All fish / Acanthuridae

Vlamingi Tang

Naso vlamingii

Also known as vlamingi tang, bignose unicornfish, vlaming's unicornfish, zebra unicornfish, scribbled unicornfish, vlamingii tang, vlamingi unicorn tang, テングハギモドキ, 高鼻鱼, 六角鼻鱼

A large unicornfish with a bulbous snout in adults, a brown body covered in blue dots and vertical lines, and long trailing streamers on the tail lobes. It can flash bright blue when excited and becomes quite tame, which makes it a striking centrepiece for very large reef or fish-only aquariums.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

50 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

2000 litres

Keep as

Singly, or as a mixed tang group only in very large systems

Diet

Omnivore: zooplankton such as mysis and krill, plus nori, marine algae and spirulina-based foods

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 20 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to the Line Islands, Japan and the Great Barrier Reef

Breeding

It spawns in pairs or groups in open water, releasing buoyant eggs with a long planktonic larval stage. Captive breeding of this species has not been achieved in home aquariums.

Good to know

Grows to around 50 to 60 cm, so it needs a huge tank with plenty of swimming room; it is usually reef safe but has sharp scalpels at the tail base. Not to be confused with the smaller Naso lituratus (orangespine unicornfish).