Superior Fish Spotlight: Freckle Face Tang | Reef Builders

If you’re on the market for a show-stopping surgeonfish that gained’t worth the earth, look no extra than the Freckle Face Tang, Acanthurus maculiceps.

Additionally known as the Spot Face Surgeon or White Freckled Surgeonfish, A.maculiceps is native to the Indo West pacific and might be found off the Maldives to the Andaman Sea, Christmas Island, the Philipines, the Ryuku islands, and as far-off as Samoa, and is often found swimming at depths between three and fifteen meters.

When purchased as juveniles, they sometimes look washed out, with beige-colored our our bodies and pale yellow spots, nonetheless mature adults are eye-catching in large reveals for his or her darkish, graphite base coloration, far more excellent white and yellow head patterning along with yellow highlights to the pectoral fins. Look shut up and yellow strains, dots and striations moreover graduate the graphite grey within the course of the dorsal fin. Prime it off with a yellow band on the caudal peduncle, white scalpels, that super steep head, and sub-terminal mouth, and the Freckle Face’s patterning has one factor debonair about it that seems to assuage and reward the seen shade chaos of their further primary colored tank mates.

Evaluation their measurement and the 40cm/15” most is perhaps offputting to many, although that’s very so much a wild most and 25cm/10” is far more life like long-term in captivity, even in an enormous tank. Zebrasoma desjardinii can be a potential 40cm/15”, however most would actually really feel comfortable housing them in a 680 liter/180-gallon tank as a minimum, and it’s the similar for this species, though larger is clearly larger. Give them the home they need and they are going to cruise majestically, flapping pectoral fin-powered as solely a tang can.

Surgeonfish have a standing for territorial aggression although the Freckle Face isn’t one in all many worst offenders. To be on the safe side, avoid mixing with mature, similar-looking, fastidiously related species like A. fowleri, tennentii, and nigricaudus, although most uncover that they are accepted by contrastingly colored A.leucosternon, and loads of mix them with Zebrasoma species similar to the Yellow Tang.

If one thing it’s the Freckle Face that may need security from aggressive, further territorial species and long-term keepers like Aquaforest proprietor Seweryn Lukasiewicz (who supplied these footage proper right here of his magnificence,) describe them as peaceful. He saved one for just a few years in his dwelling aquarium and it now resides, satisfaction of place, inside the Aquaforest 3168 liter/837-gallon current tank.

Feeding is simple, with quarantined specimens accepting the whole thing from Krill, Mysis, and Artemia to flakes, dry pellets, gels, pastes, and dry sheets of Nori. A great deal of rockwork is recommended for additional grazing, although not on the expense of swimming room and acceptable glide home. Cope with newly imported folks (in a separate quarantine tank,) for Flukes and Worms, sooner than ending with copper.

Every time we see a mature Freckle face tang we want one, and it stays extreme on our itemizing of giant, dream reef tank inhabitants. And in distinction to a different fascinating tangs, proudly proudly owning one doesn’t come at a value. All of the above attributes make Acanthurus maculiceps properly worthy of our Superior Fish Spotlight. Anticipate to pay sub-£100/€116/£122 for a 3-4” juvenile.