Bristletooth tangs.

[cdemoss01]

Hello,
I want to get a tang for my 60 gallon, specifically a type of bristletooth tang.. Are bristletooth tangs active? Stay out all day etc? I wanna do a whitetail.
#reefsquad

 

[Rocks reef]

Yes, tangs are active and stay out during the day.

 

[W31Olds]

I have a whitetail, and they are Algae Eating Machines but won't touch GHA. They can be aggressive so keep that in mind. Mine hates my lawnmower Blenny and would kill him if he could catch him and squabbles with my Purple Tang. I would say easy to keep and probably more disease resistant than most Tangs.

 

[zbrusko]

I have a whitetail as well. He leaves my other fish (including lawnmower blenny) alone, though sometimes faces off with his own reflection. He eats frozen mysis & brine shrimp as well as nori. Scrapes my rocks on occasion, but I am pretty algae free, so I try to make sure he gets his veggies with frozen herbivore food a few days a week along with the nori. Some will say 60 is too small, though.

 

[TX_REEF]

white tail would be good depending on the tank dimensions. Tomini tang would also fit the bill, though!

 

[BryanM]

my tomini took a month or so to get used to everything and he's now a good swimmer and out and about most of the time.

In fact all my tangs are. Hippo, Sailfin, 3 yellows, Tomini, and its early and I think I'm forgetting one :)

 

[skey44]

Tomini tang is a very active out and about fish. Always looking for grazing/food opportunities. It’s strangely a fish that I even see out in the tank after lights out from time to time

 

[NoriSheet]

My whitetail is out and about all day pecking at the rocks. He has been a rather upstanding citizen so far in terms of aggression. He sometimes chases my starry blenny around when the starry is being a jerk to my other fish...

 

[skey44]

Brisletooth tangs and Blennies are often at odds because they feed on the same film algae’s. Food competition is one of the primary reasons for aggression in captivity. I have a Midas blenny and there is no aggression with my tomini, but Midas blennies don’t eat algae they are mid water planktivores.

 

[exnisstech]

My two spot is out and about grazing all day.

EDIT: I should add that mine is in a 36x22x22" tank with a yellow tang. They've been together for about 2 years. The only other fish are a sixline and an electric blue damsel. I did try to add a coral beauty once and the bristletooth was having none of that and attacked it viciously as soon as I released it so I scooped it back out. It wasn't a let's get to know each other but an Im going to kill you attack so I'm sticking with 4 fish.

 

[Salty_Jon_NoVA]

I have a whitetail bristletooth and is always out and about grazing. Beautifull fish. I've never seen him be aggressive with others in the tank, but I know they can get up to 6" long, so I'd be a bit wary of putting in a 60 gallon. I did have a small lawnmower blenny go missing shortly after I got it, but I can't say for certain the bristletooth was the culprit.

 

[Red_Beard]

Hello,
I want to get a tang for my 60 gallon, specifically a type of bristletooth tang.. Are bristletooth tangs active? Stay out all day etc? I wanna do a whitetail.
#reefsquad

Super active, all day. And yes, overtly hostile to other grazers that arent tangs and for some reason gobies sometimes.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Only thing I will add is that I would definitely only get 1 bristletooth (especially in a tank that size). I added a tomini and a blue-eyed kole to my 70. It did not end well. I now only have a tomini in the 70, and he is out and social.

 

[vlangel]

I had a tomini in a 56g and he was always out and about. He was so aggressive toward an orange spot goby however that the goby died from the stress. I had the tang probably 4 years and he was great but then he began to get more aggressive with other fish even though he got lots of greens in his diet. I decided that he had outgrown my tank so gave him to a friend who had much bigger grow out tanks.

 

[alabella1]

I vote Tomini. They tend to stay smaller and are as fun and active as a white tail.

 

[Idoc]

Tangs are very active in tanks. I have a Tomini tang in a 75g tank and he is doing great.

 

[Joe.D]

My Whitetail is always out and about, pretty fish and active. Thought he’d be my Showpiece, but I think that title actually goes to my Solar Wrasse or Foxface with their brighter colors. The Whitetail went through an aggressive phase for a while. Did not like my Diamond Goby at all and had my Solar Wrasse hiding too. He was the tank boss - but after adding the One Spot Foxface, he settled down once the Foxface got bigger than him. The Foxface now runs the tank. Whitetail $$$, Tomini $.

Could also look at a Blue Eyed Kole Tang - they look similar to the Whitetail (but without the white tail) and are typically a lot less $$.