🐠 Powder Brown Tang (Acanthurus japonicus)
A Bluish-Brown Body With a White Facial Mark • A Hardier Alternative to the Powder Blue Tang • An Elegant, Popular Algae Grazer
 
📋 The Powder Brown Tang, also known as the White-Faced Surgeonfish or Japan Surgeonfish, has an elegant appearance: a bluish-brown body with a distinctive white patch on the cheek between the mouth and eyes, dark brown fins with light blue tips, an orange stripe along the dorsal fin, and a light blue tail marked with a yellow vertical bar.
It comes from reefs across the Indo-West Pacific, closely related to, and sharing a similar visual style with, the Powder Blue Tang, but it's a noticeably hardier and more forgiving choice, making it a great alternative for keepers drawn to that colour palette. Every Powder Brown Tang we ship is feeding well.
It's a valuable algae grazer and generally reef safe, showing little interest in corals or invertebrates. It's semi-aggressive and territorial toward other tangs, particularly similarly shaped species, so it's best introduced simultaneously with, or after, any other tangs in the tank, with plenty of room and food to go around. It reaches up to 23cm, so plan on at least 475L.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Bluish-Brown Body With White Facial Mark: An elegant, distinctive tang
💪 Hardier Than the Powder Blue Tang: A similar look with meaningfully easier care
🌿 Reef Safe: Won't harm corals or invertebrates
🥬 A Valuable Algae Grazer: Effective at controlling nuisance algae
🍽️ Ships Feeding Well: A confident grazer from day one