Razorback Tang (Prionurus laticlavius) Breeding Guide

Why Prionurus laticlavius is not bred at home: this large eastern-Pacific sawtail surgeonfish is a pelagic free-spawner with drifting acronurus larvae and needs a public-aquarium-scale system.

Overview

The razorback tang, Prionurus laticlavius, is a sawtail surgeonfish endemic to the eastern Pacific. The genus Prionurus is named for the three to seven bony, sharp-keeled plates on each side of the caudal peduncle, which are immobile unlike the single mobile spine of most surgeonfishes. As an acanthurid it is a large pelagic free-spawner, so it is not reproduced in home aquaria.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

Surgeonfishes spawn by releasing eggs and sperm into the water column, frequently forming aggregations on the reef and timing spawning to lunar and tidal cycles. Such open-water spawning cannot be staged in an aquarium.

Egg & Fry Care

Fertilised eggs are pelagic and develop into the transparent acronurus larva characteristic of surgeonfishes, which drifts in the plankton before settling nearshore and metamorphosing. The fragility and micro-prey demands of this larva place rearing beyond home capability.

Common Challenges

No documented home breeding of this sawtail tang exists. The pelagic spawning mode, the long-lived planktonic acronurus and the adult's large size confine any reproduction attempt to research-scale marine aquaculture.