Video: How to Identify Blue Tang Fish

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Fish you may see while scuba diving. Learn tips for blue tang identification in this free scuba diving video of Caribbean fish from a staff member of the New England aquarium.

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Video Transcript

The fish that we are going to identify now is the Blue Tang. Blue Tangs are disc shaped fish that are commonly seen over reefs in the Bahamas, Florida and most of the Caribbean. They are generally solid colored and can range in color from a light powder blue to a very dark blue to purple color. Interestingly they start out life as a bright yellowed colored fish, but the only yellow remaining on the adult is found on the spine located on each side on the base of the, the Tang's tail. And this may be so pale that it appears to be white and not yellow. Blue Tangs have small downward pointing mouths that they use to forage for algae on the reefs. Single Blue Tangs will be seen on the reefs from time to time, but most often marauding schools of tangs will be seen foraging across the reefs. Blue Tangs can get quite large, up to fifteen inches long, but most are in the five to ten inch range. They tend to stay on reefs above fifty feet and they can frequently be seen on very shallow snorkeling reefs. They don't seem to be threatened by snorkelers or divers but since they are constantly moving it's often hard to closely approach Blue Tangs. That's the Blue Tang.

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How to Identify Blue Tang Fish

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