tangs in 55 gallon

[Toddrtrex]

For three years now I have had a Powder Brown (A nigriacans) in my 75g. He/She eats out of my hand, has no HLLE and has been healthy since day one. I do have to say however while this fish "appears" happy { I have yet to find a way to talk to him/her : ) } that when I see him cruise around the tank I really wish I had a bigger tank. In the long run you have to deside what you think is best. While I think my tang would be happier in a larger tank I am not going to pull him out.

[Devious Rhesus]

It totally depends on how the tank is configured too. I saw a tang in a 100 gallon a few days ago. Normally I would consider that enough room, but the owner had a massive full-length rock wall that severely limited the swimming room. It was depressing watching the fish jet back and forth over the same narrow path continuously.

That being said, I plan on adding a baby blue tang to my new 82 gallon cube. The longest distance between two points of glass is only 39.6", but I feel it will be sufficient. If it gets too big i'll donate it to a friend with a larger tank, no big deal. The point is, analyze your personal situation and make your own choice; if that choice turns out to be flawed, don't be embarrassed to return the fish to the LFS or give it to a friend.

[JumboShrimp]

Originally posted by PENNYWISE
My three yellow tangs get along fine with my moorish idol in my 29 gal?? I think it's the skimmer.

Your going to put me into cardiac arrest...

[speccialj922]

and now things start to get rediculous.

the topic of tangs will never end. there are always going to be people who swing one way, and people that swing the other - like politics. you can argue all day, but things arent likely to change much. as of now, the "tang police" (that term is just plain obnoxious) have much more going in thier favor. there is alot of info out there that suggests that tangs need much more than a 55g tank. all that the other side has, is personal experience. so first off, i believe that its fair to say that more often than not, a tang will die in a 55g or smaller.

i think the misunderstanding comes into play in whether a tang can be "happy" in a small tank or not. its hard to know without being or consulting a ichtyologist what is normal behaviour for a fish. but when you look at what describes this behavior, there have been/are tangs in smaller tanks that show the same behavir as they do in the wild. SOME cases, not all, or most. so we're on an understanding that it is humanly possible for a tang to live and maybe even flourish in a 55g or smaller. like people, some individual fish are much healthier and hardier than other individuals of the same species.

but what experts are saying is that it is infinatly more likely that a tang (or any fish) will do much better in a certain size or larger tank. this is why they offer "suggested minimal tank size". personally every fish that i put in my 50g, is suited for 30g or less. i dont like to take chances, others do... i dont like it, but maybe thats life.

personally i dont see the point in making a big fuss, not to mention risking a tank, over a fish, that to be honest, isnt all that fascinating. ive seen hundreds of fish at work, and i cant remember ooohing and ahhhing over many tangs that come in. (just my opinion).

although i know this topic will never end, i hope that we can come to an agreement on 1 thing. if youre new to this hobby, and dont know a whole lot about a fish or its needs, then you shouldnt try to put a fish in a tank smaller than its recomended size. no matter what species it is, it probly wont live.

sorry for the rant/long post.

[speccialj922]

sorry, one more thing. to anyone that says thier fish is happy (not trying to pick a fight here, just providing an example) because it eats from thier hand... i can put a dog in a hot room and teach it to sit. learned behavior is not grounds for happiness. (again, not meant harshly. just trying to expose a misconception).

[Toddrtrex]

speccialj922 - I have to disagree with your last post (since if referres to something I said) teaching a dog to sit and a fish eating out of ones hand a two different things. For a fish to eat out of my hand shows trust that I am not going to do it harm. I dont think that any animal will show as much trust if it is unhappy. JMO

[speccialj922]

im not saying your fish isnt happy, all im trying to say is that your fish's trust of you doesnt necessarily insist anything about its environment. you may have the absolute happiest tang in the world, i just dont see a connection between eating from your hand and its happiness with your tank. i could just be wearing blinders though

[Toddrtrex]

You have to be wearing blinders since you don't agree with me I do not have any sciencetific proof - but I just think that if any animal is not happy with its enviroment it will not be willing to trust a human. The only example I can think all is a junk yard dog that is stuck outside in poor conditions - there is no way I am going to try and pet it. But when I get home tonight I will ask me tang if he/she is happy

[saltaholic]

Originally posted by der_wille_zur_macht
By your logic, how do you know a XYZ species fish would be "fine" in a 100g tank, but not a 55? Did he tell you that the 100g made him 82.5% more happy?

