Yellow Tang Zebrasoma flavescens

The brightly-coloured and seemingly always smiling Yellow Tang, also called Yellow Surgeonfish, is native to tropical reefs of the Pacific Ocean.

Tangs are also known as Surgeonfish because of the sharp, scalpel-like spines at each side before the tail. These are used to defend against rivals and predators. Many tangs, confusingly, have a different common name as surgeonfish, but the Yellow has only the one.

A small Tang, they can grow to some 20 cm long. Unlike some Tang, the juveniles are a small version of the adult colourscheme. (Some other blue and lined tangs have yellow juveniles.)

Some can be paler yellow and almost white.

Adults spend much of the day grazing on marine turf algae, sometimes in shoals. Juveniles are more solitary, seeking shelter of the inner reefs.