Surgeonfish

"I caught a surgeonfish! It was a simple operation, though!" —New Leaf

Surgeonfish
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Paracanthurus hepatus (palette surgeonfish) Family: Acanthuridae (surgeonfishes and tangs)
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  ナンヨウハギ  擬刺尾鯛  Poisson chirurgien  Pez cirujano  Pesce chirurgo  Флаговый хирург  블루탱  擬刺尾鯛  Poisson chirurgien  Pez cirujano  Paletten-Doktorfisch  Doktersvis

The Surgeonfish is an uncommon fish found in the ocean all day between the months of April and September. It can be found in Animal Crossing: City Folk, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. It is worth 1,000 Bells. It has a small shadow size, the same size as a Horse Mackerel. In the "Bugs and Fish" window in City Folk, it says "Usually found around reefs, these will hide if startled."

Catch details

In City Folk

#42

Surgeonfish
"I caught a surgeonfish! It's cobalt blue and beautiful!"

Description	Usually found around reefs, these will hide if startled.
Time of year	Unknown
Time of day	Unknown
Peak times
Location	Ocean
Shadow size	Small
Fish size	About 12.4 inches (32 cm)
Selling price	1,000 Bells
Furniture size

In New Leaf

#46

"I caught a surgeonfish! It was a simple operation, though!"

Time of year	Unknown
Time of day	April - September: All Day
Peak times	-
Location	[[Ocean (including Tortimer Island)]]
Shadow size	Small
Fish size	31cm
Selling price	1,000 Bells
Furniture size

In Pocket Camp

#20

Event availability	Fishing Tourney #1
Location	Saltwater Shores
Shadow size	Small
Fish size	25.9 cm - 36.1 cm
Rarity	★★★
Catch rate	Cannot be caught at this time.
Selling price	1,500 Bells
Request reward	1,500 Bells, 3 Friendship Points

In New Horizons

#50

"I caught a surgeonfish! Scalpel! Forceps! Fish hook!"

Time of year	North: Apr – Sep South: Oct – Mar
Time of day	All day
Location	Sea
Shadow size	Small
Spawn requirement	Unknown
Selling prices	Nook's Cranny:  1,000 Bells  C.J.:  1,500 Bells
Furniture size

Donation to the Museum

City Folk

"For future reference, I recommend you remember surgeonfish and coral as a set, wot wot? These bright fish have blue bodies and yellow tail fins, and they make their home in the southern seas. ...And what delightful, easygoing expressions they wear! I feel relaxed just looking at them!"

The fish can be found in the bottom-right tank in the aquarium, with the Clownfish and Butterflyfish, which are other types of tropical fish.

New Leaf

"These tropical fish sport beautiful, yellow, triangular tails and elegant black lines on dazzling blue bodies. Personalitywise, the surgeonfish is actually rather laid back and timid. They seek out gaps in coral or between rocks for the greatest amount of protection while sleeping."

New Horizons

Upon donation or selecting "Tell me more about this!", Blathers will say:

"Hoo! Careful, now! These fish are particularly dangerous, despite their seemingly docile appearance. With its saturated blue and yellow tones, the surgeonfish is quite breathtaking. It's got to keep up with all the other vibrant fish that live in the coral too, I wager. Quite the competition! Its spine is sharp as a blade, so care must be taken when handling these beauties..."

Further Information

A real-life surgeonfish.

Surgeonfish are members of the family Acanthuridae and are named for scalpel-like modified fins on the peduncle (base of the tail). The species shown ingame is Paracanthurus hepatus, also known as the regal tang, palette surgeonfish, blue tang (not to be confused with the Atlantic Acanthurus coeruleus variety), royal blue tang, hippo tang, flagtail surgeonfish, pacific regal blue tang and blue surgeonfish. It is a tropical fish that lives in areas such as Japan, East Africa, Samoa, New Caledonia, and even the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

They change color when spawning, from a deep blue to a pale blue. The eggs hatch within 24 hours of fertilization, revealing small larvae with silvery abdomen. They are inedible to humans, with a foul smelling flesh and taste, and are poisonous. They can, however, be used as a type of bait. It can easily protect itself using spines located near its tail, which extend when the fish is excited or threatened. It will slash sideways towards a predator and can cause deep wounds allowing venom to seep in, which can cause infections.

More information on this topic is available at Wikipedia.

Gallery

Inventory icons

• Surgeonfish (City Folk).png

  Animal Crossing: City Folk

Encyclopedia images

• Surgeonfish CF.jpg

  Animal Crossing: City Folk

• Surgeonfish NL.png

  Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Furniture

• 

  Pocket Camp tank

• 

  New Horizons model

Screenshots

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Names in other languages

	ナンヨウハギ Nan'yōhagi	Paracanthurus (lit. "southern ocean scalpel")
	블루탱 beullutaeng	Paracanthurus/Blue tang
	拟刺尾鲷 nǐ cìwěidiāo	Paracanthurus (literal translation of genus name, "like Acanthurus")
	擬刺尾鯛 Unknown
	Флаговый хирург Flagovyy khirurg	Paracanthurus/Regal tang
	Doktersvis	Surgeonfish
	Paletten-Doktorfisch	Paracanthurus/Pallet surgeonfish
	Pez cirujano	Same as in English.
	Poisson chirurgien	Surgeon fish
	Pesce chirurgo	Surgeonfish