Kole Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) Care Guide
A hardy brown tang with a distinctive golden ring around the eye and fine horizontal lines across the body.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Ctenochaetus strigosus is a species in the family Acanthuridae. A hardy brown tang with a distinctive golden ring around the eye and fine horizontal lines across the body. One of the best algae-eating tangs for reef aquariums, using its bristle-like teeth to comb algae from rocks. More peaceful than most tangs.
Taxonomy
- Family: Acanthuridae
- Genus: Ctenochaetus
- Scientific name: Ctenochaetus strigosus
- Other names: Yellow Eye Tang, Goldring Bristletooth
- Origin: Pacific Ocean
Habitat
Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and Johnston Atoll. Inhabits coral and rocky reefs at depths of 1-113 m. Diet consists almost entirely of detritus and microalgal film grazed from hard substrates; the comb-like teeth give the genus its common name "bristletooth tangs".
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 300 L
- Temperature: 24-27 °C
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- GH: 8-12 °dGH
- Water flow: strong
- Adult size: 14-18 cm
- Lifespan: 8-12 years
- Difficulty: beginner
Diet
Classified as herbivore. Recommended feeding frequency: 2x daily. In captivity, offer a varied diet appropriate to the species — quality prepared foods supplemented with frozen or live items of suitable size.
Compatibility
- Temperament: peaceful
- Swimming level: middle
- Compatible tank mates: Clownfish, Royal Gramma, Firefish Goby, Wrasses
- Avoid with: Other Bristletooth Tangs
Reef compatibility
Generally classified as reef-safe: does not feed on stony or soft corals, tridacnid clams or ornamental shrimps under normal conditions.
Breeding
- Breeding strategy: egg-scatterer
- Breeding difficulty: advanced
Kole Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) Breeding Guide
Overview
The kole tang, Ctenochaetus strigosus, is a Pacific surgeonfish of the family Acanthuridae. Like other tangs it reproduces by pelagic broadcast spawning, releasing eggs and sperm into open water for external fertilisation, with planktonic eggs and larvae. As a result it is not bred in home aquaria.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
Surgeonfishes generally spawn at dusk in brief pair- or group-spawning events, forming aggregations and releasing gametes into the water column, with spawning often showing lunar periodicity. Such open-water ascents and aggregations cannot be reproduced in aquarium conditions.
Egg & Fry Care
Fertilised eggs are pelagic and develop into the transparent, open-ocean acronurus larva characteristic of tangs, which drifts in the plankton for an extended period before settling on a reef. The acronurus is fragile, sensitive to water quality and dependent on specialised micro-prey, so it cannot be reared without dedicated hatchery technology.
Common Challenges
Surgeonfish aquaculture has been achieved only at research scale; the first acanthurid bred in captivity was the yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) by the Oceanic Institute in 2015 after about a decade of work with cultured copepod prey. No comparable home-aquarium method exists for the kole tang.