Blue Tangs(Paracanthurus Hepatus)!

                                               Jennifer's Page. Don't steal? Thanks. (:

Dory is a blue tang! :]                                            A real blue tang or regal tang.

Kingdom:    Animalia  (a group of mostly eukaryotic organisms in the kingdom of Animalia or Metozoa)        

Phylum:      Chordata   (animals which are either vertebrates or closely related invertebrates)

Class:         Actinopterygii   (ray finned fishes)

Order:        Perciformes   (largest order of vertebrates containing about 40% of all bony fish)             

Family:      Acanthuridae  (the family of tangs, surgeonfishes, and unicorn fishes)

Genus:      Paracanthurus

Species:    P. hepatus                    <<< Or you can click on it for more information(:

*What is a blue tang? 

A blue tang is a surgeon fish. Blue tangs are mostly known through the movie Finding Nemo, in which Dory is a blue tang. A blue tang can be referred to an Acanthurus coeruleus (Carribean Blue Tang) or a Paracanthurus hepatus. In this case, we are talking about the latter, Paracanthurus or a Regal Tang. It is also called a Palette Surgeonfish, Pacific Blue Tang, Hepatus, Hippo Tang, or a Regal Tang. The name tang is from German origin and refers to their love of seaweed.

*Habitat:

It is found in the Pacific Ocean or Indo-Pacific. It is also seen throughout the reefs of East Africa, Japan, Samoa, New Caledonia, and the Great Barrier Reef. Common areas to catch these fish is in the Phillipines and Indonesia.

*Design and Size:

It is easy to spot a blue tang with its royal, oval, blue body, black "palette" design, which starts at its eyes and ends at it's tail. It's tail is yellow with a black edge along the margins. The blue tang's body is compressed (flatten by) laterally. Blue tang's also have very small mouths.

*Behavior:

Blue tangs make a good community fish. They are also reef-safe. Its worst offense may be nipping while constantly in search of algae and food sources to satisfy its never-ending appetite! Blue tangs have no interest in corals, clams, etc. Sometimes, they assume that since they cannot see you while hiding behind a rock, then we can't see them, which is quite humorous to watch.

*Aquarium Life

Blue tangs are great aquarium pets with their nice colors and beautiful design. Before you get a blue tang though, you should know that.....

- Baby blue tangs tend to need at least a 40 gallon of water aquarium, but adults 75 gallons.

- They eat meaty foods, but you should also feed them plenty of seaweed and algae at least 3 times a week, which will boost their immune system. Blue tangs also eat zooplankton.

- You should keep the water conditions: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.020-1.025

- It's life span is 5 years or longer.

- Their breeding season is usually in February and March.

- Blue tangs are able to catch dieseases such as parastic disease, saltwater ich, velvet, hole in the head disease, and head and lateral line erosion.

- When trying to take the fish out of the tank, be careful because it's spine can get caught easily in the net. If that happens, gently and slowly move the net back and forth in the tent, although they will use their spine to wedge into coral, so don't panic and try to remove them.

- If you are a beginner, then it is suggested that you don't get a blue tang, although it is a highly popular aquarium fish choice.

- They are compatible with yellow tangs(shown below), clownfishes(Nemo), hawkfishes, and cardinal fish.

                                                                                                  A Clown Fish!

 A Yellow Tang. (Notice the blue tang behind it)               Wiki page for Clown Fish.

Youtube Video of Dory from Finding Nemo, who is a blue tang(:

*Blue tangs don't actually speak whale :P

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

 Bibliography-

Info- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracanthurus_hepatus

            http://saltwater.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/Tangs/RegalTang.asp

            http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+43+2767&pcatid=2767 

            Reef Hobbyist Magazine- Paracanthurus hepatus (Pacific Blue Tang) Article by: Peggy Nelson

 Six Kingdoms-    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal

                                  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chordate

                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinopterygii

                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perciformes

                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthuridae

Pictures-   Dory: http://itzrayraybeyotch.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/dory.jpg

                        Blue Tang: Click on the picture.

                   Yellow Tang: http://secamarinelife.com.au/catalog/images/Yellow%20Tang.jpg

                   Clown Fish:  http://www.stormhoek.com/archives/Eric%27s%20Clownfish.jpg

Info on other types of blue tangs-  Powder blue tang:http://www.themarinecenter.com/fish/tangs/powderbluetang/

                                                        Acanthurus coeruleus: http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=277