Powder Blue Tang?

[TimT]

Could anyone tell me a little about the Powder Blue, is it reef safe, will it get along with a Yellow Tang (if added at the same time), good eaters, What thay like to eat, would these two Tangs+Flame Hawk+Tomoto Clown be to much bio load for a 55gal, with 4-5" DSB. 75lbs LR. Some of you told me in my last post to try Inlandaqudtics for LS, for my change over this Sat. Mike at ILA told me this change over I'm going to do from CC to DSB WILL send my tank into a re-cycle. He said it could be real small or a tank blow-out, any commits?? Thanks, Tim

[Lobster]

A 55G will very likely be too small for a powder blue. They're very active swimmers and are quite territorial.

They're reef safe and will eat pretty much anything once you get them feeding. I feed mine nori, formula one, formula two, mysis shrimp, and brine shrimp. Its very important to keep them well fed.

Like all the acanthurus tangs, they are prone to ich. Mine recently got it, probably due to higher temperatures here recently, but it quickly clears up if you eliminate the source of stress and your tank is healthy.

I have a sailfin tang in the tank with him. They do occasionally fight (I catch them at it about once a week), but neither has ever been resultedly damaged. You could count on it fighting with a yellow in a 55G.

About your sandbed... Im not sure it would send the tank into a literal cycle where you would see an ammonia spike. I changed out my CC bed about six years ago and saw no adverse effects. The big challenge is not making a mess with the new sand.

[TimT]

Lobster, thanks for all your insight. That really helps. What do you mean about sand mess, on the floor or in the tank? i'm ready for a sand storm, I hope, thanks again

[Lobster]

If the sand contains very fine grains, it will be really hard to add the sand without creating a sand soup in the tank. As the sand settles out it coats everything with a really fine dust. The severity depends on the sand you use. The fun part is trying to get it off your rocks, because you usually just stir it back into suspension again. :D

My southdown sand left a quarter-inch high pile of really fine sand dust on the surface of the sandbed. The tank was new and otherwise empty, so it wasnt a problem. I just kept folding it back under the coarser sand since I wanted to work out air bubbles anyway. Took about a week to clear up.

Wouldnt hurt to have alot of saltwater on hand in case you need to do water changes.

[TimT]

Thanks again, Lobster. I have 100lbs of SouthDown not YardRight, and 40lbs of Pure Caribbean Aragonite from Petroglyph Marketing. Tonight, a guy at the LFS is getting me 10lbs of LS from one of his friends. I think that will be a good mix for a 4"-6" DSB???? One more question I have been told by two that I should put back a thin layer of CC for dust control and bio factor what is your thoughts, Lobster or anybody? Thanks, Tim

[TimT]

Will someone please respond to my last post, got a little off the main subject, but please help, Tim

[Outerbank]

Hi Tim,

I am going through old powder blue posts. I see you asked for more info and no one answered you. I think PBs are quite hardy but initially ick prone. They are shy at first to eat, but then become absolute pigs. I would strongly recommend quarentining a PBT all by itself for at least a month. I quarentined mine in a 30 gallon tank with some nice rock structure and kept him in there for 6 and 1/2 weeks. He was a timid eater for about 2 weeks and eventually became an absolute pig. They take awhile to adjust to captivity and this is one reason that I really recommend the Q tank. He eventually began to beg for food. He is now in my 230 gallon without problems but has only been in there for 4 days. There is a yellow tang in there that is 1 inch larger than him. The PB is a very aggressive tang and immediately became the king of the tank. A 55 gallon is way too small. The PB is best kept in at least a 125 and I would not consider putting any other tangs in the tank unless the tank is at least 180 gallons. Ideally, I would have less fish in my tank because the PB seems to keep an eye on all the fish (this may be because he was just introduced into the tank). My current inhabitants are a yellow tang, 2 mandarins, 2 bangaii cardinals, 2 green chromins, flame hawk, 2 common clowns, and a cherub angel. I think the system would be best with a few less fish.

They are pigs but you must feed them right. They love the green formula flakes (I always forget if it is formula 1 or 2, but they ar ethe green flakes in the green containers). They also absolutely love green seaweed selects. Mine loves the brown seaweed selects as well. Put the seaweed selects on an algae clip and keep it in the tank all day.

Scott

[Jared Cooper]

I've had my powder blue tang for six month now, initailly it got a small case of ich, probably stress from shipping, (I ordered through mail order) but it went away without any treatment, I just fed it a lot and made sure it always had seaweed to munch on. From what i understand this fish doesn't have scales and has a layer of slime that protects it from disease. When it is shipped it loses that slime layer and is more prone to diseases, once the layer is restored it is quit hardy. This was told to me by my LFS whom i trust. IT could be hogwash, if it is someone correct me. I'd recommend this fish if you have the room though. I have a 125 gallon tank and it swims through every inch of it. I absolutly love it, and once it got used to the tank it hasn't got ich since. It is very active and needs a somewhat large tank. You should always leave seaweed availabe for it to munch on throughout the day. Also my powder blue lives with a Purple tang, they get a long without any problems. If you have a smaller tank though their could be problems. My powder blue has munched on one of my gorgonias that is in the sand. It never touches the same species that is up high on the rocks. The PB also has nipped on my xenias which I wish he'd do more as my pom pom xenia population is exploding. It has left my clams SPS and LPS corals alone though. Overall I think you need a bigger tank, if you get a bigger tank get this fish it is awsome.
Jared

[Aquamans Reef]

PBT are beautiful fish but aggressive toward other fish. Mine chases my flame angel, purple tang and yellow tang. HTH's Joe

[Outerbank]

After a week and a half, the PB is settling in well. He demands center stage and is always swimming in the center of the tank and begs for food. He hasn't harmed any fish but does let them know he is king. He is much less shy and in the open more than a yellow tang. They can do well in tanks (so far, this is MO. Time will tell) given a large tank with plenty of swimming area.

Scott