Flame Fin Tomini Tang (Ctenochaetus tominiensis)

The Flame Fin Tomini Tang (Ctenochaetus tominiensis), sold interchangeably as the Tomini Tang, Flame Fin Tang, Bristletooth Tomini Tang, or Tomini Surgeonfish, is the tang to buy when you want a real algae grazer but not a real algae grazer's attitude. It stays around 6 inches, tops out well below the size of an Acanthurus or a Naso, and is one of the few tangs that behaves itself in a mixed reef. The body is tan shading to olive with a dusting of fine blue speckling, and the dorsal and anal fins are edged in the bright golden-orange that earns it the flame fin name. Browse the rest of our saltwater fish.

What makes it genuinely useful is the mouth. Bristletooth tangs have comb-like teeth built for scraping film algae and detritus off rock rather than tearing at longer macroalgae, so a Tomini works the surfaces a Yellow or Purple Tang tends to ignore. It grazes all day, constantly.

Choose Your Size

Both are the same species and need the same care. Larger fish handle competition better; smaller fish adapt to a new system a little faster.

Care Guide

• Tank size: 70 gallons and up, with a long footprint. Tangs are open-water swimmers and need horizontal run more than volume.
• Established tank required: this is the one real requirement. A Tomini feeds on film algae and biofilm, so it wants a mature system with live rock that has something growing on it. Do not put one in a tank that finished cycling last week.
• Diet: herbivore. Offer dried seaweed on a clip several times a week plus a quality marine pellet and frozen mysis. Grazing on the rock supplements the diet, it does not replace it.
• Temperament: peaceful for a tang, and reef safe with corals and inverts. It will still square up to another bristletooth, so add only one per tank unless the system is very large.
• Water: 72 to 78°F, salinity 1.020 to 1.025, pH 8.1 to 8.4. Tangs are sensitive to nitrate and poor water quality, so keep up with changes.
• Flow and oxygen: strong flow and good gas exchange. Tangs are high-energy fish and appreciate an oxygen-rich, well-circulated tank.
• Lid recommended: startled tangs jump. Cover the tank.

Specifications

Compatibility

Good with clownfish, gobies, blennies, wrasses, cardinalfish, dottybacks, and most peaceful community reef fish. It ignores corals and will not bother ornamental shrimp, so it fits a mixed reef without qualification.

The one rule is other tangs. Keep a single Tomini unless you have a large system, and be careful pairing it with another bristletooth such as our Scopas Tang, since same-shape tangs are what trigger territorial squabbles. Introduce tangs together rather than one at a time when you can.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• Dried seaweed sheets on a feeding clip, the staple for any tang
• SFBB Frozen Mysis Shrimp for protein a few times a week
• Piscine Energetics Saltwater Pellets as a dry daily food
• Browse our full saltwater selection for tankmates and reef supplies

FAQ

Is the Flame Fin Tang the same thing as a Tomini Tang?
Yes. Ctenochaetus tominiensis is sold under both names, plus Bristletooth Tomini and Tomini Surgeonfish. Same fish, different shop labels.

Will it eat hair algae?
Some, but do not buy it as a hair algae solution. Bristletooth teeth are built for film algae, diatoms, and detritus on rock. For long hair algae a Zebrasoma such as a Yellow or Scopas Tang is the better tool.

Can I keep it in a 55 gallon?
We would not. It only reaches 6 inches, but tangs swim constantly and need horizontal distance. 70 gallons and up with a long footprint is the honest minimum.

Is it really reef safe?
Yes. It grazes rock surfaces and leaves corals and inverts alone.

Are tangs prone to ich?
Surgeonfish are more susceptible than most reef fish, which is why stable temperature, low stress, and good nutrition matter. Everything we sell goes through our in-store quarantine first.