Elegant Unicornfish (Naso elegans)

The Elegant Unicornfish (Naso elegans) is a close relative of the Naso Tang, sharing the characteristic orange dorsal stripe and lips but with a more uniformly steel-gray body and equally vivid orange caudal peduncle spines. It is a wide-ranging, fast-swimming tang from the Indian Ocean and Red Sea that develops a small horn-like protrusion on its forehead as it matures. Hardy and highly personable once settled, it tends to become one of the most recognizable inhabitants of a large reef or FOWLR system. Feed a predominantly herbivorous diet with ample dried seaweed to maintain health and prevent HLLE.

Requires a minimum 500-liter aquarium with strong, turbulent water flow to mimic the surge zones it inhabits in the wild. Provide daily feedings of dried nori/seaweed clipped to the glass, supplemented with frozen mysis and marine pellets. Can be kept with other tangs in large systems but may show aggression toward similar body shapes. Susceptible to HLLE (head and lateral line erosion) if diet is insufficient in vitamins — feed varied, high-quality foods and consider vitamin supplements in the water.