Lipstick Tang (Naso Tang)

Geographic Origin and Biotope: Indo-Pacific Ocean and Red Sea. Inhabits exclusively coral reefs exposed to strong oceanic currents, outer lagoon reefs and drop-offs.

Taxonomy and Morphology: Lipstick Tang / Naso Tang (Naso lituratus). Surgeonfish (Acanthuridae) of formidable size. Massive body, fleshy beak-like lips, two lethal bony "scalpels" on the sides of the caudal peduncle and two crazy filamentous extensions on the tail.

Social Behavior: Titanic pelagic swimmer. Despite the blades, it is a very sociable "gentle giant" with heterospecific fish, but needs boundless spaces to avoid stressing by hitting the glass.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Spectacular "makeup". Silky gray-brown body; lips "painted" with vibrant neon orange lipstick, yellow facial mask that goes up to the eye and black dorsal fin edged with electric blue. The caudal scalpels (bistouries) are bright orange. Adult males develop extremely extended "streamers" (filiform tails).

Aquarium Setup: Monstrous marine aquarium (minimum 180-200 cm / 72-80 inches for ONE young individual; over 800 liters / 210 gallons for adults). No cubic tanks: they only need length to swim and hurricane-style return/wavemaker pumps (to oxygenate the marine water). Marine water SG 1.020-1.025.

Diet and Feeding: Voracious grazer of marine macroalgae. Algae-eating machine. In captivity it must munch on Nori algae (whole sheets fixed with clips) all day, supplementing with spirulina, krill and mysis, otherwise it will rapidly lose weight ("Pinch belly").

Water Quality: Impeccable marine water quality. Like all surgeonfish, they are "canaries in the coal mine": the slightest drop in redox, oxygen or jump in nitrates will cover them with white spots and suffocate them.

Compatibility and Tankmates: Excellent reef fish (Reef-Safe). Totally ignores corals. Perfect with angelfish, butterflyfish, damselfish, clownfish. Not recommended with other conspecific Surgeons of the Naso family (they would fight with caudal scalpels with lethal wounds).

Aquarium Reproduction: Impossible. Oceanic pelagic: the fertile eggs will float at the mercy of marine currents among the reefs for tens of kilometers before hatching into larvae that eat microscopic plankton.

Risks and Diseases: The scalpel and Marine Ich. Risk 1: the surgeon gets scared and delivers a tail strike slicing the aquarist's hand (down to the tendon) with the horny orange spines. Risk 2: Cryptocaryon irritans (Marine Ich); lacking the "thick mucus" of other fish, the Naso is scourged by it if the immune system fails.