I have kept them before. They are some of the better tangs of the Acanthurus group, being hardier than others like the powder blue or achilles. They also aren't quite as aggressive. Overall they are good aquarium fish. I maintained one in a 120 at an aquarium store I worked at for years and sold many of them and got a lot of good feedback on them from customers.
they do well in captivity if you find a good one. the only down fall of these fish are bad collection practices or being "roughed" up along the way. Achilles do great as well if they are handled properly.
Can you clarify exactly which one The Nigricans does not fare well in captivity
The Japonicus is the easier, hardier of the two....but not an 'easy' fish and not for beginners. They both are extremely susceptible to ich, velvet and many other parasites/ diseases.
I have a Japonicus, looked beautiful in the store....first had ich, I cured that and have been fighting some undiagnosed condition with him for the last 9 months And though all of these fish will not have this funk...most carry high parasitic loads and must be placed in qt and be ready to treat. If you don't qt, if you don't have the time to treat an ill fish, then this is not the fish for you..
They are a pretty fish and alot easier to care for than the Powder blue. I have seen some with an almost puple tint to their bodies. A very nice fish to have.
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