tangs in a 150g?

[mujtba]

how many tangs can I put in a 150g thats 72 x 18 x 28?

I already have a blue hippo and yellow. was considering 1 more...

[adimal]

5

[AquaReeferMan]

I have 3 in my 125g. Achilles, Hippo, and a Kole. I wouldnt put more than 3 in there.

[mujtba]

so how many fish TOTAL can i put in there if I have 3 tangs? Can I put school of 5 anthias?

[flyyyguy]

Originally posted by mujtba
so how many fish TOTAL can i put in there if I have 3 tangs? Can I put school of 5 anthias?

you can put 150 total. Havent you heard of the 1 fish per gallon rule??

[ScubaDiver93]

Is this a fish tank or a reef tank?

[mujtba]

reef tank.. its not 1 fish per gallon rule, it is 1 inch per gallon... so no i cannot put 150 total...

[ricks]

If you slide them in side to side top to bottom about 1,500... Let see 72 x 18 x 28 = 36,288 divide by 1,500 = 24.192. So I would say safely around 24-25 up to 5" each. Heheheh ..

I have 6 in my 500. I would think 3 would be ok, A 150 is a little small for tangs. I would stay with a smaller size fish .

[capn_hylinur]

I have three in a 110-------yellow, blue and sailfin--it is a high tank, the reef is on the back wall so there is a good 4 feet open swim area.

[mujtba]

ok here is what I have currently:

hippo tang, yellow tang, marron clown, percula clown, black damsel...

I wanted to buy these: 1 more tang (8-9inch size max), 3-5 school of chromis anthias..

whaddaya think realistically i can get? i do 10g water change weekly.. so without ammonia skyrocketing, what are my options? thanks

[capn_hylinur]

*adequate filtration is not the concern with tangs----they are considered open swimmers so they need alot of swimming space.

*this is assuming you would have a least 180 lbs live rock, and a good size sump/and or refugium and big mother protein skimmer

[davocean]

I personally would get rid of one of the clowns(different species, maroon may get aggro w/ age) and I'd lose the damsel as well(mean)
A small tang like a kole or tomini would be cool.
Anthias= need to be fed at least 3 times a day normally, higher bio.
I prefer the chromis, but some people say they fight till one left(I've had my same 6 for 5 yrs now no prob.)
Basically how many fish depends on filtration as well as tank size.
W/ a good skimmer you can get away w/ a higher bio load.
Also, I would increase WC to 15g(10% weekly)

[capn_hylinur]

...and they are relatively tame, but sometimes are territorial and need space to get up the speed to get away from a ticked off other tang. My yellow is the boss---I just introduced a new sailfin to the tank about 7 days ago----the tang is at the stage where all of a sudden he takes a lighting stab at the sailfin and the sailfin takes off for the reef just as fast. (the yellow tangs line of defense is two razor sharp ridges near the back of its body before the tail. He needs space to dart and turn or come up beside another fish---kind of like the old chariot races/duels

[davocean]

I agree w/ the open space swimming comment, but since your tank is a 6 footer you're OK w/ the smaller tangs.

[mujtba]

i may have 200lbs of LR in the tank. should i remove some?

now as far as WC goes, I don't have 150g of water.. it may be 100g since sand and LR take space. So would i still need 15g WC?

i thought chromis and anthis were same....

[davocean]

I'd stay w/ what you have on LR.
I assumed you have a sump, more water volume(specs help in sig)
Chromis and anthias are VERY different.
Anthias are more difficult to keep healthy.

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by davocean
I personally would get rid of one of the clowns(different species, maroon may get aggro w/ age) and I'd lose the damsel as well(mean)
A small tang like a kole or tomini would be cool.
Anthias= need to be fed at least 3 times a day normally, higher bio.
I prefer the chromis, but some people say they fight till one left(I've had my same 6 for 5 yrs now no prob.)
Basically how many fish depends on filtration as well as tank size.
W/ a good skimmer you can get away w/ a higher bio load.
Also, I would increase WC to 15g(10% weekly)

i agree with part---of course everytank leads to different fish reactions/behaviours
don't start with damsels--they grow into "dam"sels and you will regret it--very difficult to get a fish out of a reef tank.

I have had good results with clowns of the same species but not with damsels and clowns--they are related and the ain't kissing cousins.

