Many of us are familiar with the tang police. They exist on almost any internet forum and occasionally strike from within the walls of a fish shop. Their primary goal seems to be making sure no tang is kept in too small a tank, but often they end up belittling or badgering some well-meaning aquarist. In theory, the tang police are a good thing as surgeonfish are a species often sold as small juveniles, only to grow into large adults that need a lot of swimming space. I’ve found that often the tang police lack entirely accurate evidence and base their highly objective feelings on conjecture. In fact, when reading some responses from self-appointed tang police, I wonder how many of them actually keep surgeonfish. Dispelling rumors:
I can’t think of a fish species that has more rumors circulating around them than our beloved surgeonfish. To get at the heart of the issue, let’s look at facts about surgeonfish. Acanthuridae is the family of fish otherwise known as unicornfish, surgeonfish or tangs. They exist in tropical seas, normally living in and around coral reefs. Their bright colors and active behavior have made them extremely popular in home aquariums. In fact, I would fathom to guess that Acanthuridae is one of the hobbies’ most popular fish families. All tangs have distinctive scalpel like blades, on at least one side (but often two sides) of the tail’s base. This has given them the nickname surgeonfish, as the scalpels are very sharp. Tang’s dorsal, anal and caudal fins are substantial, running the entire length of the body in many cases. Their mouths are small with a variety of different teeth, all aimed at scraping algae from rocks. In the wild tangs often travel in moderate to large schools, but in aquaria like species often clash. Tangs and ich:
The rumor mill starts when aquarists begin talking about surgeonfishes’ susceptibility to ich. A quick google search will turn up lots of conjecture from private aquarists. Some claim that tangs have thin skin, others that their scale pattern allows the parasite to penetrate. Others suggest that tangs have weak immune system or that they lack the “ich-shield” other fish have. While it’s true that the slime coat of some fish species (i.e. dragonets) helps prevent external parasites, there is no such thing as an ich shield on any marine fish. In all reality tangs are no more susceptible to ich than any other fish species.… More:
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