Naso Tang (Naso lituratus) Care Guide
A large, elegant tang with a distinctive horn-like protrusion on the forehead in adults. Features bright orange lips and two fixed 'scalpels' on the tail base.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Naso lituratus is a species in the family Acanthuridae. A large, elegant tang with a distinctive horn-like protrusion on the forehead in adults. Features bright orange lips and two fixed 'scalpels' on the tail base. Requires an exceptionally large tank due to its active swimming habits and potential 45cm size.
Taxonomy
- Family: Acanthuridae
- Genus: Naso
- Scientific name: Naso lituratus
- Other names: Lipstick Tang, Naso Lituratus
- Origin: Indo-Pacific
Habitat
Distributed across the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to the Hawaiian and Pitcairn Islands, on outer reef slopes and channels at depths of 1-90 m. Feeds primarily on leafy brown macroalgae (Sargassum, Dictyota). Males develop greatly elongated upper and lower caudal-fin filaments.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 800 L
- Temperature: 24-27 °C
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- GH: 8-12 °dGH
- Water flow: strong
- Adult size: 30-45 cm
- Lifespan: 15-25 years
- Difficulty: advanced
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: semi-aggressive
- Swimming level: middle
- Compatible tank mates: Clownfish, Wrasses, Large Angelfish
- Avoid with: Other Naso Tangs, Small Tanks
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
Naso Tang (Naso lituratus) Breeding Guide
Overview
The naso tang, Naso lituratus, is a large Indo-Pacific surgeonfish of the family Acanthuridae. Like all surgeonfishes it reproduces by pelagic broadcast spawning, releasing eggs and sperm into open water where fertilisation and early development occur in the plankton. For this reason it is not bred in home aquaria.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
Surgeonfishes typically spawn at dusk in brief pair- or group-spawning events, forming aggregations and releasing gametes into the water column, with spawning often following lunar cycles. These open-water ascents and aggregation behaviours cannot be reproduced in aquarium conditions.
Egg & Fry Care
Fertilised eggs are pelagic and develop into the transparent, open-ocean acronurus larva typical 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
Captive breeding of surgeonfishes 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 copepods. No equivalent home-aquarium method exists for the naso tang.