2 tangs in a 90?

[Zbutcher]

Is it possible to have 2 tangs in a 90 gallon 4 foot tank? I was talking to a guy at my LFS and he mentioned there is a guy that shops there that does. I'm curious if this is doable and what the success rate would be. He apparently has 1 purple and 1 white tail bristletooth

 

[cshouston]

Depends on the species and initial size, but that guy will probably have to rehome that purple tang eventually (or get a bigger tank).

For what it’s worth, anecdotally, I know someone who kept juvenile Naso, yellow tang, and kole tang together in a 90 with success, but they eventually went into a 210.

 

[MERKEY]

+1 above

We got our purple about 1 year ago for our 75g planning to eventually go bigger. He always looked fat and happy!

When we recently moved everything from our 75g to our 220 we could immediately see a difference in his movement and interactions with the other fish.

I will say the more room you give each fish to sleep helps a lot.....caves are their favorite!

 

[Zbutcher]

Depends on the species and initial size, but that guy will probably have to rehome that purple tang eventually (or get a bigger tank).

For what it’s worth, anecdotally, I know someone who kept juvenile Naso, yellow tang, and kole tang together in a 90 with success, but they eventually went into a 210.

So how big or rather how long of a tank would you need for the purple? I know everyone has a different answer for this

 

[Zbutcher]

+1 above

We got our purple about 1 year ago for our 75g planning to eventually go bigger. He always looked fat and happy!

When we recently moved everything from our 75g to our 220 6' we could immediately see a difference in his movement and interactions with the other fish.

I will say the more room you give each fish to sleep helps a lot.....caves are their favorite!

I mean that's true but what size do you recommend for a purple tang? Like would a 5 foot 110 Ed sea reefer 525 be good for life? Or would he still need rehoming?

 

[DanConnor]

I have a 200 and honestly my sailfin and rabbitfish are looking a bit big. Its getting packed with coral and room is getting tight.

 

[cshouston]

Purple tangs can push 10” TL with a deep body, and like most tangs they benefit from a lot of swimming space. Personally, I’d go 6’ at minimum with a preference for 8’.

In a 5’ tank, I’d stick with smaller tangs like kole, tomini, square tail, white tail, etc.

 

[Zbutcher]

Purple tangs can push 10” TL with a deep body, and like most tangs they benefit from a lot of swimming space. Personally, I’d go 6’ at minimum with a preference for 8’.

In a 5’ tank, I’d stick with smaller tangs like kole, tomini, square tail, white tail, etc.

Well that's disappointing then :/ all I can accommodate at the moment is at MOST a 5 foot and my current tank is 75. Tbh idk when I'll be able to get anything that big. I was thinking of upgrading to a red sea reefer 525 but now I don't think I should if it can work with a purple tang. Id have a pretty light stock as I already know what I would want. But I don't think that really helps :/ the one upside is I can get both a white tail bristletooth and a purple at 1 inch little babies and I'd introduce them at the same time of course.

 

[Zbutcher]

I have a 200 and honestly my sailfin and rabbitfish are looking a bit big. Its getting packed with coral and room is getting tight.

Don't both those get bigger then a purple by alot tho?

 

[MERKEY]

I mean that's true but what size do you recommend for a purple tang? Like would a 5 foot 110 Ed sea reefer 525 be good for life? Or would he still need rehoming?

I've seen a few that keep larger tangs/fish in those exact tanks. With many many more fish which leaves less room for the tangs.

Some will say any 6' is too small and 8' like @cshouston said is what they should really be homed in.

We do have a reef store locally that will trade fish in if we ever feel he is getting too big for the tank and replace them with a 2". Try to find one locally that has this system.

We try not to overstock and give a lot of caves and for separate space.

If you do this and find the right shop I see no reason you couldn't home one in a 525....although I'd look at waterbox hahah

 

[cshouston]

Yeah, if you don’t mind replacing it when it gets too big, that’s an option. They’re much more valuable when they’ve grown to nearly full size, and there are plenty of folks out there with big tanks who’d love to stock a big tang.

 

[Zbutcher]

I've seen a few that keep larger tangs/fish in those exact tanks. With many many more fish which leaves less room for the tangs.

Some will say any 6' is too small and 8' like @cshouston said is what they should really be homed in.

We do have a reef store locally that will trade fish in if we ever feel he is getting too big for the tank and replace them with a 2". Try to find one locally that has this system.

We try not to overstock and give a lot of caves and for separate space.

If you do this and find the right shop I see no reason you couldn't home one in a 525....although I'd look at waterbox hahah

Well a purple tang would probably take 20 years to go from 1 inch to a full ten if it even gets that big.

That said my stocking is pretty minimal it'd be 2 clowns, baby mandarin, LMB, cleaner wrasse, spring damsel, 1 whitetail bristletooth, 1 purple tang. That's it.

Why waterbox over Red Sea reefer?

 

[Zbutcher]

Yeah, if you don’t mind replacing it when it gets too big, that’s an option. They’re much more valuable when they’ve grown to nearly full size, and there are plenty of folks out there with big tanks who’d love to stock a big tang.

I have seen what I believe to be a full sized purple tang happy in a 6 foot though too

 

[cshouston]

It’ll take a lot less than 20 years, my friend.

 

[Zbutcher]

I've seen a few that keep larger tangs/fish in those exact tanks. With many many more fish which leaves less room for the tangs.

Some will say any 6' is too small and 8' like @cshouston said is what they should really be homed in.

We do have a reef store locally that will trade fish in if we ever feel he is getting too big for the tank and replace them with a 2". Try to find one locally that has this system.

We try not to overstock and give a lot of caves and for separate space.

If you do this and find the right shop I see no reason you couldn't home one in a 525....although I'd look at waterbox hahah

Believe it or not my big limitation is weight. I'm scared of it falling through my top floor as I have a renter in my basement lol

 

[Zbutcher]

It’ll take a lot less than 20 years, my friend.

How long?

 

[cshouston]

I have seen what I believe to be a full sized purple tang happy in a 6 foot though too

Which is why I said a 6’ is acceptable, but the minimum I’d be comfortable keeping it in.

 

[cshouston]

How long?

I haven’t raised one, but judging from seeing other species grow, I’d estimate 2-3 years. These fish don’t have 20 years in the wild to grow because of all the dangers that shorten their lifespans. 20 years is a luxury of safety in captivity.

 

[Zbutcher]

I haven’t raised one, but judging from seeing other species grow, I’d estimate 2-3 years. These fish don’t have 20 years in the wild to grow because of all the dangers that shorten their lifespans. 20 years is a luxury of safety in captivity.

Ah that makes sense

 

[MERKEY]

Well a purple tang would probably take 20 years to go from 1 inch to a full ten if it even gets that big.

That said my stocking is pretty minimal it'd be 2 clowns, baby mandarin, LMB, cleaner wrasse, spring damsel, 1 whitetail bristletooth, 1 purple tang. That's it.

Why waterbox over Red Sea reefer?

No other reason than I own one so I'm a little bias and I was trying to be a little funny