Yellow tang

Photo: David R · CC BY-NC

Yellow tang are endemic to the central Pacific and reach their highest densities in Hawaii, where they are a keystone grazer that controls turf algae on reef flats and slopes. At General Stores they form loose schools and act as cleaner fish at turtle stations, picking algae and parasites from turtle shells in exchanges that are easily observed from a distance. The species was once heavily collected for the aquarium trade — a practice regulated in Hawaii after significant advocacy — and their populations at Kauai sites are notably robust compared to reefs elsewhere in their range.