Obviously there are extreme limits, but the blatant, unsubstantiated bashing of anyone who asks about a tang around here is pitiful. Take a look at this post. Someone asks a reasonable question, and what was the response from forum members? Nearly a whole page of one word "NO!!!!!!!" answers. What's that going to accomplish besides convincing newbies that they're looked down upon around here?

Just have to throw my 2 cents. I agree with this statement 100% I think that sometimes the problem on this board is that that number to the left starts to get bigger and the person's head behind the screen name starts to get bigger as well, they forget that even though the question has been answered a hundred times on this board, they were once asking the same question too. I also agree with the "tang police" band wagon, seems to be a lot of that.
Don't get me wrong I love this board that's why I still use it, there are many good fellow reefers here that are very informative and like to do it, thumbs up to them Sorry I heard the chord played and had to chime in.

Just my opinion on the whole tang issue. I really can not say right or wrong. How much extra room do you really get from a 55 to a 90. Do you think that fish that was use to unlimited space really can tell the difference between the little extra space of a 90g? However I am not hard headed and I choose to take the advice of many reefers that I look to for information that it is not a good idea. I had a yellow in a 55 and while I thought the fish was doing good, I felt that that it would have been happier with more room. Also my tang anyway was very messy. I felt that the bio load was too much.

By the way I saved my yellow from petco too. Turned out to be a awesome fish!!

[photobarry]

I haven't heard anyone talk about how much a tang eats and how inefficiently they process that food (i.e. algae/nori). In a smaller tank you are more likely to end up with water quality issues than if the tank was bigger.

[saltaholic]

Originally posted by photobarry
I haven't heard anyone talk about how much a tang eats and how inefficiently they process that food (i.e. algae/nori). In a smaller tank you are more likely to end up with water quality issues than if the tank was bigger.

I totally agree

[nyfireman3097]

Just my opinion on the whole tang issue. I really can not say right or wrong. How much extra room do you really get from a 55 to a 90. Do you think that fish that was use to unlimited space really can tell the difference between the little extra space of a 90g?


See this is what i meant earilier my 55 is 4 feet long and ur 90 is 4 feet long i have 1.5 pounds of lr a gallon and u have 2 pounds of lr a gallon isnt there more space in my tank since theres less rock in it to swim around???? i agree with alot being said now my kole tang hasent had knock on wood any problems eats very well never seems to be fighting for room to swim or for territory he seems happy to me
Nick

[speccialj922]

i really didnt want to get sucked back into this post...

toddrtrex, even though i did refer to something you said, it definatly wasnt aimed at you. i read that all the time and i was trying to adress the misconception, not your post. so i do apologize if it looked like i was trying to put you on the spot.

but again, i really have to disagree with you here. junk yard dogs are not mean and violent because of where they live. they are mean because they are fed gunpowder and coaxed into aggressively attacking anyone who tresspasses. people who have regular old dogs that are outside dogs and do not necessarily get the best care, are far from the meanest dogs out there.

also at my lfs we had a 2.5' nurse shark in a 55g show tank. ( i dont want to hear it, it ****ed me off enough already ). well we offered to customers for 99 cents they could watch it eat 4 goldfish. (you'd be surprised how simple people get off on things like that). well within a week or so, we could dangle the goldfish just above the water line and it would eat from our hand. my problem with your theory is that it would assume that the 2.5' nurse shark was happy in a 4ft tank because it ate from our hands. not to mention the day after we get a fish shipment, almost every fish will eat frozen foods out of your hand, this goes also for large fish in tanks as small as 20g.

i do believe that eating habits can be a good sign of health of a fish, i just cant seem to find any evidence that supports your claim. yes i think that a fish feeding from hand CAN be happy, but i dont think that the 2 are mutually exclusive. again, not trying to pick a fight here, just trying to logically discuss.

