Whitefin Surgeonfish

About

The Whitefin Surgeonfish (Acanthurus albipectoralis) breaks the mold for its family in a pretty interesting way. Where most surgeonfish spend their days grazing algae off rocks and substrate, this species forms loose aggregations and moves well up into the water column to pick off zooplankton. Much more like a planktivore than the lawn-mowing behavior you expect from an Acanthurus. In the wild it occupies steep outer-reef drop-offs across a range spanning the Great Barrier Reef, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Tonga, Samoa, and surrounding island groups, typically at depths of around five to twenty meters. During the day these fish are active and social in small groups, retreating into reef crevices after dark. That relatively agreeable schooling behavior in the wild does not always translate into peaceful tank manners, though. Like many surgeonfishes, this species can be territorial and genuinely aggressive toward fish of similar body shape, and the caudal spine it carries is sharp enough to cause real injury. To tankmates and to your hands during maintenance. The combination of large adult size, significant swimming room requirements, and a combative streak puts this squarely in the advanced category, best suited to very large, experienced reef setups with thoughtful stocking choices.