Where do I get a Blonde Naso Tang with barbs/splines not clipped?

[Lowefx]

So as the title states, I want a blonde naso with the splines/barbs not clipped. I understand it's hard to ship due to cutting the bag, but there's gotta be a way. Also I assume certain catchers might not clip them, but most do. Anyone recommend a dealer that doesn't clip them?

[Lowefx]

Anyone??? Bump

[ca1ore]

I've never heard that.

[hogfanreefer]

Weird, I've never seen one in any of our LFS without their scalpels.

[Lowefx]

Ok, I thought they always shipped without them. Maybe I'm wrong. Thanks for clarification

[SNAKEMANVET]

I have never heard of anyone clipping the spines off a any tangs.

[Lowefx]

Man, for some reason I thought they clipped them to ship, so they didn't puncture the bag. Disregard then....bad thread on my behalf.... (I feel stupid now).....not really tho.....

[SNAKEMANVET]

It's ok,the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask.They are a great fish to have.

[albano]

Man, for some reason I thought they clipped them to ship, so they didn't puncture the bag...

I thought that they just put tiny little styrofoam caps on the spines to ship them!
:rolleyes:

Actually, I sometimes wish that they were clipped...because tangs love to swim next to the front panel and scratch the acrylic!

[ohmygod]

First time hearing this :) following

[o2manyfish]

This is not a stupid question at all. The mature naso tangs have a pair of forward facing hooks on the tail. The are usually clipped when the are collected. It protects the other fish they are being held with and does prevent them from slicing their bags during transport as well as cutting the people that are handling them.

When tail hooks are full they kind of look like 2 shark fins facing backwards on the tail. Most of the tangs that come in might have two small base plates exposed but the forward facing hooks are usually trimmed.

Pop over to live aqauria and type in Naso tang. You will see the base of the scalpels on the fish but the actual hook that can stick off the tail as much as 1/2 an inch is missing.

These hooks do grow back in captivity. And if you have a Naso where the hooks do grow back, if you have a heavily populated tank, those hooks can easily hurt other fish when everyone runs to one spot in the tank to feed. It's not an issue to net the tang and use a pair of toe nail clippers to clip the hooks off to protect your other fish.

Dave B

[Dkuhlmann]

Very interesting Dave, Here is one I found on Google images that has a pretty obvious one, still hunting for pictures of really long ones. Also the picture from LA for comparison

http://tvilumnas.com/img/fullsize/s_blonde_naso_tang_main_800x608.jpg

http://www.liveaquaria.com/images/categories/large/lg-74019-NasoBlonde-fem-tan.jpg

[Lowefx]

That's about as long as I've found them too. This one has great color too! Which location has the best color, like the above picture? Is it from Red Sea or Indonesia, or somewhere else?

[Dmorty217]

I have received juv blondes in the past that didn't have their spines clipped

[Dkuhlmann]

Lowefx that is just a picture I found on Google Images. It's a beauty for sure.

[arturgrzebien]

You can order one at reef boutique

[Sapelo]

I think Dmorty is onto it: order a juv and let it grow....