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  #1  
Old 01/11/2008, 03:51 PM
THP THP is offline
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Powder Blue

Well, my 180g reef tank is nearing completion and will be ready for fish within the next month or so. The tank has been curing for about 6 months mostly due to unforseen circumstances keeping me away from home but now I'm back and finishing up the surounding cabinet and waiting on 1 of 3 MH ballasts before picking up a clean up crew of snails.

I have always found the pb tang to be the most interesting and would like any and all info from you successfull pb tang keepers to chim me in please. I don't plan on having any other tangs in the tank and intend to put it in as the last fish. I have not put much thought into other tank mates other than a sixline wrasse for the possible pyramid snail outbreaks on clams but I also don't intend to have more than 4-5 fish anyway. The tank will be for SPS and clams only, lots of water movement and strong 400w lighting. The current aquascap leaves about 9-12 inches of open space above the reef to be so that should be ample room for coral to grow and the pb to swim around.

I would really appreciate some advice and tips on keeping these fish alive and thriving for many years. I realize nori and excellent water parameters are a must but what more?
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  #2  
Old 01/11/2008, 04:25 PM
jda jda is offline
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I have had good luck with BPTs. Get one from a good supplier that is net caught - this seems to be a key. Some do well and then just die and are likely are result of poor collection, or collection with a chemical.

They grow very fast until they hit about 4-5" and then slow down.

People say that they are ich magnets, but none of mine have ever had ich. They are probably less tolerant to bad hobbists than other fish, but fish don't choose their owners.

If you keep them well fed, then they are usually very tolerant of other fish. They are as agressive as they come if they sense the other fish as competition for resources (tank space, food, etc.).

I feed mine nori, spectrum pellets, mysis, forumla II pellets and some flake.

You should plan on a reasonable QT period for the fish.
  #3  
Old 01/11/2008, 04:29 PM
eskymick eskymick is offline
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Given good water and nutrition, I thing the PBT is a hardy fish.

That being said, I feel a number of preconditions need to be met to insure success.

1. Don't be in a hurry to purchase one. They are delicate to poor collecting and handling. Shop around for a healthy one.

2. Look for a fish in the 3" - 4" size who is eating well at the LFS and who appears alert and undamaged in any way. In my experience, a fish of that size adapts to aquarium living well.

3. Place the fish in a reasonable quarintine tank with a sponge filter and some live rock for grazing. I treat all new fish with ProziPro for the first 5 days in quarantine.

4. If ich does break out, treat with hyposalinity. PBTs seem to be overly sensative to most copper treatments.

5. Keep it in quarantine for 4 - 6 weeks.

Given the tank conditions you already described, I think such a PBT will have a long and healthy life in your system.
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  #4  
Old 01/11/2008, 05:22 PM
THP THP is offline
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Thanks for the good pointers people. What size of quarantine do you both use? I think many people are reluctant to quarintine because they feel the quarintine tank is too primitive in comparison to their displays.

Also, does anyone know of which origin is best to obtain them from. I have heard this in the past from a once local shop but don't recall which area he mentioned. I believe many PB die or don't feed because of cyanide capture and there is a particular origin which strictly prohibits these methods.
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  #5  
Old 01/11/2008, 06:22 PM
eskymick eskymick is offline
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I have a 20 long QT tank. Heck, I've seen them in small tanks at the LFS for months. Granted, a small tank is wrong for the long term, but for QT a smallish tank is ok. I certainly wouldn't use a five or ten gallon tank for QT.

Thw smaller the QT tank, the more often you should do water changes.
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SG - 1.025
pH - 8.1
NH4/NH3 - 0ppm
NO2 - 0ppm
NO3 - 0ppm
Ca ~410ppm
dKH ~10
Flow ~80x
  #6  
Old 01/11/2008, 07:58 PM
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how about 15g? Thats what I currently have hidden away somewhere in the basement
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  #7  
Old 01/11/2008, 08:09 PM
eskymick eskymick is offline
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A 15 is kinda small. But you could always go get a rubbermaid storage container or some other inexpensive tub. Also, look in your local forums. You can find a larger tank for QT use .. for cheap!
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SG - 1.025
pH - 8.1
NH4/NH3 - 0ppm
NO2 - 0ppm
NO3 - 0ppm
Ca ~410ppm
dKH ~10
Flow ~80x
  #8  
Old 01/11/2008, 09:27 PM
jda jda is offline
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The Live Aquaria guy posted about PBT origins months ago. If you can get on the search, do a search for this.

Try the local craigs list for a larger QT tank. I use 75G, but that is kinda a luxury. I find it worth the extra money (which is not really all that much) to have a good sized one so that I can keep the fish in there for months if needs be. A 30 or 40 breeder are great choices too.
  #9  
Old 01/11/2008, 09:53 PM
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Ok, I kind of thought a 15 would be too small. I could probably find space for a 35 or so but anything bigger becomes an issue. I have absolutely no place to store any bigger but I do want to start quarintining everything. Never did before and suprisingly I never had problems but I do know its just a matter of time and with AEFW, RB and so on, all coral will need something anyway.
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  #10  
Old 01/12/2008, 01:41 AM
deklin deklin is offline
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All of the advice listed above is great to giving a PBT with a long and healthy life in your tank. In addition I would mention that the PBT seems to be at its best when left to be the clear king of the tank. I have my PBT in a tank with anthais, chromis, clowns and a sixline wrasse. He's does well while not being challenged for dominance.
  #11  
Old 01/12/2008, 01:46 AM
THP THP is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by deklin
All of the advice listed above is great to giving a PBT with a long and healthy life in your tank. In addition I would mention that the PBT seems to be at its best when left to be the clear king of the tank. I have my PBT in a tank with anthais, chromis, clowns and a sixline wrasse. He's does well while not being challenged for dominance.
Is this due to its agressive nature or does it fall ill quickly to competition.
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