Blue tang

블루탱

The blue tang is a coral reef fish about 30 cm long with a bright blue body and yellow tail. It carries a sharp spine near the tail for defence, and grazes algae off the reef, helping keep corals clean.

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At a glance

Class: Fish
Diet: Eats both plants and meat (omnivore)
Length: about 0.3 m
Lifespan: up to about 30 years
Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN LC)
Habitat: coral reefs

Quick answers

Where does the Blue tang live?

It lives in coral reefs of the Pacific and Indian oceans.

How big is the Blue tang?

It grows to about 0.3 m.

What does the Blue tang eat?

Its diet: eats both plants and meat (omnivore).

How long does the Blue tang live?

It can live up to about 30 years.

Is the Blue tang endangered?

It is listed as Least Concern (IUCN LC).

The blue tang, also called the palette surgeonfish, is a bright coral reef fish of the tropical Indo-Pacific. It has a royal blue body, a yellow tail and a black pattern on the back shaped like an artist's palette. Dory in the film Finding Nemo is a blue tang.

Adults weigh about 600 grams, and males are usually larger than females. It is popular in home aquariums, but it is best seen on the reef. Its body is compressed and oval, with a terminal snout and very small scales. Its popularity as an aquarium fish has made it widely known beyond the sea.

A fish with a hidden blade

The blue tang belongs to the surgeonfish family, named for a sharp spine at the base of the tail, which sits in a shallow groove. The fish can use the spine for defence. Its body is flat and oval, and its small mouth is full of tiny teeth. The caudal spine is a protective feature found in surgeonfish. Its head has teeth that are small and close-set, suited to scraping algae.

Many fish, one name

The name blue tang is used for several surgeonfish. Besides the Indo-Pacific fish, it can mean the Caribbean and Atlantic Acanthurus coeruleus and the Indian Ocean Acanthurus leucosternon. Grazing algae off the reef helps keep the corals clean. The fish is popular in marine aquariums, but the reef is where it belongs, and seeing it there is the best way to enjoy it.

Fun facts

Dory in the film 'Finding Nemo' is a blue tang.
Dory in Finding Nemo is a blue tang.
The fish is also called palette surgeonfish because of its black palette-shaped marking.
Three different surgeonfish species share the name blue tang.