Convict tang
Acanthurus triostegus
FishSaltwater
- Care level
- Moderate
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Reef safe
- Yes
- Recommended tank
- 500 L
- Maximum size
- 26 cm
- Temperature
- 24–27 °C
- pH
- 8–8.4
- Diet
- Herbivore
Care at a glance
The convict tang owes its name to the black bars on a silvery white body, like an old-fashioned prison uniform. It occurs across nearly the whole Indo-Pacific, moving over the reef in large shoals that descend on algae fields en masse.
That behaviour makes it one of the most effective algae eaters you can keep, but it also means it needs space and company. Keep it in a long tank and offer algae sheets daily; for a tang it is remarkably tolerant of its own kind.
Good to know
Related species
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Values are mainstream hobbyist guidance, not gospel — always watch what your own animals need.