Tang growth...

aastretch64 · #1 12/09/2007, 01:39 PM

How fast can/will tangs (specically Naso, Regal, Sailfin) grow?

Alex

hatfielj · #2 12/09/2007, 02:29 PM

It all depends on the size of the tank and how much they are given to eat. If you put a naso tang in a large tank (200 gallons or more) and give it lots to eat, it will likely grow very quickly and probably be able to reach its max size within a couple of years. However, if you put the same fish in a smaller tank 120gal or less and its not the only tang in there and its not fed as much, it will probably never reach its full size and it will grow relatively slowly.

nick_reefing · #3 12/09/2007, 05:31 PM

I have 2 sailfins that was about 2 in. when I got them. 2 yrs later, they are now about 6 in. long and 3/4 in thick. I love to see their thick bodies.
I agree with hatfielj.

JamesJR · #4 12/09/2007, 11:46 PM

I have read a few books on reef ecology and from what I take tangs get most of their growth in the first 2-3 years of life and then their growth slows considerably. I think a sailfin tang should grow a couple inches a year for a couple years as I had one myself for several years that I bought when it was no bigger than a quarter. I have a regal now but it was already about 4 inches when I got it so I haven't gotten to see it young enough to see how fast it would grow.

Hat is prettly close to the mark. Tangs, especially juvenile specimens grow very fast and need to be fed a whole lot.

jnc914 · #5 12/10/2007, 10:55 AM

A hobbyist will likely not be able to replicate the feeding habits of fish while in the aquarium. Tangs, and any other fish for that matter, eat throughout the entire day. In fact a fish like a tang, primarily grazes consistently throughout their day. It is unlikely that a tang will fully reach their mature size in most of our tanks, unless you have an extremely large tank, much like a public aquarium, that provides an environment closest to the ocean as possible.

jda · #6 12/10/2007, 11:09 AM

I had a hippo go from quarter sized to 6 inches in about a year. I had a red sea sailfin grow from 3" to 7-8" in about 16 months.

Remember a varied diet or else the color will stink and the hippo could get HLLE.

JamesJR · #7 12/10/2007, 09:07 PM

It is certainly possible for a tang to grow at a natural rate in a
home aquairium. There are numerous hobbyists who have been able to show that a tang can grow as fast as what one would find in nature. Also, not all tangs graze exclussively on algae. The blue tang feeds on plankton in as do several other species.