[BryanJ]

The bigger fish and peoples perception of big and small tanks discussion will never end. Instead of singling out tangs lets discuss the real problem here which is BIOLOAD. Tangs are the messiest fish on the reef. I even went trolling earlier with a comment on rabbitfish, to see if people would say a rabbit is ok. But a tang is not. Thank you Barry for catching it so soon and foiling my trap.

It all comes down to bioload. If you have a 55 and want a tang then research the tangs and get one that at full adult maturity does not exceed 7".(like a Kole tang for example.) An for tank mates only get 2 or 3 small fish Like a pair of percula clowns to go with the tang. Keeping the bioload to a minimum. Also keep your rock work closer to a pound per gallon then to 2 lbs per gallon. Allowing more room for swim and less room to place corals. Make sure you have a good skimmer and a refugium you will need all the nutrient export you can get. Oh wait all tanks should have a good nutrient export system no matter what size the tank is or what type of fish they are keeping. My point is good water quality and a little research is all you need. Or learn to use the search function here on RC so you can avoid the tang arguments. JMO

[photobarry]

Originally posted by BryanJ
Thank you Barry for catching it so soon and foiling my trap.

[mikeo1210]

Originally posted by chevyII
*sirens sirens sirens sirens sirens sirens sirens *

*alert alert alert*

*calling all tang police* *calling all tang police* *calling all tang police*

Roo..roo..roo..roo

[dendronepthya]

How much extra room do you really get from a 55 to a 90. Do you think that fish that was use to unlimited space really can tell the difference between the little extra space of a 90g?

You get almost twice the volume. Of course it makes a difference. It also makes a big difference when you move from a 90 to a 180. Until we are talking about tanks in the thousands of gallons, I'd say any 100% increase in volume is a really big deal.

[dendronepthya]

It all comes down to bioload

I don't agree. The crux of the argument is space. You can have a 1000 gallon tank with excellent filtration with a 55 gallon refugium attached, and I would still urge someone not to put a tang in the 55 gallon.

[scaz]

question does water flow affect how happy they are? I have had clowns the just love swimming into a stron powerhead?

[Aquatect]

Note to self: Never ask any questions about tangs

[mikeo1210]

Since having put one in my 90 I've longed (no pun-intended) for a bigger tank. He can swim the length of the tank in 1/2 second flat. He's easily the most active fish in my tank and swims circles around the others. I feel bad seeing him lap the tank repeatedly and that's only one tang. I would NEVER put one in a smaller tank unless it was 3" or smaller and ONLY if I had plans to upgrade the tank in the next year or two.. JMO.. You don't want to live the guilt.

[Daddyo]

I've got a small (2") yellow tang in my 50 long. It's 4 feet, he loves darting in and around the live rock. Will I keep him in there forever? Heck no. I'm currently convincing my wife that rather than a fireplace, a room divider tank would be optimal.

Of course, I rescued a copperband from a coworkers aggressive tank and now it's cramped with just two fish in that tank. I'm definitely looking for a bigger tank for the copperband.

[Devious Rhesus]

Originally posted by Aquatect
Note to self: Never ask any questions about tangs

Tangs and skimmer selection! Those Tunze users seem to be fiercely loyal too...

[saltaholic]

You get almost twice the volume. Of course it makes a difference. It also makes a big difference when you move from a 90 to a 180. Until we are talking about tanks in the thousands of gallons, I'd say any 100% increase in volume is a really big deal

I don't agree with your theory on going from a 55 to a 90. Twice the volume really doesn't play the main factor. With a bigger tank you will have twice the rock, and you still have only 4 feet of actual swim room. I agree if you think that a 90 is better when it comes to bio load. This may be a small point but it gets on my nerves when people that have a 75 or a 90 are so quick to say oh my god what were you thinking having a tang in a 55. If swimming space is the issue, and by what is being preached, then really a tank that is 6 feet long is the "proper" size for a tang.

[55gSW]

Well, I have a yellow tang in a 55g, I've had her for almost 4 years now, but with the way things are around here, you'll never get me to admit it!!