Blog Post Twenty-One
#COLORSOFTHEOCEAN_21
This bright yellow fish is my Dad’s favorite! It is called the Yellow Tang, Zebrasoma flavescens, a species in the family Acanthuridae. The yellow tang is one of the most recognizable and sought after marine aquarium fish in the world. It has been said that 70% of yellow tangs used in aquarium trade/hobby were sourced in the Pacific Ocean just west of Hawaii. This makes sense, since they are considered to be native to Hawaii. However, they are found in Hawaiian waters extending West thru Johnston Islands, Marshall Islands, other Marianas Islands, and the waters that are east of Japan. Yikes, that is between 280,000-500,000 fish caught annually. Now, they are being bred in captivity for aquariums. In captivity, the fish only live 5-10 years, but in the wild, they will live about 30 years. Their conservation status is labelled as “least concern”, which is great news!
This family of fish is more commonly know as a surgeon fish, due to the scalpel-like spine located near their tails. This spine helps to protect the fish. They are algae eaters and help to keep the algae in check on the reef. They prevent fast growing algae from killing the slower growing corals. Interesting fact, they lose their bright yellow color at night, when they will change to a darker grayish yellow with a lateral white stripe.
The Yellow Tang’s can be found in schools, solitary, or seen cleaning the algae from the reefs and the turtles shells. It is not uncommon to see adult tangs in shallow waters, and juveniles out at deeper depths.