Naso elegans
Naso elegans (Orangespine unicornfish, Elegant unicornfish) lives naturally in the Indian Ocean: the Red Sea south of Durban, the coast of South Africa and eastward through the islands of the western Indian Ocean to southwest Indonesia. The fish can be found along the outer slopes of coral reefs and in quiet lagoons at depths of 3 to 100 m. Adult fish swim in pairs or singly, but juveniles prefer to keep in a flock.
It should be noted that the content of these fish in the aquarium is unpredictable - some experienced aquarists have problems with the content of Rhinoceros elegans and they suddenly die, although nothing predispose them to this, while others have these fish live in the aquarium for many years.
Orangespine unicornfish, Elegant unicornfish has a dark head with a broad yellow stripe above the eyes, yellow dorsal plumage with a narrow blue edge and black subarginal stripe, dark brown anal fin, yellowish tail plumage with black trim. In contrast to females, males have long black threads on the tail plumage rays. Juveniles have similar coloration to adult fish, only less bright. In general, the fish is similar to Naso lituratus, only differing from the latter in its yellowish dorsal plumage. In nature, fish reach a size of about 45 cm.
Keep Orangespine unicornfish should be in a spacious aquarium of 900 liters per 1 individual. The aquarium should be a large number of live rock, because the fish are constantly grazing algae growing on them. The aquarium should be a lot of places where the fish can hide, especially this is important at first, when the fish were just placed in the aquarium. This type of fish is known to jump out of open aquariums very often, so having a cover is a must.
Elegant unicornfish get along quite peacefully in the same aquarium, not only with other surgeons, but also with almost any fish, even large predators. Rhinoceroses do not harm corals and invertebrates and can be kept in a reef aquarium.
Water parameters: temperature 24-28° C, pH 8,1-8,4. Requires effective filtration and aeration of water.
Lighting requires bright, lasting about 12 hours a day.
Naso elegans is a plant-eating fish. At first, after settlement in the aquarium, the fish menu should consist only of plant food. The aquarium should be placed in a large number of live rock, replacing them as the fish will nibble on them with algae. If the stones will not be enough algae, the fish need to feed spirulina, lettuce and spinach leaves, as well as dry flaky food containing spirulina. Also, fish are gradually accustomed to the live food, giving them small portions of chopped meat shrimp, squid and mussels. Do not refuse to fish and artemia, Tubifex and chironomid, but still, the plant component in their menu should be predominant. Feed rhinoceroses orange-eyed need at least 2 times a day.
Reproduction
Naso elegans does not breed under aquarium conditions. All of the fish that occasionally appear in the retail chain are supplied from their natural habitat.
