Since Finding Nemo was released, many were amazed by the characteristics of the characters. The beautiful clownfish and the way he raises his little ones surprised more than one, but another beloved protagonist is Dory, who many wonder what kind of fish she really is.
Of course, Dory is based on a real-life species, its namesake being the Paracanthurus hepatus, whose common name is ‘Pacific blue tang’. Other names by which Dory’s species is also known are ‘royal blue surgeonfish’ or ‘hippopotamus surgeonfish’.
Blue tang fish live very close to coral fish, since it is in these regions where algae can be found in abundance, which are their main source of food. And like everything in nature, the presence of these fish is part of the balance of the ecosystem. The blue surgeonfish tends to clean places near corals of algae, which greatly benefits the reefs since the presence of algae has been related to a decrease in their health.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, fish like Dory live in the reefs of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and have been seen near countries such as India, Thailand, Japan, Guam, American Samoa, Kenya and South Africa. .
They are not adaptable to aquariums
Since Finding Nemo and its sequel Finding Dory were released, many conservationists have expressed concern about the increase in interest in the protagonists. The most important concern was that purchase rates for clownfish and blue tangs would rise, confining the species to aquariums.
It should be said that the species to which Dory belongs, the Pacific blue surgeonfish, does not seem to adapt to the confinement of captivity. Like many other Pacific tropical fish, Paracanthurus hepatus have not been successfully bred in captivity. But fishermen have tried everything to catch them, they have even sprayed small amounts of cyanide, hoping that the blue fish will fall into the trap and come to the surface a little dazed and then transfer them to the aquariums.
Of course, this technique is not only harmful to blue tangs, but to all life in the ecosystem. In that sense, it is important to emphasize that films like these can be of great importance as they help us understand marine life and its behaviors. Although on the other hand, man’s greed seems to be present and the risk that the demand rates for these species as pets will rise is always latent.