many tangs are very susceptible to disease in the aquarium so new or inexperienced hobbiest should stay away as temp swings, lack of food or variety of food, bad water quality and others will cause these fish to stress easily. Some tangs that are good to start with are yellow or blue tangs.

Now comes the tang police. These animals swim A LOT and need lots of room to do so. Many species have been known to swim miles in the ocean in a given day. For this reason we do not recommend anyone with a tank under 6 feet house a tang of any size. Many times you will see fish housed in small tanks and you can tell it is a problem for them if they swim back and forth on the glass, from our experience this is a sign of boredom and is just bad for the fish's health.

You may think oh hes small and when he gets bigger I will get rid of him. This isn't a good way to think when housing precious animals likes these, think of them as a pet and something you will keep long term.

On an ending note, this hobby is very rewarding and choosing the right fish will make it that much more enjoyable. We all need to work on creating a sustainable hobby for the future and purchasing the right fish is a great start.