tangs and small tanks

[Madoktopus]

I love sailfin tangs and have recently purchased a beautiful 3 inch (Z.veriferum) to accompany my clowns and gobies in my 40 gal tank. how big should i let it grow to before rehoming it?
-also would appreciate any tips on sailfin feeding and care!


p.s. i paid £22 for him about $17 is that a lot for a similar tang?

[WaterKeeper]

The price is good but the tank is not. Your tang will grow nearly five times as big over time. It also is an active swimmer and needs plenty of room. I woud say a tank of 100+ gallons is moe appropriate.

Has the pound dropped below the dollar???

[Madoktopus]

thank you for your advice ill put it my grandads tank when it gets big (how big though?). And the pound is always worth more than the dollar

[WaterKeeper]

Often people add Tangs to the tank thinking it will be years before they get too big for their tanks. In fact, they are fairly fast growing and yours will more than double in size in less than a year. If you plan to keep him I would start planning on larger quarters right now or at least in the next few months. By the time you set up a larger tank and have it cycled it will be time for a move.

By the way. I thought $17 was a bit low, it is more like $40 U.S. dollars, which is slightly high for a Sailfin on this side of the pond but prices run higher in the U.K. so I guess it is about average.

[Madoktopus]

thank you for helping me out. my grandad said he would take the tang whenever i was ready (in return for helping him set up his 6ft fish only). And cheers for correcting me on my pound/dollar conversion rates!

[WaterKeeper]

Tangs are great fish and usually good tankmates. They do demand a large tank so when you upgrade it would be a nice addition.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

waterkeeper...........a yellow tang will get up tp 15" in captivity??

[Madoktopus]

who mentioned any thing about a yellow tang? i thought they only grew abou 8 inches

[Madoktopus]

ohh i see u thought we were talking about yellow tangs no sorry true sailfins (Z.verifilum, Z desjardini, Z.scopas) the ones that are usually stripey and have really big fins

[WaterKeeper]

Right Mad Octy, the Yellow,Zebrasoma flavescens, is only about half the size of the Sailfin, Zebrasoma veliferum. It still needs plenty of room to swim and full grown a 40 is pushing the minimum limit.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

i know what a sailfin is....i just can't read i guess...sorry thought yt