Powder Blue Tang
Scientific Name : Acanthurus Leucosternon
Origin : Indian Ocean
Temperament : Semi-Aggressive
Temperature : 72F - 82F
Maximum Size : 8 Inches
Diet : Herbivore
Difficulty : Medium
Reef Safe : Yes
Tank Size : 100 Gallons
The Powder Blue Tang is a favorite among some surgeonfish lovers. Its main body is a nice baby blue coloration throughout and while it has a dark blue face. Its dorsal fin is a bright yellow while its anal fin is completely white.
It is also known as the powder blue surgeonfish and are common throughout the Indian Ocean. Somewhat pricey, large adults can fetch slightly more than $100 per specimen while smaller powder blue tangs usually go for $50 to $60 per specimen.
The powder blue tang is a semi-aggressive surgeonfish that can get along with other big fish in the same aquarium. However, they are aggressive towards other species of surgeonfish and usually do not tolerate members of the same species.
In the wild, they are usually found grazing on algae in a shoal. They are known to aggressively defend their feeding grounds from other species of surgeonfish. They are completely reef safe and will not consume corals.
Offer them a good range of foods with heavy bias on vegetable matter such as seaweed. Mysis shrimp, Krill along with special foods designed for herbivores should be offered daily. A great pellet to offer your Blue tang would be those made by New Life Spectrum. Some good foods (* See Below) to offer are :-
When feeding them seaweed or nori sheets, simply fold the sheet, secure it with a * Seaweed Clip and stick it on the side of the aquarium. The surgeonfish should graze on it throughout the day.
Like all surgeonfish,they are susceptible to marine ich and lateral line erosion. Avoid any specimens that have white spots on them. They should be vigorous and eating well at the store. Always quarantine all new surgeonfish purchases before releasing into the display aquarium.
The Powder blue tang is among the smaller surgeonfish and only reaches a length of around 8 inches in captivity. They need an aquarium no smaller than a 100 gallons to do well in the long run. If you can afford it, go for something bigger like a 200 gallon tank as this fish needs ample swimming space.
Powder blue tangs are a unique surgeonfish species that is slightly more expensive than your regular yellow and blue tangs.
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