Acanthurus leucosternon
| Acanthurus leucosternon | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Acanthuridae |
| Genus: | Acanthurus |
| Species: | A. leucosternon |
| Binomial name | |
| Acanthurus leucosternon Bennett, 1833 |
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Acanthurus leucosternon is a tropical fish with the common names powder blue tang and powderblue surgeonfish.
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[edit] Appearance
The powder blue tang is light blue with yellow and white highlighted fins. Its face is a uniform black with a white outline. The fish does not undergo color changes as it matures, as some tangs, surgeonfish and unicornfish do. The species can grow to a maximum length of 25 cm.
[edit] Diet
The powder blue tang, like most fish in the Acanthuridae family, is omnivorous, eating mostly benthic algae.
[edit] Range
Acanthurus leucosternon's natural distribution is in the Indian Ocean in clear reef settings, from Indonesia and Christmas Island westward to eastern Africa to the Andaman Sea.
[edit] Economic value
The tang is uncommonly harvested for anything other than the marine aquarium industry. It is a commonly-sold fish that is moderately difficult to care for, although its popularity is easily exceeded by the Blue tang and Yellow Tang[citation needed]. They are very prone to Cryptocaryon irritans (marine itch) infections so be careful when purchasing. Most people will advise to observe in your local fish stores for a couple weeks; this is a poor test. Most aquarium fish providers run low levels of copper in their systems to keep parasites at bay, but not enough to kill the parasites, when they are brought home they should be kept in an isolation tank for at least 6 weeks before introducing them to the display tank. Proper hyposalinity treatment that fully cures Marine Ich is required on all Acanthurus Tangs. They are reef safe and are compatible with most species.
[edit] Other
The powder blue tang is also used as the logo and trademark of Atos Origin, a global IT services provider.
It appears in the Wii game Endless Ocean.
