Scoping You Out
The Scopas Tang (Zebrasomas scopas) also known as the brown tang is a member of the family Acanthuridae, the Surgeonfish family. These are characterized by the bladelike spines that these fish have on their caudal peduncle – a fancy word for the part of the fish that connects the tail to the rest of the body. The “Two-Tone Tang” is another name that still doesn’t do them justice, with their face ranging from a gray, bluish-green, to a yellow or tan body, and finally fading to a black tail, these fish are anything but “brown” or “two tones”. Adding to this the body is covered in fine worm like markings and tiny spots closer to the face, these can be almost a metallic blue-green color as well! The scopas tang reaches a maximum record reported size of 16”, with 8 -12” being a more than generous maximum estimate.
Scopas tangs have a wide distribution, from the Eastern South Pacific, to the Eastern coast of Africa, and North to Southern Japan, they can be found almost anywhere in the Indo-Pacific Oceans. They inhabit warm shallow areas, with generally solitary juveniles living in the protection of large stony corals and adults in small groups cruising the lagoons grazing on filamentous algae. The Scopas tang is used to high light and coral making it an ideal candidate for a reef aquarium.
A 125 gallon aquarium would be a great home for a single scopas tang. The aquarium should have open space for them to swim and graze, and plenty of hiding places to simulate that coral lagoon habitat. A reef tank with soft corals or lots of stony branching corals would be very similar to the environments they come from. Generous water flow will keep these fish entertained while giving them exercise as well. While Tangs are generally territorial and can be bullies in an aquarium setting the Scopas tang is one of the more peaceful members of the family, and should do well with almost any other fish, so long as there is not competition over habitat. The easiest way to avoid this is by selecting fish that are not similar in shape to the scopas tang (yellow tangs, purple tangs, or any other members of the Zebrasoma genus). Remember that as juveniles they like to hide within branching coral like Acropora, so providing them with something to simulate that will make younger fish feel more at ease.
Scopas tangs are omnivores like many other fish, but their diet should be mostly made up of different algaes. They will graze on algae growing within your aquarium, but their diet should be supplemented with other algaes and some small meaty foods (mysis, brine shrimp etc), high quality flakes, or pellets. They are not picky fish and will accept almost anything with gusto! If you have a sump, you might be able to grow some algae in there to further augment their diet. Dried algae can be purchased and rehydrated with nutritional supplements as well.
As of this article being written, the Scopas Tang has yet to be bred in aquaria. Other similar species within the genus Zebrasoma have been bred however, suggesting that it is possible. Scopas Tangs are thought to form pairs or trios in the wild, so if one were to try and breed them they would most likely start with a group of fish and try to observe them until they had formed a pair or trio that seemed to coexist peacefully. A large tank, plenty of good algae to eat, good water quality and flow would be starting points for success.
The Scopas tang is highly underrated. Its peaceful nature, hardiness, and relatively small size as far as tangs go make it one of the more aquarium suitable members of the family. Their coloration is more complex than most realize, and until one has had a chance to observe them in the wild or up close in an aquarium long term it is hard to fully appreciate all the nuance of their markings. Contact your LFS about ordering some sustainably harvested Scopas Tangs from Quality Marine today!