Orange Shoulder Surgeon. Is it a TERROR?

[zephyros]

hi guys,

i'm having a 4footer with 14 small fishes, biggest being the
lyretail anthias. (others include chromis, blenny and clown)

I am planning to add in 2-3 tangs/surgeon fish. I've read
somewhere that the Orange Shoulder Surgeon (Acanthurus olivaceus)
is one of the more docile surgeon fish. But after browsing
WetWebMedia, I am having second thoughts abt this fish.

Acanthurus olivaceus (Bloch & Schneider 1801), the
Orange Spot or Orange Shoulder Tang; a hardy fish out of Hawaii
and elsewhere, but unfortunately, a behavioral terror in the
ranks of A. lineatus. This is an active fish that grows to more than
a foot and a half in length. It should only be placed with
other "mean" tankmates in the confines of a huge aquarium.

Anyone had experience with the orange shoulder with anthias group and smaller fishes?

Thanks

[toonces]

i'm having a 4footer with 14 small fishes....

This is an active fish that grows to more than
a foot and a half in length. It should only be placed with
other "mean" tankmates in the confines of a huge aquarium.

[MG21]

I've got one in my 240 and i've never had any problems. Have lots of small fish even a few other tangs and he doesn't mess with any of them. According to pocket expert guide it has a more peaceful disposition than others in its genus. Good fish in my opinion.

[zephyros]

hehe ... yup, the pocket expert guide make it sounds like
its a puppy :P growing up to max 35in and require min 135g
tank ... I thought that my tank meets the min requirement
till i read up in WetWebMedia ... now i'm confused

[billpa]

I have one in my 180g reef tank. He is very very active. Great fish to watch IMO...not the most colorful tang but its my favorite fish. Mine will occasionally chase some of my smaller fish...not really chase...more like it is swimming and they get in the way and he does a little deke move to get them out of the way. I also have a yellow tang and they get along well. One of the keys to curb aggression is making sure they have plenty to graze on. My tank has a lot of algae scattered around for them to pick at as well as nori that I put on a clip every day or two. IME, a hungry tang tends to be more aggressive.

4 feet is a little short IMO...I think my 6 footer is actually short. This fish loves to swim. I hope in a year or two I can give him a bigger home...whether its upgrading my tank or finding someone with a large tank to house him. I think this goes for all the Acanthurus tangs.

HTH
billpa

[unicornis]

Yup this is a big fish... definately need a tank at least 6 feet

[ColeBC]

My orangeshoulder tang gets along with all my other fish. He doesn't usually chase anyone.
But they are very active and dig a lot. If you dont have your LR secure and right on the bottom of the tank, he will dig and make everything collapse. He loves digging caves under and near the rocks. He moves small rocks around and picks up corals.
Mine didnt like a giant featherduster and he tried to throw it out of the tank. They also eat some sand and blow it on the LR and corals.
I find him very entertaining and peaceful. Only sometimes he fights with my LMB over a piece of seaweed on a clip.
They do grow really quickly and eat a lot, so make sure your tank is big enough. And they love swimming really fast around the tank.
A great and friendly fish to have though IMO