Big-nose Unicornfish

About

The big-nose unicornfish (Naso vlamingii) is one of the larger and more visually dynamic members of the unicornfish family, ranging across a vast stretch of the Indo-Pacific from the coast of East Africa all the way to the Galapagos Islands. Adults develop a pronounced bump on the snout and carry a network of blue scrawled markings across the body. One of the more unusual traits of this species is its ability to voluntarily show or suppress those blue patterns, almost like switching a display on and off. In the wild, these fish inhabit deep lagoons and the upper edges of steep reef drop-offs, where they gather in loose mid-water aggregations to feed on zooplankton drifting up from the depths. Despite often being found alone or in pairs on the reef, they are a schooling species by nature and do best when given room to behave normally. That means an enormous aquarium. This is not a fish for anything short of a very large dedicated system. Diet is omnivorous and fairly straightforward to cater for in captivity. Given the right setup, the big-nose unicornfish is considered manageable even for less experienced keepers who can meet its considerable space requirements.