Mustard Tang

Geographic Origin and Biotope: Tropical Indo-Pacific, widely distributed from East Africa to Hawaii and French Polynesia. Inhabits shallow, high-energy surge zones of reefs.

Taxonomy and Morphology: Acanthuridae family, genus Acanthurus. Features a very deep, laterally compressed body. Easily recognized by numerous white spots and vertical bars.

Social Behavior: In the wild, they live in large schools swimming in the highly turbulent surge zones. In the aquarium, they require extremely strong water current.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Mustard-brown or dark olive body with three vertical white bars and numerous tiny white spots on the posterior and ventral areas. No sexual dimorphism.

Aquarium Setup: Requires an aquarium of at least 700 liters with plenty of live rock arranged to allow high-volume water flow from wavemakers.

Diet and Feeding: Strictly herbivorous. Feed multiple times daily with nori sheets, spirulina-based veggie pellets, and freeze-dried algae. Supplement with frozen foods occasionally.

Water Quality: Temperature 22°C - 26°C, stable pH 8.1 - 8.4, salinity 1.020-1.025, KH 8-12, GH 15-25. Highly oxygenated water is a strict requirement.

Compatibility and Tankmates: Semi-aggressive. Can show territorial behavior toward other surgeonfish. Usually peaceful with medium-sized tankmates occupying other niches.

Aquarium Reproduction: Not documented in captivity due to the species' need for heavy water surge. In the wild, they are group spawners releasing pelagic eggs.

Risks and Diseases: Highly sensitive to oxygen deprivation and skin parasites like Cryptocaryon irritans. Requires dedicated high-flow wavemakers to mimic surge zones.