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Sailfin Tang
Information resourced and
researched from
"Tropical Marine Aquaria"
by Graham.F.Cox.
Published by Treasure Press
© The Hamlyn Publishing Group
Remarkable variation occurs in colouration of this species over its range. Indo-Pacific specimens have a complicated colouration, whereas those from the Central Pcific (the East Indies) have the simpler bleack and white alternate barring. The Indo-Pacific race is generally tougher then the race from the Central-Pacific, although the latter is quite hardy and specimens will live for well over seven years if purchased as young as 2 or 3in (5 or 7cm) fishes.
Large specimens of this species become very active in the early evening, a period which in the wild probably coincides with the heaviest feed of the day. It would thus be cruel to house a Sailfin Tang, or any other semi-palagic species, in an aquarium which was not at least twelve times longer and three times wider than the overall length of the fish. This means that a good-sized specimen should be housed in a tank at least 6 ft (2m) long and 18in (45cm) wide and between 18 to 24in (45 to 60cm) in depth. Smaller specimens of some 2 to 3in (5 to 7cm) overall could be housed in the popular sized 36 x 12 x 15in (90 x 30 x 38cm) sea aquarium, where they would probably remain dwarfed throughout their lives. The mechanism by which the ultimate size of a fish is closely related to the size of the aquarium in which it is housed is imperfectly understood, and should form the subject of a serious study. One theory is that when the concentration of some of the fish’s waste products reaches a certain level, these products begin to act as growth inhibitors. This may well be partly correct since the growth of certain fishes (in particular Pterois spp) will recommence as a result of regular fresh water changes.
