ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Gem Tang - The Highly Prized Gem Tang

Updated on June 23, 2010

Gem Tang

Gem Tang Facts

Scientific Name : Zebrasoma Gemmatum
Origin : West Indian Ocean, Mauritius
Difficulty : Medium
Minimum Size Tank :100 gallons
Temperature : 72 - 82°F
Reef Safe : Yes
Maximum Size : 8 Inches
Diet : Herbivore

The Gem Tang is the most sought after member of the surgeonfish family in the marine aquarium hobby. Their given scientific name is Zebrasoma Gemmatum and they are also quite rare. Most specimens are collected from Mauritius but their range extends to Madagascar and other parts of the West Indian Ocean.

At $3500 per specimen, the Gem Tang is by far the most expensive surgeonfish in the aquarium hobby. Which is surprising for a fish that isn't quite as stunning as the price suggest. But in this hobby, rarity rules the roost. Looks are secondary.

Gem Tang Feeding

Thankfully, caring for a gem tang is very similar to most of its cousins like the Yellow Tang. They require an aquarium no smaller than 100 gallons with sizes of up to eight inches or so. They are herbivores in the wild that adapt quite well to prepared fish foods.

Despite the fact that they're primarily herbivores in the wild, they are open to just about anything offered once acclimated. Seeing as how algae makes up a large part of their diets in the wild, they should be getting large amounts of algae based foods in our tanks as well. Nori sheets and Julian Sprungs sea veggies are good foods to offer.

You will need a clip of some sort to secure the seaweed sheets. You can buy a commercial type of fashion one up yourself. Some people fold the sheets before clipping while others just clip it as is. Use the suction cup to attach it to your aquarium and you're done, you can enjoy the show.

Formula two is a good quality algae based mix for herbivores. It has an extra amount of algae in it along with a good mix of seafood, trace minerals, vitamins and more. It is available as a flake food, pellet or frozen cube. The best flake food for the Gem Tang would be Sea Veggie mixed flakes followed by formula two flakes. It you're looking a great all rounder with balanced ingredients then you can't go wrong with New Life Spectrum pellets.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)