Due to its relatively small size, the Gold-rimmed Tang can be a good choice for the home aquarium, however it is a high maintenance fish. It is also a more aggressive surgeonfish. It can generally be kept in a community tank with a variety of tank mates, but it can get aggressive towards other species with a similar body shape and diet. It is also aggressive to others of its own genus, so should be kept singly.
The Gold-rimmed Tang or Whitecheek Surgeonfish is one of the surgeonfish often referred to as a 'Powder Brown Tang', the other being the very similar looking White-faced Surgeonfish A. japonicus. In fact they are so similar looking that they are often both sold under the name Powder Brown Tang, and it takes a diligent eye to know which of these two fish you may be getting. Both these fish are delicate when first acquired and can be difficult to acclimate to the aquarium. But while the White-faced Surgeonfish is fairly easy to care for once it is settled, this tang continues to be quite sensitive to its environment making it a more difficult to fish to sustain. It is also less frequently available than the White-faced Surgeonfish. The Gold-rimmed Tang likes a lot of water movement rather than a placid aquarium. A quick and agile swimmer it will need plenty of swimming space, and like all surgeonfish it needs corals/ rocks with crevices for retreat and sleeping at night. Initially it is a very shy fish and can be a rather finicky feeder and difficult to acclimate. Even once it gets settled it will still be a very delicate fish, prone to both marine ick and Lateral Line Erosion disease (LLE). To maintain this tang will require top quality water conditions and close attention to a proper diet. Offer it lots of marine algae such as Japanese Nori, macroalgae, and spirulina. Being a voracious algae eater, a good algae growth in the aquarium helps provide for its nutritional needs as well as making it an excellent candidate for a reef environment