Some people have interpreted the movie Finding Nemo and its recent sequel, Finding Dory, as having an anti-captivity message. If they do, then it's pretty ironic - after each movie was released, the home aquarium trade saw a tremendous spike the desire to own the movies' signature species, the clownfish and the blue tang. While clownfish are available as captive-bred specimens, every blue tang in an aquarium was born in the wild.
Until now, that is...
It's yet to be seen what impact this historic first birth, achieved by the University of Florida Tropical Aquaculture Lab and Rising Tide Conservation, will have on the blue tang trade. Is this a one-time fluke? Is this the start of a process by which blue tangs will become abundant, sustainably-produced aquarium fish? Or will this only fuel the craze for tangs and allow more people to purchase wild-caught ones not knowing the difference? Only time will tell...
One thing that this will not change, however. Blue tangs - with their large adult size, large tank requirements, and long lifespan - are not suitable pets for amateurs or beginners.
All blue tangs in tanks today, like this one, have had to be caught from the wild.
Photograph by JOEL SARTORE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
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