Blue Tang Tank Requirements?

[Fury96]

Hey reefers, i walked into my LFS recently and asked for suggestions on the next fish i could add to my 33 gallon/120 litre cube tank, my LFS suggested a blue tang. I asked if my tank is too small for a blue tant as i heard they grow big. He said that they usually grow within the constraints of the tank so he shouldn't grow that big. Is this true? Would a blue tang work in my tank?

 

[Zach136378]

While it is true that a tank will keep the fish smaller it won’t be by much. You can keep one in a tank that size however you would need to rehome it once it gets too big. They get around 9 to 10 inches in aquarium settling but in the wild can get to a foot. I have done what you have been recommended with a baby sailfin tang in my 20g however I do have a larger tank I can upgrade him to when he needs it. If you don’t want to rehome I don’t recommend

 

[Rob A]

The LFS lied to you they are in the business of selling fish. A blue tang needs at least a 6 foot tank.

 

[Fury96]

While it is true that a tank will keep the fish smaller it won’t be by much. You can keep one in a tank that size however you would need to rehome it once it gets too big. They get around 9 to 10 inches in aquarium settling but in the wild can get to a foot. I have done what you have been recommended with a baby sailfin tang in my 20g however I do have a larger tank I can upgrade him to when he needs it. If you don’t want to rehome I don’t recommend

Thank you for the response Zach, appreciate it. Do they grow quick or would it take a few years for them to grow? My LFS said i could always bring him back if he grew too big for store credit.

 

[Zach136378]

Thank you for the response Zach, appreciate it. Do they grow quick or would it take a few years for them to grow? My LFS said i could always bring him back if he grew too big for store credit.

tangs do grow quick but I never have a problem with that for some reason even though I over feed and feed wide variety’s of food. With tangs though they grow extremely fast when younger so I would say you have maybe 6 months if your lucky with it but it can vary fish to fish

 

[Rob A]

Thank you for the response Zach, appreciate it. Do they grow quick or would it take a few years for them to grow? My LFS said i could always bring him back if he grew too big for store credit.

I have 2 blue tangs 1 in a 180gal and 1 in a 300gal they grow fast and In a 30 gal it will have already outgrown it before you bring it home. It will die from stress in the 30gal before you get store credit.

 

[Zach136378]

What are the tank dimensions

 

[Zach136378]

I have 2 blue tangs 1 in a 180gal and 1 in a 300gal they grow fast and In a 30 gal it will have already outgrown it before you bring it home. It will die from stress in the 30gal before you get store credit.

Many stores keep baby blue tangs in tanks less than 30 gallons. I have seen blue tangs be in those tanks for long times. They don’t die there

 

[Fury96]

The LFS lied to you they are in the business of selling fish. A blue tang needs at least a 6 foot tank.

tangs do grow quick but I never have a problem with that for some reason even though I over feed and feed wide variety’s of food. With tangs though they grow extremely fast when younger so I would say you have maybe 6 months if your lucky with it but it can vary fish to fish

Yeah, that's not worth it, not sure why he would recommend it

 

[Fury96]

Many stores keep baby blue tangs in tanks less than 30 gallons. I have seen blue tangs be in those tanks for long times. They don’t die there

Yeah, in my LFS, they have all their tangs in a tiny tank, been like that for a while

 

[Zach136378]

Yeah i think it should be fine but you have to return it after 6 months depending on how much it has grown like I said I have a baby sailfin in a 20g and he is completely fine.

 

[christinna77]

Don't do it. Add fish you can actually keep in that tank for good. Hippos are ich magnets, need really good nutrition and stress easily. You don't want to stress it by bringing it to your tank, then stress it again by taking it back to the LFS a few months later, only for someone else to take it home and stress it all over again. That's way too much acclimation and transport stress just because you chose to buy fish you can't keep for long.

 

[Fury96]

I

Don't do it. Add fish you can actually keep in that tank for good. Hippos are ich magnets, need really good nutrition and stress easily. You don't want to stress it by bringing it to your tank, then stress it again by taking it back to the LFS a few months later, only for someone else to take it home and stress it all over again. That's way too much acclimation and transport stress just because you chose to buy fish you can't keep for long.

I agree, i've definitely crossed it off my list for my tank, do you have any suggestions for fish i could add, so far i have 2 clowns and a flamehawk

 

[TokenReefer]

Liveaquaria.com used to have a nano fish section that while I never ordered from them used it as a reference. I just looked and they no longer have that or a way to filter fish by tank size... too bad. The one in your avatar could work :)
Edit: I was wrong; new site design - https://www.liveaquaria.com/collections/nano-fish

 

[Zach136378]

I

I agree, i've definitely crossed it off my list for my tank, do you have any suggestions for fish i could add, so far i have 2 clowns and a flamehawk

Maybe a Pygmy angel like a fireball however that is a coin toss maybe a royal gramma, Randall’s goby with pistol shrimp, fire fish, blennys, tiny wrasse like possum wrasee,

 

[bmheath]

I wouldn’t do it. I wanted to put one in my 4ft 100 gallon and it will just out grow it. Plus hippos want long straight lines to swim in. And a 30 gallon cube will likely cause it to stress.

That being said sometimes there are exceptions but I would say it definitely is not the ideal habitat for them.

I feel your pain because I want one as well and I don’t want to rehome it haha

 

[christinna77]

I

I agree, i've definitely crossed it off my list for my tank, do you have any suggestions for fish i could add, so far i have 2 clowns and a flamehawk

A blenny is always fun! Bicolor, midas, pictus. Some of the smaller wrasses, like pinks streak one, could also work. So many options!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hey reefers, i walked into my LFS recently and asked for suggestions on the next fish i could add to my 33 gallon/120 litre cube tank, my LFS suggested a blue tang. I asked if my tank is too small for a blue tant as i heard they grow big. He said that they usually grow within the constraints of the tank so he shouldn't grow that big. Is this true? Would a blue tang work in my tank?

IMO, that tang, even if acquired when tiny, would outgrow that tank in less than a year.

Here is my fish swimming space calculator. It isn’t perfect, but better than just guessing:

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/estimating-the-need-for-swimming-space-for-aquarium-fishes.801/

 

[exnisstech]

I would look for a new LFS. Assuming your talking about a Blue Hippo mine was really small and I grew it out for a year before adding it to my DT. After 1 year I would say its to big for a 33g cube. I never bring any pets, fish included into my home with intensions of rehoming them later. They are also shy fish and need a rock scape that offers them places they can completely hide inside. My blue tangs sleep wedged under rocks similar to triggers. I would look at one of the blue damsels if looking for a blue fish. I have an electric blue as well as a yellow belly and yellow tail blue damsels and they are a beautiful blue color. The electric blue is a bit larger than the other blue damsels. I also have a springeri damsel also that has nice color.

 

[Zionas]

6ft 180 minimum, and not densely stocked.