Blonde Naso Tang

Care at a glance

Overview

This tang is mostly peaceful with tankmates but squares off with other tangs and surgeonfish, so it does best as the only member of its genus in the tank. It's reef safe and won't bother corals or invertebrates, though it needs a diet heavy in marine algae and nori alongside meatier fare to stay healthy long term. Give it a tight fitting lid, since naso tangs are known jumpers when startled.

In the wild

Blonde naso tangs live along outer reef slopes and drop-offs in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, often cruising open water in loose groups above the reef instead of hugging the rockwork the way many tangs do. Juveniles start out gray with a yellow dorsal stripe and settle into deeper blue-gray tones with a lyre-shaped tail as they mature. It grows large enough that it needs at least 680 litres (180 US gal) with a long, open swimming lane.

Good to know

Naso elegans belongs to the unicornfish group within the surgeonfish family, though unlike some Naso species it never grows a horn on its forehead. It was split from the closely related Naso lituratus in 2001 based on coloration and range: elegans keeps to the Indian Ocean and Red Sea while lituratus is a Pacific species with a mostly black dorsal fin instead of elegans' yellow one. Both carry a pair of sharp, moveable spines near the base of the tail that fold out for defense.

Did you know

The two yellow patches at the base of the tail sit right in front of those scalpel-like spines, which is likely why they evolved bright coloring there in the first place, as a warning flag to other fish.

Related species

• 

  Naso Tang

  Naso lituratus

  17.7 in (45 cm)180 gal (680 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Spotted Unicornfish

  Naso brevirostris

  21.7 in (55 cm)343 gal (1,300 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Bluespine Unicornfish

  Naso unicornis

  23.6 in (60 cm)396 gal (1,500 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Vlamingi Tang

  Naso vlamingii

  23.6 in (60 cm)359 gal (1,360 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Red Sea Sailfin Tang

  Zebrasoma desjardinii

  15.7 in (40 cm)180 gal (680 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Atlantic Blue Tang

  Acanthurus coeruleus

  13.8 in (35 cm)151 gal (570 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)