Blue Tang life cycle I'm doing a project on Blue Tangs for school and can find no information of their life cycle. I need information on... - their courtship ritual to pick a mate (if they have one) <Most live singly as adults... getting together seasonally to spawn in the upper water column, following a bit of a "dance"> - if they have life-long mates or just flings? <More of the latter than the former> - how many eggs are released when they spawn <A few thousand> - if the parents guard the eggs/young <No parental care... the fertilized eggs, embryos float about in the plankton wherever it takes them> - and what is the blue tang's average life span? <Mmm, average? Likely a few years... depends on how you figure it... starting from all individuals... or from some early life stage> There seems to be no good sites on their body systems, either. <Look about... perhaps a visit to a large college library and the help of a reference librarian in the life sciences section. Bob Fenner> Thanks so much, Peaches

Re: Paracanthurus hepatus rearing from wild young This is an email I received from Inland Aquatics, one of the sources that sells the captive-reared Paracanthurus hepatus: ----------------- <<Can you tell me where you catch your Paracanthurus hepatus?>> Ours are "Captive Raised", meaning they are collected as larvae/post-larvae (in the Solomon Islands). They are grown out there for about a month before being shipped state-side where they are grown out for another 3 month or so. They are approximately 2" when we offer them for sale. ($39.99) --- Perhaps they are an exception to the rule? Thanks again for your well-founded insight - this is a complex industry to understand, with many environmental as well as economic considerations. Keith <Thanks much for this... do know the company and the owner/mgr. Morgan Lidster... and he is a straight shooter... If he says this is what they're doing than I believe them... Do know of (and have dived with) what I thought was the only outfit doing this "collection/rearing" procedure (in French Polynesia)... and know that they don't (of course) handle Palette/Yellow-Tail Blue/Hippo Tangs (not much in range)... Will post under genus on WWM site. Thank you again. Bob Fenner>