Naso unicornis Bluespine Unicornfish, Brown Unicornfish, Humphead Unicornfish, Longhorn Unicornfish, Longnose Unicornfish, Long-snouted Unicornfish, Unicorn Tang

Naso unicornisis commonly referred to as Bluespine Unicornfish, Brown Unicornfish, Humphead Unicornfish, Longhorn Unicornfish, Longnose Unicornfish, Long-snouted Unicornfish, Unicorn Tang. Difficulty in the aquarium: suitable for large display tanks (public aquarium or zoo) only. A aquarium size of at least 10000 Liter is recommended. Toxicity: Toxic hazard unknown.

Walter G.

Naso unicornis im Roten Meer

Uploaded by Walter G..

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lexID:: 1698
AphiaID:: 219668

Scientific:: Naso unicornis
German:: Kurznasendoktor
English:: Bluespine Unicornfish, Brown Unicornfish, Humphead Unicornfish, Longhorn Unicornfish, Longnose Unicornfish, Long-snouted Unicornfish, Unicorn Tang

Category:: Surgeonfishes & Tangs

Family tree:: Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Actinopterygii (Class) > Perciformes (Order) > Acanthuridae (Family) > Naso (Genus) > unicornis (Species)
Initial determination:: (Forsskål, ), 1775

Occurrence:: Djibouti, Sudan, Eritrea, (the) Maldives, American Samoa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arafura Sea, Austral Islands, Australia, Bakers Island, Bali, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Caroline Island, Chile, China, Christmas Islands, Comores, Cook Islands, Coral sea (Eastern Australia), Corea, East Africa, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Eastern Indian Ocean, Egypt, Fiji, French Polynesia, Gambier Islands, Gilbert Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Guam, Gulf of Oman / Oman, Hawaii, Howland Island, India, Indian Ocean, Indo Pacific, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Johnston Atoll, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Line Islands, Lord Howe Island, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marquesas Islands, Marschall Islands, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Midway Islands, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, New Guinea, New South Wales (Australia), New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Northern Territory (Australia), Ogasawara Islands, Palau, Papua, Papua New Guinea, Paracel-Islands, Philippines, Phoenix Islands, Pitcairn Islands, Queensland (Australia), Raja Amat, Rapa, Red Sea, Réunion , Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South-Africa, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Tahiti, Taiwan, Tansania, Tasman Sea, Thailand, The Bangai Archipelago, The Chagos Archipelago (the Chagos Islands), the Cocos Islands / Keeling Islands, The Ryukyu Islands, the Seychelles, the Society Islands, Timor, Togean Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuamoto Islands, Tuvalu, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wake Atoll, Wallis and Futuna, Western Australia, Western Indian Ocean, Western Pacific Ocean, Yemen, Zanzibar
Sea depth:: 1 - 180 Meter
Size:: 19.69" - 27.56" (50cm - 70cm)
Temperature:: 78.8 °F - 84.2 °F (26°C - 29°C)
Food:: Algae, Herbivorous
Tank:: 2199.78 gal (~ 10000L)
Difficulty:: suitable for large display tanks (public aquarium or zoo) only
Offspring:: Not available as offspring
Toxicity:: Toxic hazard unknown

CITES:

Not evaluated

Red List:

Least concern (LC)

Related species at Catalog of Life:

Author:: Meerwasser-Lexikon Team
Publisher:: Meerwasser-Lexikon.de
Created:: 2005-10-21 15:49:36
Last edit:: 2022-01-12 20:16:16

Info

Naso unicornis (Forsskål, 1775)

Synonymised names
Acanthurus unicornis (Forsskål, 1775)
Chaetodon unicornis Forsskål, 1775

The surgeonfishes (Acanthuridae), popular in marine aquaristics, are also called surgeonfishes.
They have horn-like blades in front of the tail root, they use as mainly defensive weapon (defense) against predators, but this sharp weapon is also used in fights among themselves.
Deep cuts in the body of opponents can cause permanent injuries, but often death occurs immediately.
If surgeonfishes are to be kept in pairs in an aquarium, fights between the fishes can be the order of the day, we could observe this several times with the very popular Hawaiian surgeonfish (Zebrasoma flavescens).
The scalpel-like blades can cause deep cuts, this is also true for the careless aquarist who wants to touch or catch the fish with unprotected hands.

Another problem can occur if one wants to catch surgeonfish with a landing net and transfer them after catching, the horn blade can easily get caught in the net.

Caution: Careless handling of the animal can cause deep cuts!