Paracanthurus hepatus
Blue tang/Scientific names

The blue tang’s scientific order, Perciformes, is the largest vertebrate order with 148 families containing roughly 9,300 species. Blue tangs are capable of adjusting the intensity of their hue from light blue to deep purple.

And the fish? Nixon said the price of the royal blue tang at his store ranges from $60 to $250, depending on the season and the size of the fish. The fish are cheapest in the fall, when they are more abundant.

The name “blue tang” can actually be used to describe two completely different species of fish. Dory is a regal (or royal) blue tang, or in binomial language, Paracanthurus hepatus. The other species Acanthurus coeruleus, is known as the Atlantic blue tang.

Tangs are found in coral reefs and inshore grassy or rocky areas at depths of 6-131 feet (2-40 m). In coral reefs, blue tangs live in holes and crevices where they are sheltered from predators while they sleep at night.

Least Concern
Blue tang/Conservation status

Blue tang are not listed on the IUCN list of endangered species; their populations are pretty healthy and they’re of “least concern.” However, as a nice sentence on Wikipedia notes, “the species’ range is broad, but it is common nowhere.”

The blue tang is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from New York and Bermuda to the Gulf of Mexico, south to Brazil. It is abundant in Florida, Bahamas, and the Caribbean Sea. In the eastern Atlantic Ocean it occurs near Ascension Island.

Clownfish can be kept alone in a standard-sized tank. For a larger tank (I would recommend the investment if this is truly something you’re interested in), blue tangs, yellow tangs, and clownfish can live together.

8 – 20 yearsIn captivity
Blue tang/Lifespan

blue tang fish
Dory is a main character in Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. She is a regal blue tang fish who suffers from short-term memory loss.

To resist strong currents, regal tangs have developed a tendency to lay down on their side when stressed, a behavior that can alarm a aquarium hobbyist who just purchased these expensive fish. This apparent “fainting” serves the fish in the wild and does not mean anything in captivity.

The species grow to 31 cm in length. The Blue Tang is easily recognised by its blue body with black markings. P.hepatus is the only species in the genus Paracanthurus. If playback doesn’t begin shortly, try restarting your device.

Blue tangs are capable of adjusting the intensity of their hue from light blue to deep purple. Blue tangs are often found swimming in large schools cruising over the reef top, grazing on algae. These conglomerations are often composed of multiple species within the Acanthuridae (surgeonfish and tangs) family.

Regional: In a ten year study conducted in the waters adjacent to the Virgin Islands, blue tangs were found to be more plentiful than any other fish species, accounting for an observed 15.4% of the region’s overall fish population.

Blue Tang. They erect the sharp spines in an effort to make themselves harder to swallow or to inflict injury on their predators. True blue tangs are restricted to coral reefs in the Caribbean Sea and surrounding waters and are often confused with two other surgeonfishes that inhabit the same waters, the doctorfish and ocean surgeonfish,…