Whitefreckled Tang Care Guide
Acanthurus maculiceps is an Indo-Pacific surgeonfish with a dark body finely speckled on the head, grazing algae and detritus and reaching about 40 cm.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Acanthurus maculiceps, the white-freckled surgeonfish, has an oval, laterally compressed body of the family Acanthuridae, marked by pale spots on the head, fine lines along the flanks, a yellow patch beneath the mouth and a dark blotch behind each eye. Its colour ranges from light yellow to dark brown and can change rapidly. FishBase records a maximum standard length of 40 cm.
Taxonomy
- Family: Acanthuridae
- Genus: Acanthurus
- Scientific name: Acanthurus maculiceps
- Described by: Ahl, 1923
Habitat
The species is marine and reef-associated throughout the Indo-Pacific, from the Maldives through the Andaman Sea and Christmas Island to the Philippines and Line Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands and south to Samoa and the Great Barrier Reef. It inhabits clear waters of outer reef flats and seaward reefs, with FishBase recording depths of 1-15 m, usually 3-15 m.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 700 L (185 gal)
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- Specific gravity: 1.024-1.026
- Carbonate hardness: 8-12 dKH
- Strong water flow
- Lifespan: 10-25 years
Diet
Acanthurus maculiceps grazes on algae and detritus, usually in mixed-species schools when feeding. Aquarium specimens require frequent offerings of marine algae and dried seaweed.
Compatibility
A semi-aggressive, diurnal mid-water swimmer, the species is found solitarily or in small groups, with males developing brighter colours during spawning. Wrasses, clownfish, angelfish and sturdy triggerfish make suitable tankmates, while other tangs of similar shape should be avoided in smaller systems.
Reef compatibility
The species does not consume coral and is considered reef-safe, helping graze nuisance algae. Maintain carbonate hardness of 8-12 dKH and specific gravity of 1.024-1.026.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern, assessed in 2010 via FishBase.
Whitefreckled Tang (Acanthurus maculiceps): Breeding Guide
Overview
The Whitefreckled Tang, Acanthurus maculiceps, ranges through the Indo-West Pacific from the Maldives and Andaman Sea and Christmas Island to the Philippines and Line Islands, north to the Ryukyus and south to Samoa. FishBase gives a maximum standard length of 40 cm and a shallow depth range of 1 to 15 m. The body is dark with fine white speckling and a bright caudal spine.
It grazes algae on shallow reefs and is less common in the trade than several relatives. No captive breeding has been recorded for this species.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
A. maculiceps follows the Acanthurus reproductive strategy of pelagic broadcast spawning. Surgeonfishes of this genus typically spawn at dusk in brief pair- or group-spawning ascents near the seaward reef edge, with spawning often timed to warming water and lunar phases so that tidal currents disperse the eggs.
Fertilization occurs externally in open water during the upward rush, and the floating eggs receive no parental care. FishBase lists a reproduction section for this species but provides no species-specific spawning text, so the genus pattern is described.
Egg & Fry Care
The eggs are pelagic and buoyant. They hatch into transparent, scaleless acronurus larvae adapted to open-ocean drift, a stage that in surgeonfishes can exceed 39 days before settlement onto a reef.
This prolonged planktonic phase, and the larvae's need for natural ocean plankton, make rearing in a home aquarium unattainable. Surgeonfish larviculture exists only in research facilities.
Common Challenges
- Open-water spawning produces no collectable eggs or nest for an aquarist.
- The pelagic acronurus stage needs ocean plankton and weeks of drift unavailable in tanks.
- Adults reach 40 cm and are semi-aggressive toward similar tangs, so housing a settled pair is impractical.