Surgeonfish - An Overview On Marine Surgeonfish

The Surgeonfish family of marine fish represents one of the most recognizable saltwater aquarium fishes in the trade. They are thought of as your bigger than average fish with the smallest members attaining a length of seven to eight inches. The largest of them can reach a length no less than three feet in their natural habitats. Made up of some very colorful fishes, they are a tropical species that are regularly found in big groups. They fall under the family Acanthuridae, which means thorn tail as all surgeonfish have a small blade like protrusions near the tail.

Among all the species present within this family, two of them are one of the most popular saltwater fish in the marine aquarium hobby. They can be found on stickers, magazines, advertising banners and big range of other products. They are the Yellow Tang along with the Blue Tang.

Due to their size they need big tanks (100 gallons minimum) to house them properly due to the fact they are normally big fish. Aquariums bigger than 150 gallons or bigger are required to house the bigger species within the family.

They have specialized mouths that can easily grasp and tear algae. As such, they spend much of their time grazing on algae in the wild. They are sometimes seen shoaling with more than on species right through the day as well. While the most expensive of them can cost thousands of dollars, the cheapest species are commonly within the low $30 bracket.

They are a reef safe species that do not eat corals. This makes them very attractive to hobbyists that like big fish that are reef safe. Some do well in our tanks and some are harder to care for such as the Beautiful Achilles Tang.

But for the most part, surgeonfish can be trained to consume a wide variety of meaty, leafy and pellet foods. To mimic their diets in the wild, they should be offered greens in the form of Seaweed or spirulina on a daily basis.

Surgeonfish are famous for being susceptible to marine ich and lateral line erosion. Always quarantine newly purchased surgeonfish to ensure they do not spread any parasites into the main aquarium.