These fish are often called Koi Tangs, and among these, the ones with predominantly blue faces are likely the kings of Koi. Blueface Koi Tangs aren't cheap, but no fish that has these looks and rarity is. While expensive, we can't think of a better “showpiece” fish for the vast majority of reef aquariums, given that they are over 125 gallons, which is about as small as we would go for keeping an adult Scopas tang long term. There should be lots of flow in the tank to give the fish an environment that exercises them. Rockwork should be open enough for them to have some caves and swim-through locations, but some open swimming space would be good as well. Scopas tangs are good candidates for bare bottom tanks, needing no substrate whatsoever, so you can choose whatever you'd like aesthetically, as long as it is saltwater safe.
Blueface Koi Tangs are very hardy and adaptable. This being said, the two main challenges to keeping any Surgeonfish are stable water quality and nutrition. Pretty much all Surgeonfish do best in tanks with very low nitrates (and obviously, ammonia and nitrite should be below the testing threshold). To this end, strong filtration, and regular water changes are the way to keep your Blueface healthy. As far as food, nutrition is likely even more important than water quality. They'll need both adequate vegetation AND protein. A nutritious pellet with a balance of appropriate nutrients should be the core of this diet. In house, we feed them Nutramar's Algae and Color Boost Shots, and we suggest that you do as well. In addition, we supplement this diet with Nutramar's dried algae products, both Nori and Ogo. In the wild, these tangs would graze on algae all day long, and their digestive systems need it to keep the fish in good health. Don't skimp on the algae. Click here to learn more
Blueface Koi Tangs are very hardy and adaptable. This being said, the two main challenges to keeping any Surgeonfish are stable water quality and nutrition. Pretty much all Surgeonfish do best in tanks with very low nitrates (and obviously, ammonia and nitrite should be below the testing threshold). To this end, strong filtration, and regular water changes are the way to keep your Blueface healthy. As far as food, nutrition is likely even more important than water quality. They'll need both adequate vegetation AND protein. A nutritious pellet with a balance of appropriate nutrients should be the core of this diet. In house, we feed them Nutramar's Algae and Color Boost Shots, and we suggest that you do as well. In addition, we supplement this diet with Nutramar's dried algae products, both Nori and Ogo. In the wild, these tangs would graze on algae all day long, and their digestive systems need it to keep the fish in good health. Don't skimp on the algae. Click here to learn more
