Blue tang
Paracanthurus hepatus
- Scientific name
- Paracanthurus hepatus
- Group
- Reef fish
- Rarity
- Common
- Where to see it
- Indo-Pacific & Red Sea
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Least concern
Did you know?
The blue tang carries a retractable, scalpel-sharp blade on each side of its tail, which it flicks out in self-defense. It lives in groups and feeds mostly on plankton in open water, unlike many algae-grazing surgeonfish.
What defines this group — Reef fish
The bony fish that live against coral and rock: the living backdrop of almost every dive.
- A bony skeleton, scales, and a rigid gill cover closing over the gills.
- A swim bladder acts as a float: they hold their depth without swimming.
- Many change colour, pattern — sometimes even sex — over the course of their life.
Other species in this group
- Ocellaris clownfish
- Red lionfish
- Spot-fin porcupinefish
- Mediterranean moray
- Clark's anemonefish
- Picasso triggerfish