Surgeonfish Overview
The Surgeonfish family of marine fish represents one of the most recognizable saltwater aquarium fishes in the trade. They are all relatively large with the smallest of them obtaining a length of about 8 inches in captivity. The largest of them can reach lengths of over 3 feet. They are found throughout the worlds tropical seas and are some of the most colorful fishes in the wild. They fall under the family Acanthuridae, which means thorn tail as all surgeonfish have a small blade like protrusions near the tail.
Two members of the surgeonfish family make up some of the most popular saltwater aquarium fish in the hobby. They can be found on stickers, magazines, advertising banners and large range of other products. They are known as the Blue Tang and the Yellow Tang.
due to their sizeThey need large tanks (100 gallons minimum) to house them properly due to the fact they are commonly big fish. The biggest among them such as the Sohal Tang need tanks surpassing the 200 gallon mark.
They mouths are specially intended for tearing algae from rock. In the wild, they spend most of the day grazing on algae in large shoals. The vast majority of them are very social fish that can commonly be found among huge shoals that may include one or two other species of surgeonfish. The cheapest surgeonfish can be had for no more than $20 while true rarities such as the gem tang can cost upwards of two thousand dollars.
They are a reef safe species that do not eat corals. This fact merely adds to their popularity within the hobby. Some do well in our tanks and some are harder to care for such as the Beautiful Achilles Tang.
But for the most part, surgeonfish can be trained to consume a wide variety of meaty, leafy and pellet foods. To ensure proper health, their diet in captivity needs to mimic their herbivorous diet in the wild.
They are also very susceptible to contracting saltwater ich and lateral line erosion. Proper quarantine measures are necessary to ensure the specimen does not introduce any parasites in the main display tank.
While Surgeonfish make great pets within the marine aquarium fish species, only those with the biggest aquariums should consider them. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/surgeonfish-overview-1669237.html
