Bristletooth Tomini Tang in a 40b

[Shep]

Have always wanted one of these but never had a big enough tank, now that I am thinking of setting up a 40b I wanted to see if I could have one. It will probably be light on the live rock to allow more swimming room. Thoughts?

 

[HaWrasser]

i dont have a tang at the moment and have never kept one. ive always read up on a lot of threads about keeping them though, i have a70 gallon cube and i have yet to get one. most sources ive seen would probably recommend that you steer clear of a tang in a 40B unless you plan on upgrading or moving it into a larger tank with closer to 6feet of lateral swimming space if you start with a baby tang. thats just my opinion though, makes me want a bigger tank to house a tang. ive also seen some videos of tangs tearing lps corals apart and i like my lps more than my tangs :)

 

[haleyf1024]

I personally wouldn't try it. Have people done it? Yes. Is it the best for the fish itself? No. Tangs swim a lot, some more than 5 miles a day. I wouldn't try to keep even the small breeds in anything less than a 3.5-4' tank. They become aggressive and stressed when cramped. But of course there are others who say they have kept multiple yellows, purples, koles, tominis, nasos, blues etc. etc. in small tanks (75 gallons and under). These people IMO just got lucky, but it will likely backfire one day. How about going for a 4 foot 75 gallon if you have the space? That is enough for a lone tomini, and you will have more space for more fish!

 

[haleyf1024]

Unless you get a baby of course. But plan to rehome it when it gets probably 3"

 

[Lynn52]

I have a small Tomini in my 125 and he uses every inch of the 6 foot length. He swims back and forth all day stopping only to nibble on rocks and the algae on the clip.