Yellow Belly Blue Tang, Juvenile

Paracanthurus Tangs should be added to aquariums with plenty of swim room and rockwork for grazing and hiding. If sufficient algae is not present in the aquarium supplement with algae sheets. Tank size should be considered before purchasing as the adult Paracanthurus Tangs can become quite large. Also known as Surgeonfish because of the sharp spine at the base of their tail. This "scalpel" is used for protection, handle carefully as it is very sharp. They are considered reef safe but may pick at small, mobile and sessile invertebrates if not well fed. Provide a varied diet of marine meaty and algae based foods multiple times daily. Paracanthurus Tangs have been known to be aggressive towards similarly shaped Tangs. The yellow coloration on the belly will fade as the fish matures.

The Blue Tang are also known as the Palette Surgeonfish Regal or Hippo Tang. Very commonly seen and very popular in the aquarium trade. The Blue Tang has an extremely beautiful bright blue body with black almost horseshoe shaped stripe on its upper body, a yellow edged tail with black lobes. They can grow to a little over 12".

We recommend a minimum aquarium size of 180 gallons or larger for this species.

Water conditions: Salinity 1.020 - 1.025, Temp (F) 72 - 78, pH 8.1 - 8.4, Alkalinity 8 - 12 dKH