Pet shops that specialize in saltwater fish often carry prepared foods designed for vegetarian fish like surgeonfish. These prepared foods are typically rich in various types of algae that mimic the surgeonfish's natural diet. These include nori, sheets of seaweed and spirulina, a nutritionally rich freshwater algae.
Surgeon fish will usually relish this type of food, since it resembles -- or even includes -- the types of food they encounter in their natural habitat. In aquariums, surgeonfish will typically browse on live rock, as they would on a reef. Surgeonfishes will constantly pick at rock, looking for bits of algae to eat. Most of the time, surgeonfish won't bother coral or other immobile invertebrates, providing you keep them well fed.
However, this varies by species and from individual to individual. Still, surgeonfish are generally reef-safe. Once they reach adulthood, they mainly eat algae but will also continue to eat plankton. Blue Tangs are therefore officially omnivorous. Blue Tangs often feed in large groups of or so, which provides them protection while feeding.
However, they may also feed alone. Because they do not have a gizzard, they avoid eating coral and other calcareous material. Blue Tangs are usually found in professional aquariums, having been captured in the wild. Their diet is not hard to replicate. They happily eat nori and algae-based fish flakes as well as krill and plankton.
However, the majority of their diet should consist of algae and algae derivatives. The main challenge with feeding Blue Tangs in captivity is that they are grazing fish, which means they eat consistently throughout the day. Tang owners need to make sure they have consistent access to a large amount of food to ensure they get the nutrition they need. Never feed Blue Tangs lettuce or other nutritionally-empty plants.
Blue Tangs are not in danger of extinction. But the destruction of coral reefs around the world is a real problem for these fish. If coral reefs continue to deteriorate, Blue Tangs will lose their habitats and primary source of food. It is one of many reasons why coral reef protection is an essential focus for marine biologists. Regal Blue Tangs are most common in the Pacific Ocean. You can probably tell that from their alternate name, Pacific Blue Tang.
Blue Tang Surgeonfish live on hard-coral reefs. They can also be found near soft corals, algal beds, and rubble. When the fish is younger, it prefers areas with plenty of cover. They often shelter in coral holes and crevices. Blue Tang Surgeonfish can be found at depths of 2 to 40 meters deep. Blue Tang Surgeonfish are solitary fish and have home ranges that vary in size. They are not migratory fish.
Once adults, Blue Tang Surgeonfish have three distinct social modes: territorial, wandering, and schooling. They are active during the day while feeding, but often dart off in crevices among the reef at night to avoid predators. Mating takes place over sandy patches between reefs in large resident aggregations. It is shown that they prefer locations from 6 to 10 m deep with strong currents to aid in sweeping the fertilized eggs off to sea. When the fish change from a uniform deep blue to a pale blue toward the front half of their body and a dark blue toward the rear indicates that the fish is ready for mating.
Spawning usually occurs every day at a typical location between less than 20 individuals. The larger spawning happens in the afternoon three to eight days after the full moon in the winter months. Breeding usually only happens once or twice a year per fish. It takes one year for a single fish to reach sexual maturity. The eggs may take up to 24 hours to hatch. Blue Tang Surgeonfish feed mostly on filamentous algae as they are herbivorous.
They do not have a gizzard-like stomach so they avoid eating calcareous material coral. They can be found feeding either singly, small grouped, or numbering over one hundred.
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