In Finding Nemo, the blue tang fish is Dory. She is a bright blue-and-yellow regal tang whose cheerful personality and short-term memory loss make her one of Pixar’s most recognizable characters. Dory meets Marlin while he is searching for his son Nemo and immediately decides to help, even though she cannot reliably remember recent events.
Dory’s memory problem drives much of the story’s humor and also creates its emotional tension. She repeatedly forgets Marlin’s name, their destination, and why they are travelling, but she retains important emotional instincts: she trusts Marlin, cares about Nemo, and keeps moving forward when the journey becomes dangerous. Her famous determination helps the pair cross the ocean and reach Nemo.
“Blue tang” is the common name associated with Dory’s species, while “Dory” is the character’s name. Marlin is Nemo’s clownfish father, Crush is a sea turtle, and Nemo is the young clownfish being sought; none is the blue tang. Dory later became the lead character of the 2016 sequel Finding Dory.