Lipstick Naso Tang - Naso lituratus

Lipstick Naso Tang (Naso lituratus)

The Lipstick Naso Tang is a large, elegant surgeonfish admired for its grey to bluish body, bright orange lips, yellow facial accents and, in mature males, long tail streamers. It is an active open-water grazer from reef habitats and makes a striking centrepiece fish in very spacious marine aquaria. Because of its adult size, constant swimming behaviour and need for strong, stable husbandry, it is best suited to large, mature systems rather than average home reef tanks.

Common Name:
Lipstick Naso Tang. It is also commonly sold as the Naso Tang or Orangespine Unicornfish.

Scientific Name (Latin):
Naso lituratus
Current FishBase taxonomy treats N. lituratus as the Pacific/eastern Indian species, with the western Indian Ocean form generally separated as Naso elegans.

Maximum Size:
Up to 45 cm in captivity.

Water Type:
Marine.

Origin / Natural Habitat:
Found in the eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific, including areas from Christmas Island and Japan south to the Great Barrier Reef and east to Hawaii, French Polynesia and Pitcairn. It occurs around lagoon and seaward reefs in areas of coral, rock and rubble, with juveniles often using shallower rocky areas.

Water Parameters:
Temperature: 22–26°C
pH Range: 8.1–8.4
Salinity: 1.020–1.025 SG

Temperament:
Semi-aggressive. It is generally peaceful with dissimilar fish, but it can be aggressive towards other tangs, especially similar-shaped surgeonfish or in undersized systems.

Diet:
Herbivorous / algivorous. In the wild it feeds mainly on leafy brown algae such as Sargassum and Dictyota. In captivity it should receive a diet rich in marine algae, nori, spirulina-based foods and other algae preparations, with occasional meaty foods as a supplement rather than the main diet.

Minimum Tank Size:
At least 680 litres is advisable, with larger aquaria strongly preferred for adults due to their size and constant need for swimming room.

Behaviour & Activity:
A highly active, open-water grazer that spends much of the day swimming and browsing surfaces for algae. Adults are usually seen in small groups in the wild, while juveniles may occur in small aggregations with other similarly sized surgeonfish.

Reef Safe:
Reef Safe
This species is widely regarded as suitable for reef aquaria and is generally considered safe with corals and invertebrates. As with most tangs, the main compatibility issues are usually with other tangs, not with corals.

Special Requirements or Care Notes:
Best kept in a well-established marine aquarium with excellent oxygenation, strong water movement, open swimming space and rockwork for grazing and shelter. Like other tangs, it has sharp caudal spines at the tail base, so it should be handled carefully. A tight-fitting lid is also sensible, as larger active tangs may jump when startled.

Suitable for:
Intermediate to Experienced fishkeepers. Retail care references describe it as moderate in difficulty, but its eventual size and space demands make it a better fit for more experienced marine keepers with large systems.

Availability:
Regular in trade. 

All images are a visual representation of the fish you will receive, made to be as accurate as possible. Please note that Mother Nature is a wonderful thing, and variation in patterns and colours will occur — that is part of the unique beauty of these animals.