The eggs are pelagic, each containing a single droplet of oil for flotation. The eggs are small, approximately 0.8 millimetres ( 1⁄ 32 in) in diameter. Males aggressively court female members of the school, leading to a quick upward spawning rush toward the surface of the water during which eggs and sperm are released. The fish is important for coral health as it eats algae that may otherwise choke it by overgrowth. This event is indicated by a change in color from a uniform dark blue to a pale blue. Spawning occurs during late afternoon and evening hours. Adults are omnivorous and feed on plankton, but will also graze on algae. ![]() Diet Īs a juvenile, its diet consists primarily of plankton. The regal blue tang is ranked LC (least concern) by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), but is of low vulnerability. ![]() They can also be found near cauliflower corals on the seaweed side of coral reefs. They live in pairs or small groups of 8 to 14 individuals. The regal blue tang is one of the most common and most popular marine aquarium fish all over the world. A single specimen was photographed in 2015 in the Mediterranean Sea off Israel. It is seen in the reefs of the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, New Caledonia, Samoa, East Africa, and Sri Lanka. The regal blue tang can be found throughout the Indo-Pacific. The blue tang has nine dorsal spines, 26–28 dorsal soft rays, three anal spines, and 24–26 anal soft yellow rays. This fish is rather flat, like a pancake, with a circular body shape, a pointed snout-like nose, and small scales. Adults typically weigh around 600 g (21 oz) and males are generally larger than females. ![]() The lower body is yellow in the west-central Indian Ocean. Paracanthurus hepatus has a royal blue body, yellow tail, and black "palette" design. A number of common names are attributed to the species, including regal tang, palette surgeonfish, blue tang (leading to confusion with the Atlantic species Acanthurus coeruleus), royal blue tang, hippo tang, blue hippo tang, flagtail surgeonfish, Pacific regal blue tang, and blue surgeonfish. A popular fish in marine aquaria, it is the only member of the genus Paracanthurus. Paracanthurus hepatus is a species of Indo-Pacific surgeonfish.
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