🐠 Naso Tang (Naso lituratus)
Marine Reef-Safe Large Surgeonfish • Grey Body With Orange Facial Markings • Genuine Venomous Tail Spines • Advanced Large-Tank Species
 
📋 The Naso Tang (Naso lituratus), also known as the Orangespine Unicornfish or Lipstick Tang, has a genuinely striking appearance — a light-to-dark grey body, a bold yellow patch on the forehead, accented orange lines running from the eye toward the mouth, and vivid orange tail spines.
Native to reef flats and slopes across the Central and Western Pacific, including Hawaii, Japan, and the Great Barrier Reef, this species is typically found in pairs or larger groups at depths from shallow water down to around 90 metres.
Like all surgeonfish, this species carries genuinely venomous tail spines at the base of the tail, capable of inflicting a painful cut — genuine care is needed during handling and tank maintenance, and a rigid container is safer than a net. This species is generally peaceful toward unrelated fish but genuinely does not tolerate other tangs or surgeonfish well. It's a valuable algae grazer for a reef tank and generally leaves sessile invertebrates alone, though occasional nipping at large-polyped corals has been reported by some keepers. One detail worth knowing: this species' close Indian Ocean relative, Naso elegans, looks nearly identical and is sometimes confused with it in the trade.
 
🟠⚫ Highlights
🎨 Grey Body With Orange Facial Markings: A genuinely elegant, distinctive large tang
⚠️ Genuine Venomous Tail Spines: Careful handling is essential
🌿 Reef Safe: Generally safe; occasional LPS nipping reported by some keepers
🥬 Valuable Algae Grazer: Genuinely effective at controlling nuisance algae
⚠️ Genuinely Intolerant of Other Tangs: Best as the only tang or surgeonfish present