what will be a good tang?

[cwilson]

now, before anyone shares an angry word of advice, let me state these two 'fun facts' about my soon-to-be system:

1: i prefer open rockwork. there will be plenty of open swimming room and there will be lots of in-and-out tunnels, and caves adn that kind of stuff

2: the display will be apx 80 gallons, measuring 60"X18"X17"

im thinking about getting a tang. i REALLY like purplle tangs, but i heard they can be very aggressive/territorial. i plan on getting a male swallowtail angel (Genicanthus melanospilus). although they have different diets and are two totally different fish, do you think ill have some aggression?

i also plan on keeping:
1 pair cinnamon clowns
1 sixline. ive never had a problem with him (i knew someone would say something )
4-6 blue-green chromis

and thats it. the angel and tang would really be the only large, open swimmers (my chromis tend to stay directly in the water column)

so, any thoughts on aggression?

any feedback/personal experience/ just general info would be great. thanks!

[Jerry W]

I think you'd do okay with either a kole tang or a tomeni. Nice looking, not huge, and relatively peaceful compared to some of the zebrasoma sp.
A 5 foot tank is sufficient, IMO. I recently added a blue eyed kole to my 60 inch 120 and he's not "schizophrenic" active, but quite laid back and spends most time quietyl exploring and grazing.
hth.

[cwilson]

yeah, the kole's do look pretty slick, but i heard they just sort of dull out and turn kind of brown when they get older.

is this true, or am i thinking of somehting else, or did i just make this up all togethor?

[InLimbo87]

How about a scopas tang? They're pretty cool looking fish, and from what I've read less agressive than the purples.

[Grouperhead]

I'm a big fan of scopas tangs. They have a very subtle beauty that you will easily learn to appreciate. In my experience they seem to stay pretty mellow as well. JMO

[crazinezz978]

how bout tomini tangs?? they look supper nice

[scoutmaniak]

You could get away with a yellow, purple, kole, or a tomini. All thes tangs stay under 8-9 inches or so. I wouldnt want to put more than one, but u should be good. I have a yellow and a kole in a 100g 5 footer right now and they are doing great. One thing to remember is the kole is a GREAT algea eater!!! Have fun, and let us know what your do!!

[LukFox]

I think you could have a purple in there so long as it's added last with little chance of issue. I've found fish like that are more aggressive to fish that could compete with it. The only one a purple tang may have issues with is the angel because it gets of decent size and is also an active swimmer. Just be sure the angel is well established before adding the purple to minimize problems.

[thor32766]

all the above suggestions are good!

[mile sq. reefer]

Tomini or Chevron.

[oct2274]

i would say kole

[Charger21_SD]

I say go with Kole tang. In my expierence, most people feel that tangs need 6' of swimming room, but koles are smaller so I think it would be a great canidate.

[darkcirca]

I like the Bristletooth Tomini. They are beautiful fish. I actually just purchased one today for my tank. I've never seen them before and the LFS had one in, so I couldn't pass it up. Only like 2" big, so tiny and cute. Very shy though right now.

The Kole are okay, I was looking at them too. The Tomini looks a lot better than them.

[RichConley]

I had my purple tang in my 58 (and now in my 72). I've added plenty of fish after him, and hes never really given any of them a problem. Hes a whole lot less agressive than my 3" potter's angel.

[RichConley]

Originally posted by Charger21_SD
I say go with Kole tang. In my expierence, most people feel that tangs need 6' of swimming room, but koles are smaller so I think it would be a great canidate.

That really bugs me. Most of the Zebrasoma and Bristletooth tangs aren't even really all that active fish.

Arcanthurus? 6' +, but a Kole needing 6'? C'mon.

[jda]

I would add a chocolate to that list. Otherwise, it looks good.

[Charger21_SD]

I agree RichConely, Koles can go in smaller tank. And most Zebrasoma tangs are not that active, but I found all the tangs I keep swim side to side and enjoy the 6'. They can be kept in smaller, but the more room they got the happier they seem. Not to say your's or anyone elses don't enjoy their tanks, but would you rather live in a nice sized house or a big house? It all comes down to the pesonality and activity of the individual fish.

[cwilson]

thanks for all the info evyerone! im going to have to look up that 'tomini' tang. is that a latin name? i dont think ive heard of it before... im sure once i find a picture, ill pull a "oooohhhhhh. THAT fish..."

another fish ive been thinking of is a powder blue tang. that fish is the reason i got into SW/reef tanks in the first place! but they do get pretty big, almost 10", dont they?

any advice/info of the powder blue, as well as any other information would be great. thanks, again!

[Charger21_SD]

Powder Blue are tied with Achilles Tang in the most hard tang to keep catagorey. Some may have had sucess, and congrats to anyone that has, but in most cases it ends up with a dead fish.

[cwilson]

yeah, thats what ive heard. but theyre so awesome!

oh well... maybe next tank.

i looked up those tonimi tangs online, and htey seem pretty expensive. are they usually kind of on the high side, or did i look at the wrong site?

[jda]

Yes, tomini can be higher than most tangs. It would be a good choice though.

I have had good success with PBT, but I would not try one in an 80G - I fear that any initial success with subside as the PBT grows and deems the other fish competition for space.

[darkcirca]

I paid a little less than $60 for my small Tomini the other day locally. Most tangs around here run $80+.

This is his better side, after he took a beating from a rock (or my anthias) within an hour of getting in my tank.

[zemuron114]

zebramosas, regardless of what their size is, need a large tank. They are open water swimmers. However, i think an 80 would be fine for one for a long time.

Nice tomini!

[cwilson]

yeah, i really want to have the fish get full size in the system without any stress on the fish, any other fish in the tank, and me

having a base of 60"X18" i think can handle "most" common tangs, and most zebramosa's. are purple's really that active though? ive seen some in people systems that just kinda swim around, they're not racing bakc and forth starting fights or anything.

are those the exeptions, or is it just kind of a toss up as to how hyper the fish will be?

(FWIW, i would buy the tang rather small (2") to start out with)

[jda]

My purples aren't that active of a fish. Neither are the chocolates.