My anthias is great--even eats flake---only fed twice a day is is doing well

A school of chromis is great--I've had no problems.

Cardinals are great, and so is a dwarf angle--but only one allowed--they don't mix well.

[ricks]

A 8"-9" Tang is way to large for a 150. Stay in the 2"-3" range. The fish you are talking about will be a large bio load. Your talking about 11 - 12 fish total?? I have 20 fish in my 500, with a 300 sump and 70 fuge. Total system water around 700 gallons. I feel it's almost overstocked.

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by mujtba
i may have 200lbs of LR in the tank. should i remove some?

now as far as WC goes, I don't have 150g of water.. it may be 100g since sand and LR take space. So would i still need 15g WC?

i thought chromis and anthis were same....

200lb of live rock is great---the live rock does not displace very much water in the tank at all.
Again you need to situate it so the tangs have a good stretch of swimming room--kind of like their own race way. I have a high tank so I build the reef up high at the back---if yours is lower then you can have a low central reef with lots of swimming area above and around the sides(this would be ideal to me)

As far as the issue of filtration you consider your tank, your refugium and sump as one unit---eg I have 110 gal plus 30 gal plus 30 gals giving me overall 170 gals in my system. My live rock is 160lb in tank, 20 llbs in sump and 20 lbs in refug giving the total sytem the benefit of 200 lbs.

This is why in an earlier post someone said that there is no hard rule for how many fish your "total" system can hold

I guess what I am trying to say is that you should build up your filtration system to the best it can be first and then start purchasing fish based on their indivdual needs---tangs need room

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by ricks
A 8"-9" Tang is way to large for a 150. Stay in the 2"-3" range. The fish you are talking about will be a large bio load. Your talking about 11 - 12 fish total?? I have 20 fish in my 500, with a 300 sump and 70 fuge. Total system water around 700 gallons. I feel it's almost overstocked.

I agree with you in point but not in principle
a reef moderator friend of mine who I consider a mentor has sixteen fish in a 90gal. ---but he has a dyi protein skimmer that utilizes a 4 inch diameter sewer pipe.

There is not enough "fin room" for a 8-9 inch tang in a 150.

I am not being hypocritical here----my tangs are about 5 inches when they grow and they will--guess who is going to need a new tank---gee honey these are our pets--we don't want to give them away when all we need is a bigger tank

[mujtba]

well thats why i said 8-9" max size.. when my 2 current tangs grow, will they need more than a 150?!???

i previously had all my guys in a 75g.. now i got a 150, so even that is not enough? not everyone can get a 300g system...

hmmm, so no one has an 8-9" tang in a 125+ tank?

my tank is 28" high.. so i can probably create a high reef in the back.. BUT don't fish like to swim behind the rocks?

[capn_hylinur]

Originally posted by mujtba
well thats why i said 8-9" max size.. when my 2 current tangs grow, will they need more than a 150?!???

i previously had all my guys in a 75g.. now i got a 150, so even that is not enough? not everyone can get a 300g system...

hmmm, so no one has an 8-9" tang in a 125+ tank?

my tank is 28" high.. so i can probably create a high reef in the back.. BUT don't fish like to swim behind the rocks?

time will tell---there is no guarantee on them reaching 8-9 size or evening getting bigger---that is an in nature figure.

my tank is 28 inches also
my reef is about three inches out in the base--and about .5 inches at the top--there is plenty of gaps in between. Besides tangs can turn sideways and back into the narrowest of spaces:

(7 month pics)

[32flavors]

Well, you can have a 9" fish but in a 72" tank that's only 8 body lengths--not much for fish that are avid swimmers. How much current do you have? Creating a VERY turbulent tank current-wise will be helpful. We have a 7-8" Hippo in the 8' 300 gal at the lfs i work at, and he just swims back and forth all day. Honestly, seems borderline small for him. It isn't just the size with tangs, it's that they are SWIMMERS, not mellow reef cruisers, like angels etc.

[mujtba]

so basically i can pile it in the back to the top, and fish can find their way in.. and leave open space in front.?

[ricks]

If you pile the rock to the top of an 18" deep tank. You won't leave much room for a 8"-9" tang to turn around... If the rock takes up 5"-6" of the 18", not much room will be left...