Dr. John Ernest (Jack) Randall (†), Hawaii
Info
(Forster, 1801)
The Orangespine Unicornfish is a rather sensitive species which may be hard to acclimate to aquarium life. Once established, however, it is a quite durable fish.
Belonging to the larger surgeonfish species and being a very active and vigorous swimmer it needs a huge tank with lot of place to roam around but also live rock and corals to provide some cover.
Juveniles grow rather slowly so you may be enticed to house them in a smaller tank, but for the sake of the fish's wellbeing a juvenile Naso literatus should not be kept in tanks with less than 445 gallons (2.000 l) and adults not in tanks with less than 2.200 gallons (10.000 l) .
Due to its peaceful and amicable nature the Naso literatus gets along well with most other marine fish. It, however, has been known to behave aggressive towards other surgeonfish species, especially other Naso tangs, so only one Naso tang should be housed in a tank. If you intend to keep different surgeonfish species together, you should not only have a huge tank with a volume of several thousands of gallons, but also introduce all species at the same time.
In the wild Naso literatus mainly feeds on leafy brown algae like Sargassum and Dictyota which as a rule are not available in our home tanks. When introducing a freshly imported Naso tang it may be helpful to have some dried brown algae at home, since not all individuals readily adopt to substitutional food. As continuous feeders, accustomed specimen should be fed a three times a day providing lots of algae (seaweed, Nori, spirulina) but also some vitamin-enriched frozen food.
Naso literatus is often mixed up with its close cousin, the Naso elegans. Both species may be distinguished by the colour of their dorsal fin, which is black for Naso literatus.
Synonyms:
Acanthurus lituratus Forster, 1801
Aspisurus carolinarum Quoy & Gaimard, 1825
Callicanthus literatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Callicanthus lituratus (Forster, 1801)
Monoceros garretti Seale, 1901
Naso literatus (Forster, 1801) (misspelling)
Prionurus eoume Lesson, 1831
Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Vertebrata (Subphylum) > Gnathostomata (Superclass) > Pisces (Superclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Perciformes (Order) > Acanthuroidei (Suborder) > Acanthuridae (Family) > Naso (Genus) > Naso lituratus (Species)
The surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae), popular in marine aquaristics, are also called surgeonfishes.
They have horn-like blades in front of the tail root, they use as mainly defensive weapon (defense) against predators, but this sharp weapon is also used in fights among themselves.
Deep cuts in the body of opponents can cause permanent injuries, but often death occurs immediately.
If surgeonfishes are to be kept in pairs in an aquarium, fights between the fishes can be the order of the day, we could observe this several times with the very popular Hawaiian surgeonfish (Zebrasoma flavescens).
The scalpel-like blades can cause deep cuts, this is also true for the careless aquarist who wants to touch or catch the fish with unprotected hands.
Another problem can occur if one wants to catch surgeonfish with a landing net and transfer them after catching, the horn blade can easily get caught in the net.
Caution: Careless handling of the animal can cause deep cuts!
The Orangespine Unicornfish is a rather sensitive species which may be hard to acclimate to aquarium life. Once established, however, it is a quite durable fish.
Belonging to the larger surgeonfish species and being a very active and vigorous swimmer it needs a huge tank with lot of place to roam around but also live rock and corals to provide some cover.
Juveniles grow rather slowly so you may be enticed to house them in a smaller tank, but for the sake of the fish's wellbeing a juvenile Naso literatus should not be kept in tanks with less than 445 gallons (2.000 l) and adults not in tanks with less than 2.200 gallons (10.000 l) .
Due to its peaceful and amicable nature the Naso literatus gets along well with most other marine fish. It, however, has been known to behave aggressive towards other surgeonfish species, especially other Naso tangs, so only one Naso tang should be housed in a tank. If you intend to keep different surgeonfish species together, you should not only have a huge tank with a volume of several thousands of gallons, but also introduce all species at the same time.
In the wild Naso literatus mainly feeds on leafy brown algae like Sargassum and Dictyota which as a rule are not available in our home tanks. When introducing a freshly imported Naso tang it may be helpful to have some dried brown algae at home, since not all individuals readily adopt to substitutional food. As continuous feeders, accustomed specimen should be fed a three times a day providing lots of algae (seaweed, Nori, spirulina) but also some vitamin-enriched frozen food.
Naso literatus is often mixed up with its close cousin, the Naso elegans. Both species may be distinguished by the colour of their dorsal fin, which is black for Naso literatus.
Synonyms:
Acanthurus lituratus Forster, 1801
Aspisurus carolinarum Quoy & Gaimard, 1825
Callicanthus literatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Callicanthus lituratus (Forster, 1801)
Monoceros garretti Seale, 1901
Naso literatus (Forster, 1801) (misspelling)
Prionurus eoume Lesson, 1831
Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Vertebrata (Subphylum) > Gnathostomata (Superclass) > Pisces (Superclass) > Actinopteri (Class) > Perciformes (Order) > Acanthuroidei (Suborder) > Acanthuridae (Family) > Naso (Genus) > Naso lituratus (Species)
The surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae), popular in marine aquaristics, are also called surgeonfishes.
They have horn-like blades in front of the tail root, they use as mainly defensive weapon (defense) against predators, but this sharp weapon is also used in fights among themselves.
Deep cuts in the body of opponents can cause permanent injuries, but often death occurs immediately.
If surgeonfishes are to be kept in pairs in an aquarium, fights between the fishes can be the order of the day, we could observe this several times with the very popular Hawaiian surgeonfish (Zebrasoma flavescens).
The scalpel-like blades can cause deep cuts, this is also true for the careless aquarist who wants to touch or catch the fish with unprotected hands.
Another problem can occur if one wants to catch surgeonfish with a landing net and transfer them after catching, the horn blade can easily get caught in the net.
Caution: Careless handling of the animal can cause deep cuts!
